Instructions for Groove Percussion Drum Set-up
Groove Percussion makes standard drum kits which are considered low-end or entry-level in the U.S. market. Unlike more expensive intermediate or pro-level kits, which typically come as a drums-only "shell pack" -- Groove Percussion kits come complete with drums, hardware and cymbals. If you purchase the kit from a local drum store, the staff can advise you about setting up the drums for the first time. If you purchase the kit online, it will most likely come disassembled, with drum shells packed inside one another in two or more boxes.
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Instructions
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Take all the drum parts out of the boxes and lay them on a carpeted floor.
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2
Lay the three tom toms and the bass drum shell on the floor, with the logo on the drum badges facing upright. Find the thicker drum heads -- most likely double ply -- and place one drum head over each drum shell. The most common drum diameters for a standard Groove Percussion kit are 12, 13, 16 and 22 inches.
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3
Lay a drum hoop over each drum head you have placed on the drum. Dip a key rod in lithium grease, pass it through the hold in the drum hoop and finger-tighten it into each drum lug. Each tom tom will have five to eight rods and lugs on each side. With your drum key, tighten all the key rods on each drum so they are at equal tension and the drum is "tuned."
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4
Invert the tom toms and bass drums, and lay the thinner, single-ply heads over the other side of each shell. As before, use key rods to attach the hoop over the head and tune the drum using your drum key.
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5
Loosen the wing nuts attached to the two bass drum spurs. Position the bass drum spurs so they are pointing out from the drum shell along a line parallel with the bass drum heads. Place the bass drum on the floor so both heads are vertical and the bass drum spurs point down into the floor. Attach the bass drum pedal to the bass drum rim where it meets the floor.
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6
Loosen the hardware attachment on top of the bass drum. Insert one tom arm into each hole of the attachment. Mount the rack toms -- those with 12 and 13-inch diameters -- over the bass drum by inserting a tom arm into the mount on each drum, then tightening the wing nut. Adjusting the angle and height of the tom arms changes the position of these drums. As you face the bass drum from the side with the bass drum pedal attached, the 12-inch tom will be on your left and the 13-inch drum on your right.
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7
Unscrew the wing nuts on the tom leg holders attached to the floor tom shell. Insert one floor tom leg into each of the three holders, then tighten the wing nuts. Stand the floor tom on these legs, to the right of the 13-inch rack tom.
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Set up all the remaining hardware for the drum kit -- a hi-hat pedal, a cymbal stand and the snare drum stand. All have tripod legs which are loosened with a wing nut, placed into position then re-tightened.
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9
Place the snare drum stand slightly to the left of the 12-inch rack tom. Open the three arms of the snare stand and place the drum on the stand. Tighten the arms to hold the snare drum in place. The snare drum typically comes assembled and roughly tuned from the factory.
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10
Mount the cymbal on the cymbal stand and place it between the 13-inch rack tom and the floor tom. Unscrew and remove the hi-hat clutch from its stand. Place the bottom hi-hat cymbal on the hi-hat stand, and assemble the clutch around the top hi-hat cymbal. Return the clutch -- with cymbal -- to the hi-hat stand, and press down on the pedal slightly. With the pedal depressed, tighten the clutch on the hi-hat pin so the pair of cymbals will open and close with the pedal motion. Place the hi-hat pedal to the left of the snare drum.
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Put a drum throne or stool behind the kit and you are ready to play!
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Tips & Warnings
The instructions above are for a standard right-handed setup. Left-handed drummers may wish to reverse the order of the drums, with the hi-hat and snare on the right of the kit, and the floor tom on the left.
References
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