Show us your tiny kits

Looks great, Bob! How does your band like the RTs?
Everyone in all three bands that I play with loves it! The RT continues to be an asset at my practice sessions. Every musician appreciates the less space that I take up in the room and the lower practice volumes.
I shared the kit with another drummer at a two band gig last Sat and the other drummer also liked it.
It was fully mic'd up at an outdoor party. Thats where that pic was taken.
 
Everyone in all three bands that I play with loves it! The RT continues to be an asset at my practice sessions. Every musician appreciates the less space that I take up in the room and the lower practice volumes.
I shared the kit with another drummer at a two band gig last Sat and the other drummer also liked it.
It was fully mic'd up at an outdoor party. Thats where that pic was taken.

Yes, thats one of the nice things about the RT - it's not imposing.

I'm just using the 12" tom (as per my pic link below). It sems like there's not a lot of wiggle room with the shallow shell between a good and not-so-good sound. Did you find that? I'm trying to work out how it wants to be tuned. I've come a bit closer this week but still no cigar.
 
polly - what heads are you using
Have you considered using the 14 as your mounted tom (don't know if it'll suit you better, but it is an option))
 
Yes, thats one of the nice things about the RT - it's not imposing.

I'm just using the 12" tom (as per my pic link below). It sems like there's not a lot of wiggle room with the shallow shell between a good and not-so-good sound. Did you find that? I'm trying to work out how it wants to be tuned. I've come a bit closer this week but still no cigar.
Sorry, I don't see the pic link that you speak of?
The RT is like that movie with Jack Nicholson. "As Good As It Gets"
It has many quirks, But you can learn to overlook them and find a Happy Place. What my band mates like is that they can get the feel of the drum presence while they work on their sound. We even have conversations as we play now.
I used to play with Blaststicks when we worked on the details of our material. The Blasticks didn't give enough real drum and cymbal sound to feel the music. When I play the RT with 7a's, The volume is just right for practice.
When I practice alone it also helps me because the absence of resos allows me to hear every hit on the drums. When I practice, I play the Traveler for a while and then I move to my big Gretsch kit. The workout on the Rhythm Traveler primes me for the full size Gretsch. Thats the best that I can explain it. Its kind of like having a beer before you have a shot of whiskey!
As far as tuning goes, I simply tune all of the toms to 75 on the Drum Dial. I tune the snare batter and reso to 80. I tune the bass to 75, both batter and reso. I added an Aquarian SK I to the bass batter. The bearing edges are true. The heads tune evenly with the Drum Dial. The kit is well made!
When I play small gigs such as private parties. I don't have to lug all of my heavy drums. I have learned that people in general can't tell the difference between the traveler and a full sized kit. Guests at the parties look at the drums and they ask questions about it. The kit becomes a conversation piece. Kids at the parties love to play it on band breaks. I give mini lessons to them. Thats entertainment, Relating to your audience, Letting the kids play on breaks adds to the party. The parents love it.
 
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Drumset2.jpg

There is my kit, nothing special. I'm still working on replacing the beginner kick, but it sounds good enough that I haven't really gotten around to it.

22"x18" Kick
13"x3" Piccolo Snare
13" Quick Beat A Hats
18" A Rock Crash
22" A Custom Ping Ride
DW 5002 Pedals
Cowbell
 
Sorry, I don't see the pic link that you speak of?

Bob, there was my mini kit at a party in a restaurant:
http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/pix/BlueMabels18Jul09.jpg

And the RT:
http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/pix/New-RTplusStuffJul08.jpg

The RT is like that movie with Jack Nicholson. "As Good As It Gets" It has many quirks, But you can learn to overlook them and find a Happy Place.

What my band mates like is that they can get the feel of the drum presence while they work on their sound. We even have conversations as we play now.
I used to play with Blaststicks when we worked on the details of our material. The Blasticks didn't give enough real drum and cymbal sound to feel the music. When I play the RT with 7a's, The volume is just right for practice.
... As far as tuning goes, I simply tune all of the toms to 75 on the Drum Dial. I tune the snare batter and reso to 80. I tune the bass to 75, both batter and reso. I added an Aquarian SK I to the bass batter. The bearing edges are true. The heads tune evenly with the Drum Dial. The kit is well made!

