Drum size questions

[colby]

hi everyone, i play in a pretty heavy and fast band, and i am buying a new Spaun kit soon...i am thinking of getting a 14x10 rack tom and a 18x16 floor tom, with a 24x18 kick.

does anyone have any tips, complaints, or insight regarding larger sized drums, expecially considering volume/punch and projection? right now i play on a plain old pearl export with 12, 16, and 22 sizes, respectively. im getting bored with the higher pitched toms. any help or insight would be great!

[harryconway]

Big drums rock. I played 22, 14, 16, 18 sizes for years. Now I have 2 big kick drums. 26x14 and 28x14. And my toms are 15, 16, 18. Spaun makes really good kits. Keller shells. A Spaun kit will blow your export kit away. Hey, small sizes work too. Depends on the situation. I have a 20, 12, 14 kit also. But when it's time to rock, big drums!

[lildrummerman03]

I have only heard amazing reviews about Spaun kits! And regarding the larger size, I say go for it. Try playing on it before purchasing, if at all possible. Even if it's not a Spaun, maybe finding a kit with those size toms and kick and play around on it. Make sure that you keep the drums in tune. What kind of heads are you planning to put on the kit? I own a Pearl Export as well, and I am ready to move on. I don't quite have enough money for new shells yet though.

[colby]

yea....the band i play for is kind of nyc hardcore with an early sepultura influence i guess...its fast and heavy, not too rock n roll...i have never played a kit with 14 and 18 toms, so im a little nervous dropping the money for a kit, but the idea of bigger toms has been haunting me for years.

i would be playing these with evans g2 clear heads, or maybe the new ec2 heads. probably the g2s though.

[gmrakich]

Spaun uses a double 45 edge.....make sutre that is what you want sound wise.

[lildrummerman03]

I would go with G2's on the kit. Although when I had G2 clears on my Pearl Export they lasted me about 4 months of about an hour a day of playing on them with my band. I am not sure if that is a good period of life span for those heads? I now have coated Pinstripes though, and they ROCK for the Export, it makes my set sound a lot fuller now.

[Cephalic]

I personally hate big drums... I use 8, 10, 14 toms and a 20" bass with my metal band. :)

Spaun are good drums though. I've conciderred getting a set of them for my next kit, but I've sort of strayed away from them.

[harryconway]

I wouldn't even worry about heads until you get your kit. I can't imagine Spaun sending their drums out with crappy heads. And go from there. If the drums come with single ply heads and it's too much resonance for your taste, then move into a 2 ply head. Play with what the kit comes with first. You might even call Spaun and see what they recommend and/or what they normally ship with their drums.

[relyc]

Think of it this way- small sizes are like driving a nice sports car. They're fast, responsive and handle well. Larger sizes are like a nice cruiser. They're beautiful and will get you there in style, but not terribly fast.

A big kit you'll kind of "sink into", they demand a certain type of style and hard and fast usually are not what they'll deliver. A small kit will always surprise you.

I will admit to the pleasing aesthetic of a large kit. A 24" kick has been dancing around in my head for months now. It just looks so cool.

There's pros and cons to each. Though it should be known that larger drums are a heck of a lot quieter than you might think. Try this out for me. Rimshot a 14" rack tom and then rimshot a 12" rack tom, tell me what you discover.

cheers. best of luck.

[fusssion]

I think a little shorter toms would be very very cool!!!

Like, instead of a standard tom size (10x14) , have it customized, and do a 9x14 and instead of a traditional floor (16x18) ....get a fast sized 14x18 !

Now that would be way cool!!!!

[Jeremy]

if you're in a fast hardcore band you definitely DON'T want those big boomy drums.

if you like the low pitch, go for it, but make sure you get much shorter depths than usual. otherwise your fills will sound like mud. short depths have less sustain but the same low pitch.

enjoy the spaun drums. they're awesome. i wish i had the budget for those.

[ROCKET RON]

I have a 24x18 Rogers Bass Drum. Custom made for me back in the late 70's .
Large bass drums really project better than small bass drums. the depth gives them more of a cannon effect. I had 14x20 rogers bass drum then went to a 16x22
fianally I settled for the 24"
my next bass will be a Trick .I want a24-26 depth. I played in many loud fast rock bands. and to compete with todays amplification. go for the larger drums!

[larlev]

As mentioned above.....really make sure double 45's are what you want..there is a huge difference versus standard edges..

Spaun sure is big $$$$$.......Have you looked at less expensive builders like Epiarch???

[KR3]

How much is a 3 piece Spaun Kit?

[larlev]

How much is a 3 piece Spaun Kit?

price it out on their website.....

[cdrums21]

You've gotten some great advice and feedback. Here's my 2 cents. Big drums are awesome and sound killer acoustically. When you play live and miked up, they are sometimes hard to get to sound punchy, especially the big 18" floor tom, out front in the house mix. You'll have a ton of low end, but that beating off of your chest thud in the PA out front is difficult to obtain, especially if you have a sound engineer that's not used to miking big drums. The 24" kick should be OK though.
With that being said, if you play music that requires fast fills and a punchy tom and kick sound out front, the bigger drums may not be the best choice. If you're looking for big sound and a powerful stage sound, the bigger drums can't be beat. Sorry if this makes your decision more difficult. I used to play a Bonham sized kit, 26" kick, 14/16/18 toms. I loved how it sounded at rehearsal and on stage, but our sound guys always had trouble getting the floor toms to sound good out front, plus the kick drum didn't kick you in the chest. Now I play a 10/13/16 tom set up with a 22x18" kick and it is considerably more punchy in the PA and much easier to get some punch from the toms. Just my experience and opinion.....

[MapleCustom2B]

yea....the band i play for is kind of nyc hardcore with an early sepultura influence i guess...its fast and heavy, not too rock n roll...i have never played a kit with 14 and 18 toms, so im a little nervous dropping the money for a kit, but the idea of bigger toms has been haunting me for years.

i would be playing these with evans g2 clear heads, or maybe the new ec2 heads. probably the g2s though.

Colby: I play in a HC group and I have a kit with a 24" kick, 14" rack and 16" floor tom. I don't suggest you get that setup. It sounds great on paper, but when you start gigging (or in my case, I was touring with that setup for many months and miles), you start to realize that it just doesn't sound all that great 'cause a 24" doesn't have a fast rebound and the large toms get lost when you're really cranking.

I still have my 24/14/16 kit (Oak Custom), but it's used for slower rock stuff. My 22/13/16 kit (Maple Custom) is what I'm using for my HC band these days. It's a much better option.

Just speaking from 20 years of experience...

MC2B