Help with adapting floor tom

[synergy]

Hey guys,

Hoping to get some advice from someone concerning a modification of a floor tom.

Basically my band will be playing a lot of small venues/ coffee shop type places and myself and our bass player(who is also a drummer) had the idea that instead of my usual 6 piece kit I would go with bass snare hi-hats.

That lead to more talk and the idea to take a 16inch floor tom and move the kick-drum beater to underneath that and point the beater up and basically play the floor tom like a bass.

This is all due to space constraints- Has anyone ever done this? how would I achieve the pedal staying where I need it to?

This will mean i can do away with the bass drum and play the floor tom as a bass as well as occasional tom to fill etc

Just looking to see if anyone out there has some thoughts to see if this was possible?

[Cedwico]

Hey guys,

Hoping to get some advice from someone concerning a modification of a floor tom.

Basically my band will be playing a lot of small venues/ coffee shop type places and myself and our bass player(who is also a drummer) had the idea that instead of my usual 6 piece kit I would go with bass snare hi-hats.

That lead to more talk and the idea to take a 16inch floor tom and move the kick-drum beater to underneath that and point the beater up and basically play the floor tom like a bass.

This is all due to space constraints- Has anyone ever done this? how would I achieve the pedal staying where I need it to?

This will mean i can do away with the bass drum and play the floor tom as a bass as well as occasional tom to fill etc

Just looking to see if anyone out there has some thoughts to see if this was possible?

So you're sorta gonna' be using the cocktail Bass/Floor tom design!
This is what I have: http://www.mezzomusic.ro/file/pagesleft/1880cds.jpg
I use Evans Hydraulic 15" Head on the bottom of the 25" Bass Drum/Floor Tom! Where the beater hits. And I use Remo Pinstripe on top, and it sounds really good.

I want one of these when I'm older:
http://www.whitneydrums.com/images/JTimages/sidekick_green_rear.gif and/or
http://www.whitneydrums.com/images/JTimages/green_cocktail4.gif

http://www.whitneydrums.com/ Great drums.

[synergy]

Yeah thats the idea,

Do you know if they have a particular clamp to attach the foot pedal?

[Cedwico]

Any foot pedal could be attached but the beater needs to be moved as you can see bellow.

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/fa/13131/0/

If you look at that picture, that's how mine is set up also. I'm not sure where you could get something like that though. It acts like the bottom of your bass drum hoop where you put the bass pedal on. Here's another image that might help you think of something:

http://www.dwdrums.com/Drums/specialty/Cocktail-Champagne-Glass.jpg

Sorry I can't help you any more! Maybe put some double side velcro/tape on the bottom of your pedal! If you can't get anything else.

On the whitney drums site, J.T. always replies to emails quite quickly. Maybe if you ask him what he uses he could end up sending you something. Good luck.

[DrumEatDrum]

If you google "bass drum cradle" you'll find several devices that allow you to convert a regular floor tom into a bass drum, although the drum is on it's side like a bass drum and not up right.

Although they run $100-$200, so I'm not sure if you'll feel it's worth it.

To do the coacktail kit idea, some bass drum pedals allow you to adjust the beater cam, so you can re-position the beater up. If you had such a pedal, you could then take some plywood, attach a small piece of 2X4 to prevent the pedal from sliding forward, and then bolt the pedal to the plywood itself. This would take a little imagination, and I can't say how well it might look, but it might get you through a few shows.

[DrumEatDrum]

This picture is REALLY old, and I only did it once.

I had to use a 12" tom, because my 14" made the contraption fall over.

I used a tom arm and a clamp to mount my tom at a 90 degree angle. I took off the bottom head and put some foam in there to sort of approximate a bass drum sound. The pedal was a DW with Velcro on the bottom, so I believe I just put the pedal on a small bit of carpet to prevent it from sliding away. I'm sure I had to re-adjust frequently, and I vaguely remember making an effort to not hit it very hard. But it worked for that night.

http://www.drumeatdrum.com/nde17A.jpg

[synergy]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I know someone who is a welder- so instead of the $100 cradle I think I will try to get him to make me bar that twists in the middle so that the pedal can attach like it does on the hoop of the drum-

Otherwise I will just use the wood-type idea, all I need is for the pedal to stay put.

Hell if I get the welded bar to work- maybe I can patent it!!! Cant believe no-one else out there hasnt done it already though.