Setting up a Drum Kit
Acoustic drum kits
It is relatively straightforward to set up a regular acoustic drum kit. Make sure the bass drum legs are extended to create a steady base for your rack toms and to ensure the bass drum doesn’t slide forwards when you strike it.
Tuning a drum kit is a slightly more complex process where you may require someone to help you the first few times you try it. Some lessons with a professional teacher are advisable.
Electronic drum kits
Electronic drum kits are also relatively simple to set up. The detailed process of the menu options for effects or creating your own samples will vary depending on the manufacturer and exact model of your kit. More complex electronic kits have more complicated sub-menus and systems for manipulating the sounds that your pads trigger. Spending a good few hours with the manual and a cup of tea will seriously enhance your enjoyment of the features of your electronic kit.
Need some help? Book an introductory drum lesson and receive a £15 discount! Give It A Go Taster Lesson.
The step-by-step setup guide
1. Start with the feet
Sit on your drum stool. Position your feet flat on the floor, shoulder’s width apart, and an equal distance away from your body. This sitting posture should be solid and comfortable.
Now put the pedals where your feet are. If you’re setting up a right-handed/right-footed drum kit the bass drum pedal will be under your right foot and the hi hat pedal will be under your left foot. If you use a double bass drum pedal the additional pedal can be positioned after the rest of the kit has been put in place. Remember, at this point there should only be two pedals set in position – no drums, no cymbals – just you and a bass drum pedal and a hi hat stand!
2. Assemble the rest of your drum kit
Attach the bass drum to the bass drum pedal by carefully moving it into position behind the pedal. Set up the snare stand and position in between the two pedals. Mount the toms, set up the cymbal stands and add the cymbals.
3. Adjust the height of the hardware
Essential – check the height of the drum stool (also known as ‘drum throne’). Sitting is what you’ll be doing most, so double-check you’re going to be sitting comfortably!
When you sit on the stool your knees should be bent at an (almost) 90 degree angle. Hips should be slightly higher then knees. Don’t have the stool set too low. If your knees are higher than your hips it can lead to unnecessary strain on the hips and upper legs.
Adjust the snare stand to the correct height. Some drummers tilt their snare drums whilst other drummers prefer the surface of the snare drum to be parallel to the floor- this is something to experiment with. In terms of snare height, keep the rim of the drum about the width of your fist higher than your thighs. This means when you hit rim shots on the snare you will not hit your legs too! If the snare drum is too high it can cause your elbows to be raised uncomfortably, leading to tension, which in turn leads to poor drumming technique.
4. Set the position of the toms and cymbals
The floor tom should be about the same height as the snare – so adjust the floor tom legs to make the surface of the floor tom the same height as the snare skin. You might want to angle the floor tom so it slopes towards you slightly.
The rack toms are adjusted either by the tom mounts that attach to the bass drum or they have their own clamps which are fixed to cymbal stands or a drum rack. Whichever type of tom mounting system you use, you should be able to find a suitable angle and position for the toms. These should be in easy reach without having to stretch or lean forwards.
Cymbals should be above the kit so that to play them you move your arms upwards, not forwards. Just like the idea you applied to the position of the toms, you shouldn’t need to lean or lose your balance on the drum stool when you play the cymbals.
Further advice
If you need some further advice, please send us an email and we’ll be happy to help. Contact Us.
About Elephant Drums
Elephant Drums provides drum lessons and drumming courses at professional drum studios in London. We can also visit students in their own homes if he/she has a drum kit at home. We also offer a set-up service for people that have just bought a drum kit and need help assembling it.
Your pics are great but I do think the stool should be directly behind the snare and not slightly to the right as shown. By doing that you have broken the rule shown in the first pic.
Best wishes
they do that so if you like to play at a angle you can
The picture looks fine to me. If you look at the position of the pedals the setup is rotated slightly counter-clockwise, so the stool really is directly behind the snare.
That’s exactly how I have it… my snare slightly to the left.
okay hold up (as people used to say): i agree with the “10 and 2” or “11 and 1” o’clock positions for the feet. however, this only seems to work for me with two bass drums.
if you use these positions with a double pedal, you’re putting two much of a bend in the u-joints (or whatever your pedal has) and even if you use fancy modern ‘z-link’ or axis or whatever, you end up with a loss of playing motion.
the crux of the matter for me – if i put the bass drum pedal and hi hat pedal in these positions described above, yes my feet are comfortable and my back, etc…but then the hi hat is way (i mean waaaay) too far to hit!
