The only time I consciously named my drums was when I put together my first two Tempus snares, just to quickly differentiate between the two. For example, the emerald green glitter drum was dubbed (not surprisingly) "Emmie," and that kind of stuck. For me, the whole "name your drums" thing lost steam very quickly. It just doesn't occur to me to take a drum I've just built or purchased, and say, "I dub thee..."
I've only got one drum set, simply referred to as "the
Ludwigs" (notwithstanding the one 10"
Pearl tom I've added to them). However, most of my snare drums have developed very obvious nicknames, usually having to do with:
- manufacturer names; the "Manu Katche signature snare" from
Yamaha was shortened to "The Manu;" an old Wurlitzer snare drum is known as "The Wurli," etc. Predictable stuff.
- shell materials: "the walnut," "the bubinga," "the copper," etc. This is by far the most common source of nicknames for my snare drums.
- occasionally, a nickname will develop out of something unique to that drum's development. One snare drum has become known to the drummer in my vibes trio and me, as the "Hot Tomato's snare," because right after I put it together, I brought it to a gig we played at a restaurant by that name. Another shell came from a now defunct company in Rochester, NY, yielding the obvious name of "the Rochester snare."
Linear Mode
