I would think that storing them sitting on their rims would be the safest bet. I would stakc'em in the corner somewhere so as to get them out of the way. I wouldn't store them on their side. I'm not sure if it is necessarily bad for them, but it doesn't sound as safe as storing them on a flat surgace.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Well, yes...if you are gonna leave 'em for a period of time, on the hoops is the best way. Keep in mind if you stack 'em on each others' heads, you will have to retune when the time comes. I have come to stroring them like this but with some thin pcs of plywood on between.

Granted, storing on their sides would probably be OK too....[/COLOR]

As long as the environment doesn't have wild fluctuations of temperature, is not overly humid or overly dry, and is weather-protected, either way would be OK. I find warpage of shells having occurred under the above conditions, when something was stacked atop the shell sideways, or when the head was left cranked on a thin shell for, like, 20 years, etc...

There aren't too many temperature changes (indoor in California! Heated to comfort in winter, cooled to comfort in summer. I know, it's sad.....I'm a product of my environment.) I had just heard a while back ( I think from the guy that I bought my slingies from) that it was bad to set them on their sides.

I never had to deal with it, 'cause they were always set up. Now I figured I'd ask the gurus. There's this part of me that would hate to store them standing up in a pile, 'cause it'd be too much like walking into Guitar Genter, at which point I'd want to impale myself on a nice splintery 2B stick.

I'm gathering that as long as I'm careful (especially if cased) either way works.

Thanks for the help!

Troy

I would like to bump this up and see if I can add a variable.

I want to store my snares on their side on 2 boards like the picture shows.

I have seen pictures of collections in Rob Cooks books and they show Gary Asher and Gary Nelson and others with their drums stored on their sides.

Here's a quick pic of mine. Do you really think this is a bad thing? It sure seems like it would lead to warping but those collectors would never store their drums in a manner to endanger them, would they?

One way you dont want to store vintage drums for an extended period of time is set up. While I keep a set at the church where I play, I always pull the 12" tom off the mount, rather than leaving it set up for several months. Floor toms on legs arent going to get hurt, bass drums on spurs, same thing. But when you have a hanging tom thats 8-12 lbs for months and months, I think its best not to leave it like that when you dont need it.

Most of my snare drums are stored on their side on a special shelf I built.

[IMG]http://inlinethumb30.webshots.com/44317/2506052980028342110S600x600Q85.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks TP. Wow, what a pretty collection of snares. I think they look nice displayed like that.

I have mine set up or stacked on-end. They are on a rubber-backed carpeted floor. I feel that, due to the physical nature of the cylindrical structures involved, the best way is to stack drums is on-end because any load force placed on them when they are stacked is uniform and directed to the strongest aspect of the shape. Also, the "spring" or "piston" nature of the drumhead gives some shock absorbing to the stack.

A kind of "cradle" shelf (as pictured) would work fine, too. It just isn't as practical for my collection because I don't have that many snare drums. I have mostly drum sets.

As far as leaving them set up, I find it to be preferable....because that way, I play them! In some ways, I feel like I want to maintain my collection as best as I can, but, at the same time, I still enjoy playing the drums more than maintaining them. I mean, I'm mature enough that I won't throw them off the stage at the end of my 15-minute extended drum solo....like I used to dream I would do....but I also don't keep them hermetically sealed inside a pyramid, either.

I can confirm that. My 3-ply Slingerland bass shell is slightly flattened around the rail consolette because the drums spent a few decades in a basement with the 13" tom mounted on the rail.

I'd say leaving 'em set up too long is bad, at least on some kinds of mounts, but I can't tell you how long is too long.