Thanks for your comment Voi. That’s a useful point to bear in mind if you’re setting up with double pedals.
The ultimate fix (for me) was swapping my hi hat with the slave pedal of my axis. Now the hi hat is at the same position it would be without a double pedal + there`s no need for weird double pedal – angles. The only difficulty here is: you may need to fit your dp`s drive shaft through the legs of your hi hat stand, in case there`s three of them.
It never fails. The page is meant to be an instructional help to someone who wants to set up a kit.
But the majority of people commenting are the thread bashers that lie in wait to pounce with their argumentative “I know better”.
Thanks, Mark. I’m 100% a beginner, and just need rudimentary advice so I don’t smack my hands/arms together! I’ll get into more advanced stuff much later, but for now I just need to be physically comfortable and able to begin learning.
I’m with mark about all the feedback comments. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the drums and life just allowed me the time and opportunity to try it out. I just bought a drum-set from a local dude who just upgraded his equipment and have/had no idea how to set it up correctly. My original plan was set it in the corner and go at it blindly. I have now rearranged my room and said to myself, “Let me look online for some guidance.” Thanks for the step by step tips on how to set it up correctly. I will check in, in a year or two from now to let you know how I’m doing.
Just bought a second hand electric drum kit for my son…and this guide is really useful for set-up; one question though…I see there are “4 drums”… but what are they…snare? Toms? Etc…for a total novice novice…it would be good to, say, number each item or label them? Then, when I come to set up the kit I’ll have an idea what goes where!!
Maybe it’ll be obvious when I get it out the car boot…but any advice would be great!!
I know, from what I have and bought, I have, hihat pedal (L), bass pedal (R), then two “symbols” hihat (immediate Left), then Symbol on the right of it….
Then 4 “drums”… But what should go where? I think “between the legs(ish)” is the snare…but the others?
Many thanks for your help…or direction to relevant page!!
Mike, I too, have wanted to play all my life and at 52 just bought my first kit. My first instructor had it set up to his liking and as I’ve started getting more of a “feel” I wanted to start over and realized I didn’t know where to start (long since fired instructor – got tired of listening to how his ex really did him wrong). Thanks for all the info and good luck Mike!
This is a great starting point and the advice on starting with your feet is spot on. As for the diagram, it is a great starting point! Everyone has to tweak for their own style. Best tip from me is – if you are getting cramps or you are mid-hitting… something is wrong. Also, try playing with your eyes closed. It will show up what needs corrected! Cheers guys. J
Thanks for the heads up bud
I appear to be cross footed as well as cross handed, meaning I’m dominant in my right hand but see out of my left eye. With my feet I keep beat with my left foot but prefer my right hand for main expression and my left for accent.
The question is should I set up left handed for my left foot to be on the bass.
Just set up the way that is most comfortable to you, this article was only to guide you but in the end it’s about playing to your best possible and still be comfortable.
Really helpful – thanks
As a new beginner, it really helps me.
Thanks alot
So I’ve been playing the same Gretsch kit for 50 years, very occasionally; and have recently added a variety of cymbals to have more than just a hi-hat and ride. I have a floor tom and a single tom mounted on the bass, tilted toward me and toward the right. (I am right handed) I still drum with my left hand in the traditional mode (underhanded). Here’s what I’m finding: the hi-hat is interfering with my left hand. Particularly when I’m riding on the closed hi-hat and want to hit the tom-tom with the left. I’ve been moving and re-tilting the tom around on the bass and raising and lowering the hi-hat. But even with the hi-hat really high, I can catch the back of my left stick on the bottom side of the hi-hat. I sit just to the right of snare per your picture. Any suggestions?
A couple of quick suggestions for you Eric:
You could try raising the hi-hat up a little. This should allow a little more “clearance” between your right hand and left hand.
Also, take a look at your right hand position – if your hand is too close to your body (especially a problem if you tend to play with your hand down low by your leg), then adjust this until you find a position that allows you to do the stroke without the interference you described.
the right ways to roll a drum
Hi Elephant drums. Fantastic step by step guide on assembling and setting up the drum kit. It’s great that your readers learn how to set up the drum kit in a professional manner before embarking on their journey as expert drummers. This will certainly help nip any bad habits in the bud before they get out of hand.
Big thanks for sharing this
Hi everyone. When I was just starting out in drumming, I remember learning how to set up drums using a lot of different materials. It involved a lot of trial and error with different heights, adjustments, positions. It can help you discover what works best for your own body. But this is a good guide for someone who needs to know how to begin.