Do I need a Drum Rack?

What are the Advantages of a Drum Rack?

Drum hardware - and how you set your kit up - is very personal, and really depends on the size and number of drums in your preferred configuration. It also depends on whether you’re gigging or recording with your kit and whether you’re lucky enough to have roadies or techs, (parents are included in this). How many drums, cymbals, bits of percussion, or other items on your kit are often the biggest deciding factor on whether a rack is right for you. If you play a very minimalistic setup of one-up one-down and a only use a couple of cymbals, a rack might not be for you. 

A rack is a great way of setting up big or complicated kits. Popular rack options on the market are offered by the likes of Gibraltar and several other brands, including square Pearl racks and hexagonal Yamaha ones. There are different types of rack with different numbers of arm bars. The conventual bar across the middle, with everything hung off it is the simplest and most common version. 

Having a main bar and maybe left and right wings off the main section is another alternative. Then there’s stealth racks, where the horizonal bar is at floor level and all the cymbal stands and tom arms feature tall uprights. Then, for the ultimate rack, there are custom designers that create the impression of a levitating drum kit, where even the bass drum clips on to the rack itself. As racks have developed with more complicated clamps and curved bars, there are even more creative options now available than ever before with really daring designs. Some would even say they’re a drum cage - check out the picture below for an idea. 

Do I Actually Need a Drum Rack?

Before we get into this guide let’s start with a few questions and then see if a rack is right for you. If you’re considering a rack, ask yourself the questions below: 

• How many drums and cymbals do you want to hang? 
• Have you got a drilled bass drum?
• How often are you moving your kit?
• What kind of floor space do you have?

It’s a simple decision if you have a drilled bass drum and/or a one-up one-down, or two-up one-down setup: a rack might not be the easiest solution. If you have a drilled bass drum and you don’t like the mounted position of your toms - because either they’re too far away or too close to you as you sit behind the kit - then a rack could be a good way of getting the perfect layout.

As soon as you have more toms, then a rack can be the perfect solution. If you want to mount three or more rack toms, it’s much easier to centralize the middle tom over the bass drum, allowing you to still reach either tom on each side; you won’t have to rely on a mounted bass drum post either. Racks can also hold mounted floor toms or gong drums, as well as mics, lighting, percussion, sheet music and even cameras. The options are genuinely limitless.

Racks are very useful when it comes to transport and touring as the drums can be repositioned to the same place every single time. And it’s easier to mark or number each boom arm too. Big touring bands with roadies and flight cases sometimes even leave kits completely set up, making things much quicker when it comes to each venue change. Some tours will have all the monitoring and XLR leads required for mics positioned on the rack (in a roll) with all drums ready to be plugged into the next stage box at the next venue. Racks can also be more stable for your drums and will hold them safely in place, rather than individual stands that could wobble when placed on an uneven drum riser.

Floor space can also be affected by having a rack, as you won’t have lots of tripods spread about. A rack can also affect what drums you use. A rack can make having a double bass drum setup or a multi pedal setup much easier to achieve. If you are a modern drummer using 4, 5, or even 6 different pedals, and don’t want a snare stand holding your snare between your legs, you can use a rack bar instead. To have more room for pedals you can alternatively use a singular pole snare stand and basket. Check out this example below.

Another great advantage to using racks is your ability to mix brands. If you use different brands’ tom arms, cymbal arms or anything vintage alongside anything modern, then a rack can make it far easier for all the different diameters of tube you might encounter. Usually rack clamps can be adjusted to fit smaller or larger poles. This allows you to join hardware together which wouldn’t fit otherwise. 

With the modern era of drumming sometimes requiring both electronic and acoustic parts combined into one kit, a rack is a good way to fuse these together, creating a truly hybrid setup. Modern drumming with sample pads, sound modules and extra electronic pads mean sometimes it’s hard to mount it all properly (delivering complete ease of access and playability). A rack allows you to create a well-rounded workspace with everything at your fingertips. 

Other great uses of a rack are in a studio, where you have a backline of drums from different brands and want to hang them in the same place, but don’t want to move everything every time you record. This can be taken to the extremes, and you can use the same mount for every drum brand. Use a floating drum mount system like the Pearl optimount or Rim system, and then only use one set of tom arms and hang different branded drums off the rack with minimal effort. This means you can mix brands and different rack toms and floor toms to get the best sound possible for that recording. 

Finally, it isn’t just drum kits, percussion rigs can also be rack mounted to allow everything to be within easy reach. Having your congas on stands and then all bongos, cymbals, blocks and bells mounted on a rack can keep everything in easy reach.

Another handy use for racks is being able to mount really large items, like gongs. Being able to safely mount a gong and even mounting it behind your kit is a great possibility too.

Famous Examples

If we are talking drum racks, we must mention Mr Terry bozzio – who has quite possibly the most extreme case of drum rack we’ve ever seen! Check it out below. Andy Gangadeen (of Chase & Status fame) also uses a unique drum rack-based setup. 

Drum racks have also become part of the live show and part of the theatre. For example, check out the kits of Johnathan Moffett (Michael Jackson’s drummer) or Alex Van Halen and you'll see why! 
Then if you want a truly mad showstopping drum rack setup for a show, then look at Slipknots drummer Joey Jordison’s tilting and rotating drum riser and rack.