Better Combination

[Budiesel]

Wanting/Needing everybody's opinions on a combination of floor toms.

Possibility A:
14 x 12 and 16 x 14

Possibility B:
16 x 14 and 18 x 16

Possibility C:
16 x 16 and 18 x 16

Honestly, I play whatever type of music i feel like playing. My favorite though is probly rock ( all types.. Saosin, GNR, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, etc. ) Help?

[Ozzy Biz]

What size rack toms, kick and snare do you have or are looking at getting? There's not much point me recommending 16 & 18 floors if you have 8" & 10" racks and an 18" kick.

[Fat Elvis]

Wanting/Needing everybody's opinions on a combination of floor toms.

Possibility A:
14 x 12 and 16 x 14

Possibility B:
16 x 14 and 18 x 16

Possibility C:
16 x 16 and 18 x 16

Honestly, I play whatever type of music i feel like playing. My favorite though is probly rock ( all types.. Saosin, GNR, Taking Back Sunday, The Used, etc. ) Help?

depends on the drum type. For me it would be:

Pro Birch shells (starclassic): I would go with A (14x12 and the 16x14). I find that the birch shells help projection and i can get a very low tuning out of them.

Pro Maple Shells: 16x14 and 18x16. I would like having a 16" floor tom that i use the most -- as I dont tend to use the back tom a lot. And I dont find that I can keep the maple toms tuned as low and still get the projection i like.

Cant tell ya on any other woods or drum types.

[Budiesel]

Drums are Mapex Pro M , so theyre maple of coarse. My kick drums are 24 x 18 ( two of them ) For my rack, for sure I'm going to get a 12" tom, and maybe a 10". Snare is going to be 14 x 6.5.

[harryconway]

I like 16x16 and 18x16, with dual 24 kicks. 10 and 12 racks are only gonna make those 24's look bigger, not a bad thing. I'm a little prejudice, however. I drive a 26, 15, 16, 18 Ludwig 6ply kit.

[Ozzy Biz]

how 'bout just the 12x9 rack, then 15x15 and 18x16 floors?

10, 12, 16, 18, 24 works for a lot of guys who play rock. That's just what Josh Freese plays with APC, and he kicks more arse than the All Blacks have been on the rugby circuit for the last year

Or just 13" rack, 16 & 18 floors like this mapex orion....

[MadJazz]

Option A, no doubt.

You can consider 14x14 + 16x16 if you wanna more power and boom.

[Chunkaway]

Option A is the choice!

The 14" tom can be tuned high or low which gives you some versatility. You really can't tune a 16" tom high enough to give you a lot of choices. The 18" drum is just too limiting in my opinion. It does one thing well, but that is it. Whenever I see a local band play and the drummer has an 18" floor, I'm always surprised by how it can't be heard. It basically is the size of a kick drum but you're trying to mic it like a tom. Sorry, but that is not going to work.


Option A.

[tamadrummer132]

A


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[hauk]

B. nice low end, and the 16x14 will (in my opinion work) work out better than a square size

[Budiesel]

Well, I know for sure that I am going for the 16 x 14 and I am going to go for a 14" floor tom as well, but which one would do me more justice, the 14 x 12 or 14 x 14? Anyone use both 14"s before?

[Fat Elvis]

Well, I know for sure that I am going for the 16 x 14 and I am going to go for a 14" floor tom as well, but which one would do me more justice, the 14 x 12 or 14 x 14? Anyone use both 14"s before?

i have the 14x14 on my DW and a 14x12 on my starclassic. Between the two i likethe 14x12 better -- but it also could be the birch. I think either way will work, but i would go with the 14 x 12.

[Skitch]

Option A is the choice!

The 14" tom can be tuned high or low which gives you some versatility. You really can't tune a 16" tom high enough to give you a lot of choices. The 18" drum is just too limiting in my opinion. It does one thing well, but that is it. Whenever I see a local band play and the drummer has an 18" floor, I'm always surprised by how it can't be heard. It basically is the size of a kick drum but you're trying to mic it like a tom. Sorry, but that is not going to work.


Option A.

I would think that some of this has to do with the mic. An AKG D112 or similar mic would do better representing those low frequencies.

Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[Mikecore]

I'm actually looking at getting a 12x15 and 14x18 floor setup (with 8, 10 and 13" racks). I have used the 14/16 combo for a few years now and they just won't do *BOOM* the way I want.

As for whether 18" drums sound good live; it depends first of all if drummer boy/girl can tune the drum and hit it right in the first place. I've seen too many guys try to make small drums sound like bigger ones by tuning too low (which is good for ruining heads and not much else), and if this same approach is applied to a big tom, the results will be disappointing. Gong drums exist for a reason. If you need a sub-woofing boom out of a drum that even an 18 can't deliver, then get a bigger drum (even a bass drum with floor tom legs on it) and tune it up.

Observe Roy Mayorga's new DW kit, or Mike Portnoy's "Bonham Rig":)

[drumnhands]

Drum sizes depend on what kind of wood, the heads you use and how you tune them. I'm playing 14x14 and 16x14 floor toms(I'm a leg man) with Suede Emps on top and Suede Ams on ther bottom. The drums are Oak Custom so they have a low fundamental and the double ply heads bring out even more of the bottom. If I put Ambassadors on top I can crank them tighter and they'll still sing. You can manipulate the drums by changing the bearing edges too. A fatter profile on the edges will add some bottom as well. You might want to go with the smaller drums(they're easier to transport and mic) and focus on shells with low end like birch or oak, and experiment with heads first. If you need more bottom end you can find a guy to do the edges. I know a guy in the LA area named Chris Heuer that's as good as they get.