How to Pack a Drum Set for Moving: Let the Drumbeat Move You

If you own a drum set and you’re moving out soon, then your current neighbors will probably rejoice upon hearing the news. It’s still a bit too early to know how your new neighbors will react to the sound of drumbeat… but for the time being, your priority should be to make sure your drums arrive in the new place perfectly intact.

The drum set you own is likely to have cost you a good amount of money so the last thing you’d want is to see your drums damaged in any way after the move. You must do everything in your power to protect your investment, meaning that you’re going to have to pack your drums for moving in the best possible way.

The great news in your case is that once you learn the correct method for packing drums, you’ll be able to use it whenever you have to move your drum kit again, most likely the next time you are forced to move out.

You might think it’s pretty straightforward to protect your drums for the upcoming move, but regrettably, it’s anything but that.

Bear in mind that the packing steps below will describe in detail how to pack up a drum set that consists of 3 pieces – a bass drum, a floor tom, and a rack tom.

Nevertheless, once you understand the main packing technique, you won’t have any issues protecting a 6-piece drum set for moving as well.

Read on to learn the best way to pack drums for moving.

Step 1. Understand WHY you have to protect your drums

Even though drums look sturdy and robust, the truth is that they are very fragile items that can be damaged too easily and too suddenly.

Unless, of course, you take the drums packing task very seriously, as you should, and use the proper packing technique to make sure they arrive in the new place in the same condition in which you packed them in the old one.

In most cases, drumheads (drum skins) and drum shells are the two elements that are most susceptible to structural damage during the relocation. However, there are many other ways in which your drum set can get ruined during transit.

Even if your drum set is not super expensive, you should still do your best to protect your investment simply because you may not be able to afford another one, especially when you cover the moving expenses out of your own pocket.

Step 2. Get familiar with the nesting packing technique

Your best chance to keep your drums safe during the move is to use the nesting packing method – an effective packing technique that’s been proven to work extremely well when moving fragile items from one home to another.

The main idea behind the nesting technique is to nest smaller drums into larger drums in order to reach two goals at the same time:

1. considerable space reduction, resulting in the usage of fewer boxes to pack up your drum set, and
2. effective elimination of the gaps inside the cardboard box, resulting in no harmful movement of any kind inside the container during transit.

The nesting method when packing drums for a move will be explained in detail below so you shouldn’t worry about it for the time being.

For now, you should stay open to learning new ways to protect your belongings when moving house, especially when it comes to easily breakable things that have sentimental value for you.

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Step 3. Prepare the required packing materials

This step of gathering the proper packing materials is the final preparation step before you actually start packing your drums. After all, it’s no surprise that you’re going to need the right packing supplies in order to pack your drum set safely.

Here’s what you’ll need for the ultimate protection of your drums during the house move:

• Cardboard box. A single large box should be able to fit a 3-piece drum set. Make sure the cardboard container you pick is strong and preferably brand new as well. If it is a second-hand box, then inspect it carefully for any signs of damage. Also, make sure the cardboard box is approximately 4-5 inches bigger on all sides than the diameter of the largest drum in your set – the bass drum.
• Brown packing paper. It’s best to use strong brown packing paper – also known as Kraft paper – to protect your fragile drums. It’ll provide a better level of protection than soft white packing paper. However, if you can’t get your hands on Kraft paper, using regular wrapping paper is OK too as long as you use enough of it to achieve the same result.
• Pieces of cardboard. You’re going to need several pieces of thick cardboard that you don’t need anymore. Scrap cardboard can be very useful when protecting the drum shells as you’ll see below.
• Bubble wrap. Get large sheets of bubble wrap to pad well your drums against accidental damage on the road.

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Step 4. Remove the drum legs and tom holders

Let’s switch from the preparation steps to the actual protection of your drums so that they survive the move unscathed.

The first step is to remove the legs of the bass drum and the floor tom. In most cases, bass drums have two legs to support them on the ground while floor toms have three legs that keep them way off the ground.

So, all you need to do is unfasten those (5) legs from the drums and leave them aside for the time being.

Also, your rack tom will have a holder that will most likely look like a camera tripod. Detach the rack tom from its holder and fold down the latter to take as little space as possible.

Step 5. Protect the bass drum

The bass drum is the largest piece in your drum set so it is usually the most difficult to pack safely for moving.

Here’s what you need to protect the bass drum in the best possible way:

• Unscrew the bass drum claws and the tension rods in order to remove the drum hoops. Then, remove the drum heads as well.
• Wrap the drum claws and tension rods in packing paper, then insert them in a plastic bag for extra protection. The packing paper will keep the two pieces touching together and potentially getting damaged in the process.
• Wrap the hoops of the bass drum with a large piece of bubble wrap then place them inside the bass drum shell.
• Create a custom flat box from cardboard to match the diameter of the bass drum heads. Then, bubble wrap those drum heads and insert them into the newly created box for maximum protection.
• Use bubble wrap to protect the bass drum shell – don’t skimp on the bubbly plastic material since it does offer an outstanding level of protection for extra-fragile items.

