Should drummers pay for drums?

Pipers spend a fortune on pipes,

The initial purchase,

Silvering etc,

New bag every year,

Drone reeds,

Chanter and reeds too,

Seasoning

Ross system etc


Drummers buy a set of sticks for whenever they lose them,

So, should drummers pay for their drums? I think they should,

Pipers seem to have all the money going out, drummers spend a tenner a year on kit,

what do you all think

Being a drummer and skint I would say no. Pipers can use their pipes for other things rather than playing in the band. Like, pipers can use their pipes for making money for Weddings, parties, Burns Suppers, Solo Piping Comps, playing for Highland Dancing, Busking so on and so on and they can really make their money back on the pipes. Drummers can play in solo drumming comps but couldnt really do anything else with a drum.

One more thing, a piper can do all the things I listed above when they retire from playing in the band. What would a drummer do with a drum cluttering up their house??? The most it would do would be collect stoor. Whereas the drum is paid for by the pipeband and can be passed on to someone else.

when you want to change bands, as a piper all you have to change is the reed's and stuff. A drummer would have to change his drum, as the colors would be different

(FYI i do have my own drum )

Another thing I just thought of is. Its the pipers own choice to spend the extra money on the pipes for the silvering. All drummers can do is change sticks or put a new drum skin on.

Too right they should pay, either that or pay fer our swallies.

Redneck wrote:Too right they should pay, either that or pay fer our swallies.

Behave yersel man !!!!!its no just the drum heads that are Tight

aye... look at richard daughter........................................


right.. all see yeez next century..

Robbie.Crow wrote:aye... look at richard daughter........................................


right.. all see yeez next century..

Yer a brave man

I will send my apologies to Redneck now!! sorry m8 yeh better be quick cause if i get him 1st there will be nothing left for you to kick !!!!

bang goes ma plans for this season..

new plan: move to australia

Robbie.Crow wrote:

bang goes ma plans for this season..

new plan: move to australia

...or maybe to Chile? Then again, maybe not, Alex is here.

Redneck wrote:Too right they should pay, either that or pay fer our swallies.

never has a truer thing been said.

Robbie.Crow wrote:when you want to change bands, as a piper all you have to change is the reed's and stuff. A drummer would have to change his drum, as the colors would be different

(FYI i do have my own drum )

It's not just the colour. Bands use a brand of Drum. So if you own a Premier and move to a band that plays Adantes, you would have to buy a new drum. If you play with more than one band, you would need more than one drum. Totally impractical.
Having said that, some drummers do own their own drum, but still have to use the band drum for band gigs.

yeah. I just own my own coz i like andante and the band like premier

Good points all round guys,

Begs the question, are drummers just cheap???

What about a higher band levy for drummers?

They cost the band a lot of money with a new set of buckets every 2/3 years

Some of that in Northern Ireland is recouped by selling them on to Flute bands.

But it is still a 5000 - 8000 bill every few years

So, will even I admit, that we need drummers, but is there a way of evening the costs involved?

A sheepskin bag is £150, seasoning about £7 per tub, best part of £200 to get a piper through the year .

I really think Redneck has hit the ideal solution