Interesting info, thanks Bob. I don't have a drum dial and already spent a fortune of late so I won't rush out for one just yet, tho' some tuning help would be good. One of the guys at my usual drum shop swears by Aquarians ... trouble is, they don't stock them ...

justjim said:
polly - what heads are you using
Have you considered using the 14 as your mounted tom (don't know if it'll suit you better, but it is an option)
Jim, I'm just using the stock double layer Protone. It seems pretty similar to a pinstripe to me. The RT Gig Kit doesn't actually have a 14, just an 8, 10 and 12", so as you can see I'm already going for that BIIIG BOOOM hahaha

Even the kick drum, at 16", is smaller than Danny Carey's floor toms. The kick is weird, set a couple of inches off the ground on four legs, so when you look at it from the front it looks like a hungry animal with the O hole in the front kick skin. Last rehearsal our singer went down on his haunches in front of the kick drum and opened his mouth wide open. Wish I got a photo :)

My current band is so laid back that, even with a fluffy Vater Vintage Bomber Beater on the kick and a couple of make-up pads dampening the kick I have to be careful not to be too loud! So, while I miss the quality of my old Rogers 13" mounted and 22" kick, it's just as well I have small drums these days.

I even use Vic Firth Kidsticks, which are not much over 12" long to keep the volume down (they took some getting used to but I love them now). Super light. Even so, last practice we tried Little Wing for the first time because our bassist was sick and couldn't show, and it gave me a rare chance to try out the tom properly, but my tiny kit - with my tiny sticks and fluffy beater and makeup pads was STILL dominant!

http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/mp3/RT-tom--in-Little-Wing-fill.mp3

The tom sounds like it's tuned a tad low for its range in this ... hmmm, a drum dial, eh? :)
 
Jim, I'm just using the stock double layer Protone. It seems pretty similar to a pinstripe to me. The RT Gig Kit doesn't actually have a 14, just an 8, 10 and 12", so as you can see I'm already going for that BIIIG BOOOM hahaha


Wow I didn't realize the RT came in anything besides "regular" (I'm US so "regular" is whatever USA uses and the rest of the world is "weird" :D ) -- 22, 10,12,14

I'm wondering if you might be more happy with single ply concert head like an Evans strata or a Remo Renaissance Ambassador ...FWIW we had coated pinstripes on the wife's, we thought they were maybe a little too "controlled" (internally damped)

I actually was thinking you might like the larger size specifically because you don't play at high SPL -- I personally find the teeny drums get kind of flat when 'underplayed' (I like quiet too, but I started music as a classicl[al] guitarist, so "rockin out" isn't my native anyway) - so I'm thinking more in terms of resonance than projection
(wife plays with mallets a lot, she likes a soft, defined-pitch tympani like sound on her floor toms...she recently stole my 18" - but doesn't like a lot of volume for that kind of stuff.
though she's Jekyl&hyde -- she also has one of those chad smith snares which is, basically, an ear rape. I think she likes it just so she can "visit upon thine ear with unspeakable sonic mayhem" when most inappropriate)


I tend to like the sound of a larger diameter, maybe uptuned
last time we had our RT out, we tuned the 12 to the 10s pitch and liked the sound of the 12 better, not because of volume, but b/c it wasn't as deadwoody and felt more sensitive at low volume - plus there was a variety of workable timbres as you moved off-center, which I think it nice on a smaller [in number of pieces] kit

but, I think as bob was speaking to with the drum dial - it does (to me at least) seem pretty tuning sensitive in terms of really getting even tension on the head (I suppose b/c it's a relatively simple resonator system - so the tuning that you do have carries a lot of weight in the system).
hmm, now that I think about it, it's a lot like tuning a typical two-stroke engine...the powerband is generally peaky and narrow and it's really sensitive to your ignition timing and getting the mix...jussst right
They just don't have that many parts, so each adjustment does a lot

