That's a sweet Slingerland COW. I don't really need another Slingerland kit, but COW is high on my list if a nice one becomes available.

My gloves aren't white, just the cheap brown ones you can get in 10-packs at Home Depot.

I don't consider this OCD, but I eschew assistance in tearing down unless I need to vacate the stage immediately. Otherwise, I have a system in place that has been foolproof—so far—in assuring that nothing gets left behind. I also like to take my time in tearing down: That helps to ensure that everything is done correctly, but I primarily like to go slow to help relax.

By the same token, I usually like to get to gigs much earlier than necessary because I HATE hurried setups. It's not like I'm using rulers and calipers, but my preferred MO is to have at least 45 minutes between my final adjustment and downbeat.

Al

Wow, the white kid glove care pays off. Those are super!

I'd never bother about gloves. I always maul my drums and cymbals and think nothing of it. I don't think fingerprints count as damage. I'm obviously very careful when handling drums, but wearing gloves would be a bit OTT on the TLC for me. ;) Kudos though. If it works for you then more power to ya. I'm diggin' it :)

sweaty fingerprints on chrome finish and stainless steel finish are going to damage the chrome finish and leave a lot of cleaning work on stainless steel. Especially on chrome finish stands and my cymbals, so the cotton glove idea evolved for me. It is just simple maintenance for me.

When I do it, I don't realize that I'm humming unless I catch myself.. Then I think, "What the heck am I doing that for?" It won't be to the melody of the song... just a straight, random "hum".. crazy!

I keep my stuff in nice shape with regular cleaning and inspection. I also line up the head logos with badges or at 12:00 depending on the drum. Tuning is more of a pet peeve with me than anything else. Drives me crazy when they don't sound "just right" to me. I have sometimes spent hours to days tuning some drums until I'm happy with them. Mainly with new drums (vintage of course) I've never played before. Once I know the drums tuning sweet spots it's easy to replicate. But a learing curve until then. With drum sticks I do mark the one I use in my right hand. It's just a certain balance and comfort I can feel playing with a new pair of sticks. Strange maybe.... but so am I. :D

Cotton gloves are great for when you are cleaning your chrome bits, easier on your hands as well, I use them whilst polishing and do keep them on for reassembly of the kit.. never used them other than that though.

I think that if you have cleaned enough kits you do learn to handle them a little more thoughtfully and try to keep them clean as long as possible.

Cheers

John

I have OCD about my drums, I actually suffer from this type of thing anyway....ha...as I've got older it gets worse- before a gig my cymbals have to be within fractions of an inch just the right height etc. I adjust numerous times, it's probably silly really, and if my snare doesn't sound right because of a particular room....... Etc, playing can be hard enough anyway without to much of this.

I do a lot of adjusting for ergonomics.

I also put blue painters' tape markers down so that if something gets bumped or I want to pull a drum out for tuning, I can put it back just so.

Also use the setup trick of playing with my eyes closed.

Pretty involved with tuning, to the point where I check it with iDrumTune and record the lug pitches in a book for reproducibility.

All of the above just sounds like a bunch of guys who really love their drums and care about keeping them in good condition for playing. Nothing wrong with that. It all only shows that you care. :p

John