Drum Slings and Harnesses

[Bill Carr]

What are the majority of Pipe Band Drummers using to hold the drums nowadays? Webbing slings/harnesses or the solid frame type drum holders?

I'm also interested in the reasons for your choice.

Thanks

Bill Carr

[Matt Wood]

Bill,

Most bands that I know are using carriers. They are made by XL for prepier and marketted under both XL and Premier. Gordon Brown came out with a collapsible harness that is beginning to gain in popularity. As a dealer these are the ones I have seen. Pearl also makes a carrier, but so far it is bulkier than the others and does not seem to be as popular. My understanding is that Pearl is(has) made another carrier that is lightweight, but I have not seen it yet.

Why...the sling was what was used for many years, but it puts pressure on the back on one shoulder and uses the knee to balance the drum. The carrier evenly places the weight on both shoulders and usses a belly plate to balance and support the drum in front of the body. The sling seemed to angle the drum in towards the player. From what I am told the carrier allows the drum to project its sound better as the sound is not going in towards the body.

As a piper this about the best I can do. Hope it helps.

[Spunky]

You will find that just about ever band's drummers are using a carrier. I don't think they look as good but I guess they have to comfortable first. The drums of today are far lighter than they were just a few years ago. I don't know how the guys got through a parade with the belts.

[Southwest-Side]

I come from a long background of Marching drumming. Started in Drum & Bugle Corps, now Highland drumming. Have played with straps, Tubular harness, Fiberglas harness, Steel harness, Aluminum harness. The newer Aluminum harness is the absolute only way to go......well that was until the Magnesium came out. Sure they look like crap, but the sound and visual integrety of the line is what you should be after. It just puts the drum were it needs to be and keeps it there. If you want to see the newest look, check out Pearl's high tec Baby.
http://www.pearldrum.com/02_wnamm3.html ( way at the bottom of the page)

I hope this helped

Todd D/S IHPB

[SBDHammer]

Relatively new to the bass drumming scene, I would like to add my 2p here. I use the old fashioned "leather maiden" belt type harness, simply because that's what my D/S wants me to use, "for looks". It's not terribly uncomfortable, especially when you have the drum on it. An ample supply of beer provides the support in the front for the drum ;-). I have tried the "shoulder hooks" with the belly plates, and I still personally prefer the "leather maiden".

[World's 2010]

I've used most of the many types of slings and harnesses that are currently on the market, and I would agree with what most people are saying about harnesses. I've started using them for a while now and I find them much more comfortable than slings. I'm currently using the TG Brown harness. I've used the Premier before, but the TG Brown is lighter and I find it much more comfortable. But if you were to stick with a sling I'd recommend the Drum Slinger. I found it to be quite comparable to the harness in terms of comfort and stability, well... at least as far as slings go.

[Paul Wood]

For the past few years off and on I have been having some back pain. My left leg has been going numb off and on and I have been getting lower back pain.

So off to the Chiropractor I go for a few X Ray's ...Lo and Behold as I peer at my cattywhompus spine. Looking at the x ray, you can see how wearing the sling across the right shoulder down to the drum on the left side curved my spine. My chiro agrees that this is most definitely what caused the damage.

I wore a sling from about age 10 til around 24ish. The last couple of years I have been using the harness. Although I started using a harness, I never had the damage undone until now. (Well I am working on the damage). But I have noticed in the past few years that the pain isn't as constant. I don't kow if it is coincidence or not but I think the way the harness wears is an improvement. <img border="0" alt="[thinker]" title="" src="graemlins/thinker1.gif" />

Paul

[Scott Newton]

The drum and bugle corps community switched from slings to harnesses (carriers) long ago (about 1980ish). This was done initially to help facilitate more demanding marching moves (sidestepping, etc.)

I must admit I prefer the look of the drums on slings; there's just something neat and traditional about the swagger of a drummer and the bounce of the drums as the band marches into the circle.

However, from a comfort and health standpoint, the carriers are superior. Just make sure that it is adjusted so that the belly plate actually rests against the pelvis, and not high on the stomach. This will dramatically reduce lower back strain.

My right shoulder used to be toast by the end of a two-day Highland games, and this was back when I was in my mid-20's. Now, as I approach 40, I can go all day with the drum on the carrier without too much trouble.

In addition to the XL carriers the Randall May Mag T-Bar carriers (avilable through Pearl) are worth a look. Very light weight and very comfortable.

[rpeitzsch]

I delayed getting a harness for the longest time and wish now that I hadn't waited. The sling would reduce the blood flow in my right arm and my right hand would be numb by the end of the MSR which made playing the reel rather difficult. :D

[Kimberly Rudge]

Atlanta Pipe Band (Grades III and IV) are still on slings.

Will restrict further comment, as I've learned there's no arguing it. :(

[redhairedpiper]

We just now approved the use of the harness over the sling, pretty much for all the reasons listed above. One extra one, is that I've noticed some damage to the kilts, either from the leg rest or some part of the drum is wearing the fabric, causing it to sort of fray and get pulled from the weave. This is not cool, as two of the kilts are just a year old. :(

[Island Drummer]

Previous e-mail brings up a good point. Which wear a kilt over time more--harness or sling/leg rest? My band using nylon web slings, but is thinking about switch to harness (for Pearls). It is an expensive decision to move to harness (probably out of pocket since we are small and have little $$). Cannot afford to have regrets.

