RE: Pain and Numbness/ I’ve played for over 4o years and had various setups…. recently reverting back to the old 1up 2down big bass and (double pedal) after having ride up high to the right with 20 cymbals….8 toms, 2 basses etc… arena style//.... after reading the article in the March issue I set up my ‘stealth’ rack system and brought the crashes closer, the ride down and in over the bass, the throne up and back, the hats in and back, snare down and tipped to right hand…. now….I notice my right (ride arm) is less fatigued after covers like the Door’s “L.A.Woman”....bass foot seems faster with doubles like Zep’s “Good Times/Bad Times”....and my back can handle load-up better at the end of the night…. WTF??........ Thinking out the setup and re-evaluating after all these years STILL makes a difference ...You CAN learn something… I have set up my drums in various configurations over the years, but now find I can modify and avoid pain, numbness but still have crashes high for dynamics (until I get OLDER STILL!!!)...I wouldn’t have believed the difference in FEELING from just some minor adjustments to my kit….the rack system didn’t seem right a few years back, but now works for my style/ cleaning up floor space and simplifying setup….hopefully readers will EXPERIMENT with setup and find an alternative to help with any Pain/ Numbness encountered.Thanks for the insight!

Jdragon,
Thank you for the note. it was something that should be said repeatedly until it sinks in. When I was doing research for someone Iwas working for who was having screaming pain at every show usually during the fifth and ninth songs of the set, I couldn’t find any articles about how to help the pain. There were tons out there about “watch out for this pain” but nothing really helpful to a gigging drummer. Even surgeons were clueless as to a simple solution. They all wanted to cut him up which is not an option unless you’re Lady GaGa. Well on a chance flydate we had to rent gear and used a 20” kick as opposed to his standard 24”. This brought the toms down, not enough to notice but enough for him to get through the show without screaming and crying between songs. That’s when we noticed the 5th and 9th songs had crazy amounts of tom rolls and from there the story started. (For the record, the guy I was working for was not interviewed in the article)

It was a work in progress for about 3 months…which is way too long for a 3,000 word article, to make things worse, three days before my deadline, my lqaptop crashed and Ihad to rewrite the entire thing on my phone. If Ididn’t have carpooltunnel before, Icertainly do now. Ha!  ...but came together nicely and I’m very glad someone took away anything from it. Believe me when I say notes like this really do make myself want to write even more.

Hey elkevo- thanks for the time spent/ tonight I just had another ‘experience’... I have been having wrist numbness and tingling (probably a tinge of carpal tunnel?) but just lived with it as I drummed.(old age) Well we had practice and I started out as usual/ traditional jazz grip… played a couple songs and noticed ‘the tingle’. Put the glove on left (Zildjian-<just for reference not endorsement>) the hand that is held UP in traditional… and… no pain or tingle.  Then I switched to pistol grip ( Ringo style) and even less discomfort. I like traditional because I think I am more articulate…..but IF grip change helps with stamina and relieves pain- I’ll practice straight pistol more. I have to say I am over 50 and slam like a 20 year old… maybe it is wrong but the style I emulate is Bonham and the mates love it, so….In conclusion- I thought I’d NEVER rely on the ‘gloves’... but maybe they CAN relieve the stress and prevent injury. I am still fluid and FAST and never drop a stick…. even when showing off with the spins…!!! Anything to prevent injury/ help people play while suffering/ get OVER problems… I’m for it! Thanks again…JD