One Up Two Down

[wooltonboy]

I have always played a kit with at least 2 rack toms in the traditional position. Plus 1 or 2 floor toms.
I now own a kit that has 1 rack only, with 2 floors. I always wanted this configuration, mostly due to being able to bring my ride in closer.
I was wondering if anyone else made the same config. switch, and how the adjustment went?
It worries me a bit that that 2nd rack tom won't be there, and also the "gap" between the 1 rack and the 1st floor.
I don't have a gig until January, so I'll have a fair bit of time to practice with this new config.
Funny thing is, that we play mostly classic rock and oldies, which were mostly recorded with 1 up and 1 down.
Cheers
Phil

[mind_drummer]

I went from three Up and two Down to one Up and two Down and the the transition was smooth. It took me about a good week to two to feel comfy and it was a good decision to try it because I'm using this config (10 up & 13 - 16 down) since the last year and IMO it helped me to be more creative and improve myself.

As for gap between the up & down tom, have you ever done fills between both your first rack tom and first or last floor tom ? Maybe that was what helped me get comfy because I practices this whent I had 3 up 2 down.

[Wavelength]

Work on getting across the gap by playing double strokes that are spread across the rack tom and one of the floor toms. The leap will become very natural in a surprisingly short while.

[Legacyrik]

First off I would say, no reason you can't do 2 up 2 down, that's what I have:) Second note is that second floor tom isn't getting as much use as I would like:) Bit of a stretch.

[Cymbalrider]

I'm planning on buying a Gretsch Catalina Rock kit soon, because I love the idea of this set-up, always have. I favor a 4 piece kit, but then theres that extra low tom if you really want a power groove option (ex: fills, solos, big kicks for the band). Then there were guys like Buddy Rich who used their second floor tom mostly for a towel, brush holder. Figure that out.

[Skitch]

I have always played a kit with at least 2 rack toms in the traditional position. Plus 1 or 2 floor toms.
I now own a kit that has 1 rack only, with 2 floors. I always wanted this configuration, mostly due to being able to bring my ride in closer.
I was wondering if anyone else made the same config. switch, and how the adjustment went?
It worries me a bit that that 2nd rack tom won't be there, and also the "gap" between the 1 rack and the 1st floor.
I don't have a gig until January, so I'll have a fair bit of time to practice with this new config.
Funny thing is, that we play mostly classic rock and oldies, which were mostly recorded with 1 up and 1 down.
Cheers
Phil

I tailor my configuration for the gig. For my retro gigs, I use the standard 5 piece configuration, but for most of the gigs right now it is just the basic 4 piece. If you understand that 90% of your drumming is kick snare and hi hat, much doesn't really change. The thing about having hat extra tom is that it is good to have when you are playing songs with trademark toms, such as "Jessie's Girl" or "Footloose" or "Separate Ways". A four piece just sounds wimpy on these songs.


Mike

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[Drummerjimi]

I feel ya brother and I love it. For a couple years now I've actually gone to 12in rack, 16in R flr tom and 14in L flr tom as well as a left hand Ride cymbal. Workin on that ammidex thing .
I think you might find you play your RT less and with more sensitivity than with 2 RT's
Drum On DrummerJimi

[Big_Philly]

it's nothing to be too worried about, I made that switch recently and it takes a week or two, maybe three, to get used to it.

[vedox1024]

One up, two down rocks. It helps if you play a 4 piece first, and then the second floor just adds dynamic and tonal range on top of that. Or rather, below it. As for the gap -- you get used to it after a while. practice practice practice.

[altdrumz]

Got 3 - Slingerland studio king kits - couple different size kicks, but in general have always preferred the 1 up - 2 down... got over my Neil Peart obsession years ago;-)

And like a previous posted said... Kick, Snare, Hat... that's where the groove lay, and most of the people I back up are looking for that. when I want to dig down into a groove,
alternating the two floors provided great coloring.

Alt..

[Muffled Tom]

You can still have the ride close with two rack toms.. you just need to put the mid-tom in place of the high-tom, shift your bass drum a bit, and set the high tom on a rack so that it is to the left of the mid tom.

If that makes sense.

[The Fossil]

Here's how I switched from the traditional 2 up 2 down configuration, (new from the drum shop), to my current setup, which gives me a 1 up 2 down feel but still retains the 10" tom. I took the top head off the 12" tom and repositioned the Starcast Mount so the logo and port hole would be in the right position and placed the 12" where the 10" used to be. Moved the 10" to the left into the space between the 12" and the High Hats. This allowed me to move the 21" Z Custom Mega Bell Ride in where the 12" used to be. This has become a very comfortable setup and I doubt if I will change it any time soon. Also swapped the stock Tama batters for Evans Coated G2's on the toms and an Evans Coated Reverse Dot on the Snare.

[Muffled Tom]

Here's how I switched from the traditional 2 up 2 down configuration, (new from the drum shop), to my current setup, which gives me a 1 up 2 down feel but still retains the 10" tom. I took the top head off the 12" tom and repositioned the Starcast Mount so the logo and port hole would be in the right position and placed the 12" where the 10" used to be. Moved the 10" to the left into the space between the 12" and the High Hats. This allowed me to move the 21" Z Custom Mega Bell Ride in where the 12" used to be. This has become a very comfortable setup and I doubt if I will change it any time soon. Also swapped the stock Tama batters for Evans Coated G2's on the toms and an Evans Coated Reverse Dot on the Snare.

This is what I was talking about in my above post.