Tim Sellars' drum set setup for Hairspray at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand, for Showbiz Christchurch.
"I have played many different musicals throughout the years and this was one of the most enjoyable drum books I have played so far, involving a variety of styles and great grooves.
Enjoyable 60's pop, Big Band swing numbers and a little Latin feel (like the rumba in 'Miss Baltimore Crabs'). For our season of Hairspray, the band consisted of drums, percussion, bass, guitar, trombone, trumpet, and two keyboards (with other instruments on track). I used The Miller Machine on the tune 'I Can Hear The Bells' where I was playing it in a hi-hat/cross-stick groove and had this mounted on my left side using a Gibraltar single post percussion clamp. You can never have too many of these clamps (I use many of them in the different shows that I play).
You'll notice that I have a heavy set up of gear on my left side and this is due to me playing open handed. I'm left handed but right footed so when I first started playing the drums it felt natural to play on a right handed kit. Overall, great show to play and looking forward to the next one.
On being a left handed drummer.
When I began drumming at the age of 13 I sat down at the kit and naturally played the hi-hat with my left hand and the bass drum with my right foot. I have some mixed dominance (left handed, right footed) so this felt comfortable to me. The main difference with my set up is that I put the ride cymbal over by the first rack tom (everything else would be a normal set up for a right hander).
Through the years I’ve started to come across more drummers with this set up and it’s always interesting to read why they play like this. I saw a clip on Simon Phillips explaining that he changed from playing cross handed to open handed because he liked the feeling of having his toms open to him.
In terms of other instruments, I play congas left handed but then I play all my Middle-East and Brazilian percussion right handed so there’s definitely a strong mix in me.”
Drums: Taye RockPro
- 20" Bass Drum
- 14" Floor Tom
- 12" Rack Tom
- 10" Rack Tom
- 14" Snare Drum
Cymbals (left to right):
- Bosphorus 13" Hammer Series Hi-Hats
- Bosphorus 18" Traditional Series Paper Thin Crash
- Zildjian 21" K Constantinople Big Band Ride Cymbal
- Zildjian 17" A Custom crash
Heads: All Remo
- Bass Drum - Powerstroke 3 for both batter and resonant heads
- Snare Drum - Coated Ambassador batter and Clear Ambassador snare side
- Toms - Coated Emperor's for batter and Clear Ambassadors for resonant
Percussion:
- LP Cyclops Jingle Tambourine
- Miller Machine with TreeWorks 5" Triangle
- Gibraltar Single Post Accessory Mount (using two)
Sticks/Brushes/Mallets:
- Zildjian Bill Stewart Signature Sticks
- Vic Firth SD2 Bolero Sticks
- Regal Tip Classic Brushes
- Vic Firth T1 General Timpani Mallets
Hairspray - International - Tim Sellars
June 2016
