{"id":962,"date":"2022-09-27T13:26:13","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T17:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drumminginsider.com\/?p=962"},"modified":"2022-09-27T13:26:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T17:26:18","slug":"storing-drums-in-the-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drumminginsider.com\/storing-drums-in-the-cold\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Drums Be Stored in the Cold?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little while ago, I wrote an article about whether or not to store the drums in the heat<\/a>. Now, after having to transport my kit at some lower temperatures in my car, it’s an equally important question if this is a good or bad idea overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moisture is the biggest enemy for wooden drums. But unless there’s also high humidity or abnormal or fast temperature changes, I wouldn’t worry about cold temperatures. Try to keep the garage dry. Cold & dampness can damage the drum wrap and make your heads go out of tune quicker.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s go ahead and check out some further details and measures that can be taken to prevent any damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Effects of Cold on Your Drum Kit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most people don’t have the space to store their drums in their house, or don’t have a separate room for it. The most popular space for storing the drums would be the garage. Because it doesn’t seal as well against the outside weather conditions, it will become very cold in the winter or very hot in the summer. However, I will focus on the cold conditions in this article, as already mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The important thing is the moisture of the air there. The drier it is, the less it will be a problem.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Apart from the moisture thing, it wouldn’t be a problem to keep the temperature low consistently. In the end, you would have to sit and play in that environment, so I guess most people would prefer to have the temperature set to a comfortable level. And if <\/p>\n\n\n\n

keeping it consistently cold and dry would be ok, but bad for you obviously. The drums don’t mind the cold if its a gradual change, but if you are heating it up in there every day or few days the shells are going to get a bit irritated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A buddy of mine left his old Premier kit setup in a damp garage. Unfortunately, it destroyed the chrome on it and started to make the inside of the shells look pretty bad as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drumheads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the quality of the drums, the effects of storing your drum heads in the cold can vary. While it’s still ideal to store your drums at room temperature if your drum heads are higher quality, then you shouldn’t have too much of an issue storing them in the cold, provided the space is dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for lower quality drumsets, you could experience some warping or cracking if you store them at extremely cold temperatures for a long period of time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you store your drumheads in a cold space for an extended period of time, it can cause them to go out of tune more quickly. Not the biggest deal, but definitely worth mentioning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shells<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like others said as long as the humidity is low it shouldn’t be a problem. I would say if it drops below freezing you may want to relocate to somewhere warmer…you’d hate to split your grain because of moisture in the wood expanding when it freezes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stored a kit (in soft cases) in a garage for about 18 months and although the shells remained in round, the bass drum hoops got really warped<\/strong>. I’d avoid it if at all possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wrap<\/strong>! I think a wrap would fare worse actually. It could separate. Lacquer might check, but it hasn’t happened to my kit. I think the checking happens when the temp changes too quickly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cymbals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Also, don’t only consider your drums…what about your cymbals.<\/strong> If you are a hard hitter, playing in the cold is a big no-no. My brother has shattered a cymbal in the cold before! ouch!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that you’re cymbals aren’t ice cold when you start playing. I’d say put your heater on for at least a few minutes before you start playing. If you hit a freezing cold cymbal for any amount of time it’s probably going to crack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah same with cymbals. I think the temperature doesn\u2019t matter but if they\u2019re really cold you gotta let them acclimatize to room temperature before playing them or they crack easily. Guess the same applies to a wooden snare<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Is Moisture so Bad?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’ve explained what cold is doing. But WHY? What’s the explanation behind those outcomes? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storing your drum set in a moist area for an extended period of time can cause significant warping and cracking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is especially the case if your drums are stored in an environment that constantly fluctuates between dry and moist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Make Your Garage a Safer Place<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tipps what you can do to make the garage a better AND SAFER place<\/p>\n\n\n\n