Even the kick drum, at 16", is smaller than Danny Carey's floor toms. The kick is weird, set a couple of inches off the ground on four legs, so when you look at it from the front it looks like a hungry animal with the O hole in the front kick skin. Last rehearsal our singer went down on his haunches in front of the kick drum and opened his mouth wide open. Wish I got a photo :)

I'd like to see it - with or without it battling your vocalist(I didn't see a pic earlier, but I thought saw ref to a pic you had of it, but maybe that was your old kit)

One of our doggies likes to stick his head in the drums, we try to discourage it, but he loves sounds...I have to admonish him not to try to jump at my (string) double bass..he like the bow
 
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Bob, there was my mini kit at a party in a restaurant:
http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/pix/BlueMabels18Jul09.jpg

And the RT:
http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/pix/New-RTplusStuffJul08.jpg



Interesting info, thanks Bob. I don't have a drum dial and already spent a fortune of late so I won't rush out for one just yet, tho' some tuning help would be good. One of the guys at my usual drum shop swears by Aquarians ... trouble is, they don't stock them ...


Jim, I'm just using the stock double layer Protone. It seems pretty similar to a pinstripe to me. The RT Gig Kit doesn't actually have a 14, just an 8, 10 and 12", so as you can see I'm already going for that BIIIG BOOOM hahaha

Even the kick drum, at 16", is smaller than Danny Carey's floor toms. The kick is weird, set a couple of inches off the ground on four legs, so when you look at it from the front it looks like a hungry animal with the O hole in the front kick skin. Last rehearsal our singer went down on his haunches in front of the kick drum and opened his mouth wide open. Wish I got a photo :)

My current band is so laid back that, even with a fluffy Vater Vintage Bomber Beater on the kick and a couple of make-up pads dampening the kick I have to be careful not to be too loud! So, while I miss the quality of my old Rogers 13" mounted and 22" kick, it's just as well I have small drums these days.

I even use Vic Firth Kidsticks, which are not much over 12" long to keep the volume down (they took some getting used to but I love them now). Super light. Even so, last practice we tried Little Wing for the first time because our bassist was sick and couldn't show, and it gave me a rare chance to try out the tom properly, but my tiny kit - with my tiny sticks and fluffy beater and makeup pads was STILL dominant!

http://www.sangrea.net/rijidij/mp3/RT-tom--in-Little-Wing-fill.mp3

The tom sounds like it's tuned a tad low for its range in this ... hmmm, a drum dial, eh? :)
I don't mind the stock Protones either. I have read many posts here on DW that put them down, but I have no problem with them. I see from your pic that you taped a muffler to your tom. Im puzzled as to your reason for this. The tom doesn't sustain very long with no reso head. Im wondering why you chose to dampen the drum further.
I bought a DrumDial about a year ago. It took me some experimenting to get used to it. I now swear by it! It saves me a great deal of time! I still fine tension by ear. The dial gets me close. You should try one. Don't be discouraged at first. The dial has a learning curve to it.
Other drummers say that Im a good tuner. I have tuned many a drummers drums for them. I have a lot of experience with tensioning bolts on cars. I work as an Automotive Tech. (35 years experience) I frequently tune multiple carburetors on vintage cars by ear. (Ferrari, Porsche, MG, etc) I can torque nuts and bolts by hand and later check them with a torque wrench and be dead on spec! I think that these skills from my automotive experience has helped me to tension drums. I can sense the torque on a drum lug by feel, as well as by ear.
The sizes on my Rt are different than your kit. 10, 12, 14, toms, 13 snare, 20 bass.
I liked your sample of Little Wing! Here is mine. I was playing my big kit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxNcXkVqbhU
you can see me in this vid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSSwClBOVew&feature=related
 
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extra dampening does seem a bit odd to me as well - always seems to me like the challenge is getting those guys to ring
I suspect that maybe Polly is "EQing" - damping out weird overtones possibly from uneven head tensioning so maybe it ain't ringing true

