One of the strangest OCD things ive seen is another drummer that couldnt play unless he had a full sized mirror to look at him self in. No Joke.
His band mates told me they had broke a few when trying to go from show to show.Very weird watching him pulling all sorts of faces at himself, great player though!!
I admit to liking my logos over the badge and specifying that to someone who refurbishes my drums. I'm fairly loose about other stuff, although I'll make a special trip to replace a top cymbal felt.
I am certainly OCD about that stuff. When in doubt, the head logo goes over the badge. Of course, on a lot of DW drums they put two badges on there which only makes sense, so I line up the logo with the badge that faces downstage. If I am going to have the drums on a rack then I put the logos over the mount since that will then place the logo away from me.
I tend to obsess a bit about things like matching cymbal felts. Are they the same size, do I have the black ones or grey ones, etc.
One thing I am curious about; how do you guys place a snare drum? From the beginning I always put the snares running straight up and down in front of me with the strainer dead center in between my legs. Of course, this is not the most convenient place for a strainer, but my thought was simply orchestral in nature in that, regardless of where you play on the drum (from ppp at the very edge to fff at the center) you always played over the snares. Of course then I had to put my batter logo over the butt plate.
Over the past few years I have been looking at where a lot of manufacturers have placed their badges and it appears, if one were to have the badge facing downstage, then the strainer would be over by one's left hand with snare wires running more or less left to right. Any comments?
I play trad grip so running the snares from left to right, with the strainer on the right, makes ergonomic sense. When I hold my sticks over the drum, the left stick is coming into the head from 9 o'clock and the right stick from 4 o'clock, right over the snares. If you play matched grip it doesn't matter so much I guess.
Ditto on the head logo/badge thing. They always have to be at the top/12 o'clock position on the heads or it makes me crazy. Hell of a thing.
John
I pour my Skittles out on the table and line 'em up by color.....
Ha~! I thought this was all *normal* LOL. I do the same thing with the logo's on the heads. When I clean and detail the shells I always pick the best looking lugs to go on front and work my way to the back. Same with the hoops. On my old WMP bass drum it came with skin heads. I put the batter side back in the same spot as it's the sweet spot for the head. Reso side had to have the RK logo at 12:00.
Laughing H
John that's interesting on your snare placement. I always have the strainer throwoff at about 8:00 and use my left hand.
When I used to play out I always marked the stands and tom mounts for placement with a sharpie. This got me close with minor adjustments.
Like John, I play with the traditional grip and have the strainer located in the same position. My sticks are also held in the same manner. Because I play with my old Stars at least once a week, I make sure that the shiniest, most perfect part of all of the rims (including the bottoms) are facing the audience, in line with the badge. This is another question: Do any of you gentlemen find yourself counting a lot? I don't mean just while drumming but, in everyday situations. For instance, I must brush my teeth until a certain number has been reached. In the gym, I must count to a specific number between sets. It goes on...
Brian
I thought that lining up the head logo with the badge was a given with all drummers. I don't think it is being OCD. It is being consistent and precise.
It's only OCD if it 'bothers you' when it's not the same way every time!
Salty - mild OCD for sure. It's the same for people who wash their hands constantly, counting things out is one of the milder OCD symptoms. Your behavior falls well within what is considered 'normal ranges of behavior'.
It is only when a compulsion starts to interfere with your ability to function and interact normally that it is considered to be a 'disorder' requiring help. If it doesn't stop you from otherwise getting on with life, you're good to go.
We -all- have a little OCD about one thing or another. I have long suspected it of drummers because we all deal with 'repeating patterns' when we play.
John
At the poker tables, I always align the lines on the edges of the chips to form a singular, vertical stripe up the side of the chip stack. I do this everytime, at least when I have enough chips to stack....Falling Do