Step 6. Protect the toms: floor tom and rack tom

Once you’ve protected the bass drum for moving, it’s time to do the same with the floor tom, rack tom, or any other tom drum in your drum set.

• Protect each tom drum with long pieces of bubble wrap along its perimeter to create a soft protective layer around it. Tape the bubble wrap in place.
• Then, cover the external part of each tom with thick cardboard pieces in order to form a hard protective shell. Once the cardboard strips are positioned over the outside area of the drum tom, secure them with tape so that they can stay fixed throughout the move.
• Take a moment to assess the degree of protection you’ve created for each drum top. Ultimately, you should have an initial layer of soft padding (bubble wrap) followed by a second layer of hard-shell protection (thick cardboard).

Step 7. Prepare the cardboard box

Before you pack your drum set into a large cardboard box, you’re going to need to prepare the container first so that it provides an extra degree of protection for your percussion instrument.

Here’s how to prepare the moving box for your drums:

• Place a large sheet of bubble wrap on the bottom of the container. The idea is to form a soft padding that will protect the fragile drums when the box is moved around.
• Insert a piece of thick cardboard into each interior side of the box, including the bottom. This box reinforcement step will make the entire container more stable and durable, ready to withstand possible harmful outside forces during transit.

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Step 8. Pack the bass drum into the cardboard box

By now the bass drum should be well protected (see Step 5), covered up completely with bubble wrap.

This is the step where you’ll pack it safely for the move ahead.

• Position the protected shell of the bass drum into the pre-lined box so that its open parts face the bottom and the top of the box – that is, place it flat. As long as you’ve found a box that’s roughly 4-5 inches larger than the diameter of the bass drum on all sides, then the drum itself should fit in pretty comfortably inside the container.
• Line the exterior shell of the bass drum with a long piece of thick cardboard. This way, the newly created hard-shell circle of cardboard will separate and protect the bass drum from the floor tom that you’ll nest inside it in the next step.

Step 9. Nest the floor tom inside the bass drum

These drums packing steps are all about the nesting technique we mentioned earlier. By nesting your drums into one another, not only will you save valuable packing space, but you’ll also make the entire structure stronger and more resilient to potential transportation damage.

To nest the floor tom inside the bass drum, do the following:

• Position the protected floor tom inside the shell of the bass drum. Do this carefully, without rushing it or putting too much pressure. The floor tom should fit inside the bass drum shell without any problems simply because its diameter is smaller.
• Place pieces of wrapping paper inside the space between the floor tom and the bass drum. Filling out that space is important because it will prevent the drums from shifting around during transit.

Step 10. Nest the rack tom into the floor tom

This step describes the second instance where you’ll use the nesting packing method in your favor. This is how you should nest the rack tom into the floor tom for ultimate protection:

• Take out the top head of your floor tom and insert carefully the rack tom inside it. As in the previous step, the rack tom should fit comfortably inside the floor tom thanks to their different diameters.
• Place wrapping paper inside the space between the rack tom and the floor tom. This way, the nested drums will be immobilized, thus eliminating any possible damage due to undesirable movements.
• Put back the floor tom head and tighten it ever so slightly with your fingers.

Step 11. Add the tom legs and tension rods

Now that you’ve packed the 3 drums into the large cardboard box, add the paper-wrapped tom legs and tension rods into the container as well.

Make sure there’s enough paper separating them from the drums so that they can never touch each other during transport.

Also, add the drumsticks that you’ve wrapped in packing paper in advance.

Then, fill in any gaps that are visible inside the packing box – everything should be packed snugly without any space for any of the items to shift around.

Do a quick test to find out whether you’ve done a good job packing your drums the way you’re supposed to – lift the box and shake it slightly into the air. Can you feel something moving inside it?

If not, then you’re good to go. If yes, then add more wrapping paper to fill any remaining gaps.

Finally, place the bass drum heads on the top – the ones you packed safely in a custom box in Step 5.

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Step 12. Seal and label the moving box

The final step to packing your drums for moving is to seal and label the box. Easy enough, right?

Once the box has passed successfully the shake test, seal it up using quality packing tape. Then, label the container accordingly: DRUMS and FRAGILE in big letters.

By following these packing steps, you’ll ensure that your valuable drum set will stay protected during the entire relocation process.

However, if you don’t have enough time to pack up your drums properly or if you feel nervous about doing it on your own (especially if your drum set is quite expensive), then do consider hiring professional packers and movers who have the experience and know-how to pack and move your drums safely to the new place.

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