I hear ya on the carbs -- cut my teeth on the brits and was a holdout from the "just slap a weber kit on it" guys, then again, I left those lever shocks on MGs too...which was probably mistake ;) -- I think something can be said for "tuning" in general, whatever the system...realizing, by feel, that changing this is going to also effect that, getting a feel for how far to back out as you pass over the sweet spot, etc
 
extra dampening does seem a bit odd to me as well - always seems to me like the challenge is getting those guys to ring
I suspect that maybe Polly is "EQing" - damping out weird overtones possibly from uneven head tensioning so maybe it ain't ringing true

I hear ya on the carbs -- cut my teeth on the brits and was a holdout from the "just slap a weber kit on it" guys, then again, I left those lever shocks on MGs too...which was probably mistake ;) -- I think something can be said for "tuning" in general, whatever the system...realizing, by feel, that changing this is going to also effect that, getting a feel for how far to back out as you pass over the sweet spot, etc
Slapping the Weber on! That is what The Drum Dial is to me. It gives me a place to start. I know that only you and I will understand the Weber vs SU multi carb analogy!
If the RT's aren't evenly tensioned, there will be unwanted tones.
I think that perhaps Polly's band plays at such a low volume that she is trying to make her drums play at a level that is too low. Drums can only get so quiet. Even small ones.
Polly is playing with child sticks. I use Zildjian 7a hickory. I also use the stock Pearl RT foot pedal or an Iron Cobra with the felt beater on my bass. Polly uses a fluff beater with extra padding on the batter head. I play a lot louder than she does.
I love the sound when I thwack the toms on my RT at almost a rimshot angle to produce an accent during rolls etc, but without hitting the rim. I get them to sing a
bit that way.
I played a kit with concert toms for 20 years, so the lack of resos doesn't bother me. I find kits with resos more of a challenge.
 
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justjim said:
I'm wondering if you might be more happy with single ply concert head like an Evans strata or a Remo Renaissance Ambassador ...FWIW we had coated pinstripes on the wife's, we thought they were maybe a little too "controlled" (internally damped)

I actually was thinking you might like the larger size specifically because you don't play at high SPL -- I personally find the teeny drums get kind of flat when 'underplayed' (I like quiet too, but I started music as a classicl[al] guitarist, so "rockin out" isn't my native anyway) - so I'm thinking more in terms of resonance than projection

I'll give the Protone a bit of time to settle in and experiment with tunings but your ideas are on board. Not sure about Remo. The Ambassador snare head lost tone so quickly - despite my Kidsticks and general softness (incl. half of the set played with brushes).

To Bob & Jim - I live in a flat and can't play kit at home. My flat has a lot of wood and flat surfaces so when I first got the kit, while tuning the tim it was almost like I was letting off a cannon! Once I got it in the studio I could hear that the dampening on the tom sounded lousy and took it off. The sound clip I put in my previous post was the tom undampened. I've since tuned the drum up a bit.

Yeah, ideally I'd have a bigger tom but I'm not spending any more $$ once I pick up the case for the kick I ordered. I've spent an awful lot of time and money on a band that's not that serious. Must be mid life kicking in :)

Bob, good to see you guys gigging and that your crew seem capable of extricating themselves from wives/partners and work long enough to get the arrangements tight. Not easy to find at our age. Your toms were low in the mix so it was hard to judge the tuning, though. The RT toms sounded good on the sound bite that you posted previously. Yes, a quirky sound; they have their own nice quality. But, as Jim said, they probably need a decent thumping to bring out their best.
 
Here is my entry into the mini kit parade.

16 x 16 Catalina Maple Bass w/conversion kit
10 x 9 Renown Maple tom
4 x 14 Keller Piccolo snare...home made

p.s. if anyone has any tuning tips for a non-ringing bass sound my ears are open. I have a Fibreskin reso and
a pinstripe batter.
 

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As promised, here's the RT Gig Kit, complete with kick drum that looks a bit like an animal with a wide-open mouth:

hungry_beast.jpg


Pardon the blurry shot; the light in the studio was about as good as my camera and photographic skill.
 