[Matt Wood]

[ Which wear a kilt over time more--harness or sling/leg rest? My band using nylon web slings, but is thinking about switch to harness (for Pearls).

The Harness will have less if no wear than the sling/legrest. I usually supply XL Harnesses for the Pearls; cost effective and fairly lightweight.

[redhairedpiper]

The harness has little or no contact with the kilt from what I can see, and the only part that might has foam padding. Good advice above, about making sure the plate sits at the hip bones. these drums are heavy, and we don't want anymore pain and suffering than absolutely necessary. (Unless inflicted by us pipers!!!)

[KateMcM]

We use a seatbelt web sling that I made myself and got the idea from one of the guys in the band. Unlike most drum slings I have seen, our slings have a waist strap that attaches to the drum itself at 2 of the bolts. We also have a shoulder strap. Attaching the waist strap to drum in the 2 places reduces greatly the swing of the drum and it allows the wearer to tighten the waist strap so that most of the drum weight is resting on your hips and not your shoulders, just like the belly band on a backpack. I keep my shoulder harness very loose. It proves to be comfortable. It is the leg rest that bothers me more in a long parade. It seems as though it is always "walking" my kilt up on my left leg and I have to keep lifting my drum to free the kilt up. I did try a carrier once and it felt very awkward and weird to have the drum out in front. I know that it was only a few inches out, but it seemed to be so far away from me. I also noticed immediate lower back pain when wearing the carrier. Is this something that you can adjust the carrier to decrease the pressure or do I just need to get tummy muscles :) , or both?

[Celtic Mitch]

For the last few years I have had a contstant hip dislocation problem and bouts of bursitis in my shoulder, not severe, but enough to be unfortable. My Chiro said it was from carrying the drum on my leg from the time I was 12. It can't be good to carry that kind of weight for many years, this using a nylon sling and I think that the new harnesses are the way to go. One of our drummers has designed his own using a clear plexiglass belly plate, they don't look as industrial as the others. I have heard of pipers having similar problems with shoulders and backs because of the weight of thier drones. What are we doing to ourselves here, I heard this was supposed to be fun :shrug:

[Lead_Drummer]

I disagree. I think (as a drummer's point view)that the drum sling have always been confortable. yes that drum are heavy, but wouldn't the drum harness apply more weight? I think that if a new drummer is starting out on parade that the harness does prevent the drum from swaing back and forth when marching. But as the drummer gets more experience they will be more in control of their drum. Most people I know that use the slings put seat belt covers on the part covering their neck. When attending highland games, I find that drummers with light slings look more comfortable that looking at drummers with big, bulking harness that some would not even put on a horse.

Thank you, :thumb:

[Drew McPheeters]

Originally posted by Lead_Drummer:
I disagree. I think (as a drummer's point view)that the drum sling have always been confortable. yes that drum are heavy, but wouldn't the drum harness apply more weight? I think that if a new drummer is starting out on parade that the harness does prevent the drum from swaing back and forth when marching. But as the drummer gets more experience they will be more in control of their drum. Most people I know that use the slings put seat belt covers on the part covering their neck. When attending highland games, I find that drummers with light slings look more comfortable that looking at drummers with big, bulking harness that some would not even put on a horse.

Thank you, :thumb: The harness weighs about 3-4 lbs. But from an ergonomic standpoint all the weight is distributed evenly across both shoulders. The people that have problems with their backs from harnesses are people that have poor posture, from my experience. This is especially true from people making the conversions from slings to harnesses. I feel the slings tended to make people hunch over, and they translated that posture to harnesses which is the WRONG :eek: thing to do, form a health and comfort standpoint. And I think the example you use of the seat-belt cover illustrates the point. They ARE uncomfortable to a lot of people.

Slings have a lot of benefits, since they are light, easy to transport, quickly adjustable, low maintenance, visually less obtrusive, and have an aura of tradition about them. That said, I won't ever use them again.

[Celtic Mitch]

Did you also know that the harness does not rust when thrown into a swimming pool, but it also does not float, as the thrower inner soon found out! :lol:

[redhairedpiper]

Oh good! I was wondering about that!!! :rolleyes: :wink:

[rpeitzsch]

Gee, does this mean we'll soon see a warning sticker??
Warning: do not use as a floation device! :D

That would rank up there with:
On those silica gel packets you find in things to keep them dry: Do not eat!

On a Sear's hairdryer: Do not use while sleeping.
(darn, and that's the only time I have to work on my hair).

On packaging for a Rowenta iron: "Do not iron clothes on body."
(but wouldn't this save me more time)?

Cheers!
Rob

P.S. I've got a long list of these if anyone is interested :thumb:

[Celtic Mitch]

Hey come on now, it was a joke, but the LD did not think so as he saw it go for a swim. You guys need to lighten up! :shrug:

[rpeitzsch]

Sorry if I came across too negatively. There's a segment of the population over here that tries to protect people from themselves and many of their efforts give me great amusement, a couple of which I cited. I'd just received a long list of them and had a good long laugh when I saw your post. I could just see them wanting to add a ridiculous sticker to state the blatantly obvious: harnesses sink!

Cheers!
Rob