That is actually part and parcel of how I run my company. It's all in the details my friend.

What kind of company???

We do everything from lighting and scenic design, 3D modeling and visualization to complete production and logistics turnkey services for live events. Along with that we provide some equipment rentals including backline. I added the backline rental service for long term tour rentals where getting gear from standard vendors was far too expensive. I gernerally do not compete with the typical rental houses like S.I.R. as there is no profit in my renting a single amp, keyboard, etc. My rentals are almost exclusively tours or cruise ships for the various "music cruises" where I can send multiple drum kits, amps and keys. For end users our packaging is pretty great. Always new heads and spares, at least three snares with each kit, plently of spares, etc. Basically it's just a chance for me to let someone else buy a bunch of fun toys for me.

Very Cool! My Brother is the General Manager for Miller pro audio's lubbock location. They have warehouses all over the southwest. Any time they need some drums for back line I rent them to them. I can usually satisfy the riders. I get more to rent drums for a night than drummers get for playing around here, and I don't have to hump gear. The only problem I ever have is when they specify certain heads. Even if I have them its sort of a pain to change all the heads, but I use a drill bit drum key and a drum dial to get that done. It's not uncommon for me to get a call for a kit they need that night. In this case they have to take what I give. I leave a sonor kit with them all the time and keep all the cymbals here. That way they can't rent out my kit without me knowing.

Good plan on the cymbal deal. You are right about the rental rates vs. playing rates. That is kind of sad, but it is the nature of the market. As to heads, my typical set up is Evans G2 coated on tom batters, Remo CS coated on snares and Aquarian Super Kick II on kick drums. I tell clients that I need to know a week in advance if a drummer wants something specific. The reason I go with those choices are as follows:

G2 coated heads (or Emperor coated heads) are an acceptable choice for most drummers, they tune up quickly, and one can always add a little Moon Gel, gaffer's tape, etc. if they want t a little less sustain. I have also found that they last really well for most drummers. When I send drums out on cruises they will be gone for a week or more and will have had a dozen shows played on them. Usually the onsite techs do not have the time to swap out heads on anything other than snares. With very few exceptions, the G2's hold up really well. I did have one drummer on a tour that managed to dent the tom heads on every show over a 35 minute set. He played hard but so do a lot of guys. His technique was just complete crap. Very weird.

Coated CS heads for snares work as, again, most drummers are used to seeing these and they view it as a reasonable snare head choice. Basically, they are just more durable than an ambassador and not nearly as tubby as an emperor. The dot takes out some of the ring that a lot guys are trying to loose anyway.

I actually am pretty fond of the Evans eMAD heads if you are looking for a contemporary kick drum sound. The problem from a touring standpoint is the external muffling ring. Handling the drum everyday and putting it in and out of cases I find that the eMAD muffler ring generally ends up damaged. The SuperKick II's internal ring solves that problem and still sounds pretty similar. As with the tom and snare head choices, most drummers walk in and see a SK II and think that is a reasonable choice for a kick drum head. I have not done much in the way of investigation of some of the Remo Power Stroke heads. That might be interesting.

I keep a large stock of all of those heads on hand and ready to go. As to resonant heads, I either use clear G1 or coated G1 depending on the kit. Since all my rentals require new heads, I also have a pretty large stock of used heads that are in varying condition. I only throw out the ones that are obviously beyond use. I then try to give the used heads to local kids. I will contact high school kids that I know play drums and ask them to send me their sizes and I'll give them some slightly used heads. The funny thing is that they hardly ever respond. If someone was willing to give me drum heads when I was that age.....

Another thing I find interesting is to see what snare drums get used on rentals. As mentioned, I generally send three per kit. If I know the artist in question and their rider specs, I'll meet that with one, send a spare that is similar for a spare and then send out something I think they might find interesting. When the drums are going out on festivals or cruises where there will be multiple acts, I try to send a variety. I am always interested to see what got used when the gear comes back. Occasionally, when I have a lot going on I have to dip into the vintage snares. They hardly ever get used. I can picture some kid looking at the selection and saying "what's up with this old Ludwig drum?" I have a Supra that I bought on eBay that had the typical chrome peeling issue. The previous owner had it stripped and power coated black. It looks great and sounds great; possibly a little more dry than a standard Supra. It gets used a lot, but I am guessing there are a lot of guys that simply assume it is a Black Beauty!