Yeah, in the end, it's all about how it performs on stage. That IS the key to remember. Even with the DIY cymbals, and even if they work phenomenally, I'll still probably carry a couple of regular electrics in the car JUST in case.
Of course, I didn't carry a backup for my snare Saturday night. But honestly, I had checked plates a few weeks ago and nothing was bad, so I didn't think to even check during the gig. I boiled it down to user error and weird acoustics of a new venue.
Speaking of acoustics being weird. I'm guessing that is what this is. My kick drum keeps wanting to trigger randomly. I'm chalking this up to the fact that it's GOT to be something in the vibration from the PA, as I don't have the problem at all when I'm playing at home with headphones, or even my smaller amp. Seems to trigger at certain notes coming through the PA, and we were on cement Saturday. I've had it happen at a couple of other venues lately, too. The snare does it occasionally, but I'm honestly wondering if my cracked plate may have been an earlier break that I somehow missed when I checked everything. I can kinda control that with the sensitivity knob. I may have sensitivity up too high all around. If you don't mind me asking, where do you keep yours on various pads? It may be worth changing all that up to see if I can get rid of the problem.
It's strange that even lock nuts would fall off the cymbal. You'd think they'd stay in place, but I guess the vibration they're getting is probably not something they're designed for. Which makes me wonder about the GoEdrum triggers. It looks like they attach with some kind of screw. It'll be interesting to see how that works. May have to keep a screwdriver in the bag for shows (most of the time, I do anyway). Something to check between sets possibly.
I'm the same way as you, I'm so worried about being the one to throw a song off completely, I don't need the constant worry of a failure. Luckily, I've held it together in most cases. There have been a few hiccups, but it happens to all of us, and that's what live music's all about!
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Shawn