As promised, here's the RT Gig Kit, complete with kick drum that looks a bit like an animal with a wide-open mouth:

hungry_beast.jpg


Pardon the blurry shot; the light in the studio was about as good as my camera and photographic skill.
I see what you mean by the "Wide Open Mouth".
Just curious, Why did you put such a large porthole? On a drum that size, its like having no reso at all! I only put a 3 1/2 inch hole in mine. I thought that that was large! I have a 20" bass.
You also have a lot of stuffing in that drum. I would have used a hand towel folded flat at the bottom just to take some ring off. Im using an Aquarian SK I on my bass, with nothing inside. On a drum that small I would use an Aquarian Performance II as a batter with nothing inside. Try it. I recommend that for Gruntersdad also. He also asked about dampening his small bass.
The kit looks great! I love small kits!
What are you using for a snare?
 
Just curious, Why did you put such a large porthole? On a drum that size, its like having no reso at all! I only put a 3 1/2 inch hole in mine. I thought that that was large! I have a 20" bass.

You also have a lot of stuffing in that drum. I would have used a hand towel folded flat at the bottom just to take some ring off. Im using an Aquarian SK I on my bass, with nothing inside. On a drum that small I would use an Aquarian Performance II as a batter with nothing inside. Try it. I recommend that for Gruntersdad also. He also asked about dampening his small bass.

The kit looks great! I love small kits!

What are you using for a snare?

Bob, believe it or not, the kit came from the factory with that hole in the front head. It's a 16" drum and the hole is 6". A foam block comes with the kit and the hole seems to be sized so the block fits through. I added a towel so I don't drown out my volume-shy bandmates. I'm the only one with a genuine rock background (jazz/classical/folk/blues) and I'm the only one to have played hard rock, and I've played heel up since 1976. Every now and then I break into the Kashmir beat at rehearsals to freak 'em out :)

I am still learning to play quietly with a kick pedal, bearing in mind that until now I haven't used a bass drum and pedal for about 8 months (I used a stomp box for a while) and can't practice at home due to volume issues. You heard the sound snippet of Little Wing. The prominent kick sound in it was a 16" drum stuffed with crap and struck with a big fluffy jazz beater - lol.

Thx for the tip re: the Aquarian. I'll do that once I have the kick situation more sorted out.

I agree that the small kits on this thread are really appealing. Even with small setups we still manage to have a wide range of setups and a few quirks. Grunter doesn't seem to have any cymbals. Lang has chimes. Everyone has different numbers, types and sizes of cymbals. For my kit, the 10" djembe seems to set up its look. I got the snare with my first kit - no name on it - and a jazz drummer who my sister went out with for a while said it was a vintage Premier. I have the biggest O-ring dampener (old head cutout) on it that I've ever had, with only a six inch hole to keep the volume down.

I think I'll have to agitate for us to turn up a bit!
 
4103971244_0204219b48_o.jpg


This is my two piece kit I use for my acoustic gig every wednesday.

24x14 gretsch
14x5 gretsch new classic chrome over brass
14" A zildjian quick beats
10" A custom splash
Rhythm-tech tamborine hi-hat ring
 
Hi Polly
I just got this one. Tama STAGESTAR, It's an older one as far as I can tell. Im trying to find out what year it is.
14x18 bass
8x10, 8x12, rack toms
12x14 floor tom
5x13 steel snare
I haven't replaced the stock dented heads from the novice player that owned it yet. I ordered them.
I haven't had time to clean/shine it. When I change the heads I'll detail it.
I made a 2" riser for the 18" bass drum. It works great!

The kit is in great condition. It will polish up like new.

It sounds and plays excellent! Great tuning range. I can't wait until the Aquarian SK II and the black Tama logo heads arrive for the bass drum along with the new Aquarian Studio-X coated single ply tom heads.

Update; the last 4 pics are with the new heads installed and the kit cleaned up.
I put Aquarian Studio-X Coated heads on the tom batters and SuperKick II on the bass along with a Tama black logo head.
Im lovin this kit! It sounds wonderful! I really like the tone of the toms and the 18" bass. I read that this was a desirable low end kit because of its sound, but I never realized just how good that it would sound! I have played drum kits that cost tree times as much that didn't sound as good. If you find a Tama Stagestar, Buy It!
 

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