First Act FD-480, Assembly Manual

Bass Drum Assembly

Place the bass drum shell (A) flat on the floor and place the drum head (R) on top. Rotate bass drum head 
so that the First Act logo is upright. Two spur insets will be on the bottom. Place bass drum hoop (Q) over 
the drum head, rounded rim side facing out (the bass drum hoop has a rounded side and a flat side, the 
flat side will be flush with the rim of the bass drum head and the rounded side will be flush with the bass 
drum claws). Place the bass drum claws (V) on the bass drum hoop, position them over the lug casings 
on the bass drum shell. Place tension rod washer (W) over bass drum tension rod (T1). Insert bass drum 
tension rods through bass drum claws and into the corresponding lugs slightly, do not tighten. Repeat for 
each tension rod/lug. Once all tension rods have been inserted, tighten in small increments (3-4 turns) with 
drum key using opposite lug technique (see illustration on back). Turn bass drum over and repeat procedure. 
Insert bass drum spurs (K) into spur mounting brackets. Tighten wing screw when bass drum spur is at 
desired length. Bass drum should be level and does not “wobble” held in place by spurs. Attach bass drum 
pedal to the bottom of the bass drum hoop on the back of your bass drum. Tighten accordingly. Place white 
felt beater into bass drum pedal as shown in (J).

Floor Tom Assembly

Place the 13" drumhead (S) over the 13" floor tom shell (D). Place drum rim (U) over the drumhead and line 
up lugs with tension holes. Thread a washer over tension rod (T2), insert tension rod into hole in drum rim 
and screw into drum lug. Do not tighten completely. Repeat with additional three tension rods and lugs. 
After all rods have been inserted, tighten completely. Tighten drumhead in small increments (3-4 turns) with 
drum key using opposite lug technique (see illustration on back). Turn drum over and repeat.

Insert floor tom legs (P) into leg mounting brackets, located on the outside of floor tom shell. Position so 
that floor tom is about 6-8 inches off the ground, tighten wing screws.

Tom Assembly

Repeat steps for rims, heads and tuning rods of floor tom with the 10" rims (Y) and 10" heads (X) and 2" 
tension rods (T3). Insert adjustable tom arm (H) into tom mounting bracket on top of bass drum and tighten 
wing screw at the desired height for tom drum. Place assembled tom drum (C) on tom mounting arm. Adjust 
to desired height and tilt, tighten wing screw. 

Cymbal Assembly

Place cymbal rod (I) into cymbal arm mounting bracket on top of the bass drum. Remove the wing nut and 
top felt of cymbal arm and place the cymbal (E) over threaded rod on top of bottom felt. Replace top felt 
and wing nut. Adjust arm to desired height and tighten wing screw on bracket.

Snare Drum Assembly

Locate snare throw-off on snare drum (B). Turn throw-off so that wire snares (visible through the clear 
bottom drum head) are touching the bottom head. This gives the snare drum, it’s unique “crack” sound. 
Open snare drum stand (L) and adjust to desired height, tighten. Place snare drum on snare drum stand. 
Adjust snare drum stand arms and tilt of stand, tighten accordingly. 

8 piece drumset 

FD-480

A SSEMBLY

Thank you for purchasing the First Act Discovery

TM

 FD-480 Drum Set! You’ll need no tools other than the 

drum key included. Be sure to look over the Drum Contents page so that all of the parts can be easily 
identified. Keep the drum-tuning key (N) in a safe place, as you’ll need it to tune or change the heads 
periodically. Enjoy!

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