The Bonham set thread

With a two floor tom set-up, here are some tips and tricks:

-You should be turning your torso to hit the drums, it's good to face what you are hitting.

-If you find this uncomfortable, don't change seat height, which is probably perfect for you the way it is. Don't change the seat positioning, which is probably perfect for you the way it is. You should be able to play the drum comfortably by simply moving the drum. Try moving it away from you more, as opposed to behind you. Ex. Face your kit from the front. Looking at your drum, think of moving it to the left as opposed to fowards.

-Don't give up. It can take me eternities to set stuff up to my comfort, but in the end it's all worth it! Your comfort is number one, as it allows you to play your best, with the less effort possible!

-DM
 
pdp 9091 said:
sweet kit.....im waiting for ludwig to come out with their bonham kit that their only selling exclusivly to guitar center. Its in the august catalog. Now all i have to do is sell my stage custom for at least 500 bucks and ill have enough money.


DUDE! whats wrong with you?? keep the stage custom ans sell your computer! Why would you want to throw away an awesome set like that? even if you are getting another, the SC is worthy of keeping.
 
larrylover said:
DUDE! whats wrong with you?? keep the stage custom ans sell your computer!
but then there will be no 'drummerworld' for the poor dude!


ha ha............ soon the world will be mine!!!!! :)
 
larrylover said:
DUDE! whats wrong with you?? keep the stage custom ans sell your computer! Why would you want to throw away an awesome set like that? even if you are getting another, the SC is worthy of keeping.


well first its not my computer...its my parents so i dont think theyd be happy if i sold it....second i wouldnt be able to go on drummerworld....third....i want bigger drums....a 22 kick just doesnt do it for me
 
Dude, all those Bonham kits are beauties! My favorite Bonzo kit (right now) is the Black Oyster Pearl version.
 
drummonkey000 said:
With a two floor tom set-up, here are some tips and tricks:

-You should be turning your torso to hit the drums, it's good to face what you are hitting.

-If you find this uncomfortable, don't change seat height, which is probably perfect for you the way it is. Don't change the seat positioning, which is probably perfect for you the way it is. You should be able to play the drum comfortably by simply moving the drum. Try moving it away from you more, as opposed to behind you. Ex. Face your kit from the front. Looking at your drum, think of moving it to the left as opposed to fowards.

-Don't give up. It can take me eternities to set stuff up to my comfort, but in the end it's all worth it! Your comfort is number one, as it allows you to play your best, with the less effort possible!

-DM


Very well said. I've torn down and rebuilt my kit more time than I can remember, spending huge amounts of time just stitting on the throne visualising the way my apendages want to naturally flow. Setting up your kit comfortably and efficiently takes a lot of time and trial and error, and is a very personal process. And totally worth it. It definately helped me improve my drumming.

That being said, IMO a properly set up Bonham style kit is extremely effiicient and comfortable to play.
 
I agree completely. This style set up also used by Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Mitch Mitchell and countless other legendary jazz and rock drummers, is a very efficient set up. When I decided to go with this configuration, about 15 years ago, it was after a few years of building up and stripping down my kit that I finally realized that I was very comfortable playing this set up. There is nothing obstructing my full range of motion, everything is spread out and very comfortable.
 
my frankenstein, before it gets re-finished.
 

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gmrakich said:
Are all the shells from the same era???
What are you gonna recover them with, finish wise???
Toms are all 6 ply blue/olive badge. Kick is a 6 ply large keystone badge. Clear maple finish will be the end result. 1st time I've had all the pieces set up as a kit.
 
The kit really has potential. I think the clear maple finish is a good choice, very classy. I really got a kick of how your floor toms are upside down so that you can get them lower, I have never seen that done before, interesting. The bass drum is a beauty!
 
I'm planning on getting a Bonham kit once I get older and have some money. I love the low sound of them, and I love Led Zep :).
 
pcmckay said:
As far as playing with two floor toms there are many different things you can do to make it more comfortable. Some people say that sitting higher makes it more comfortable to hit that second floor tom. Or you can tilt the drums toward you more which some say helps. Personally I like my floor toms flat as possible and instead of having them in a direct line move the second floor tom out a little bit. By doing this it feels more natural rolling down the kit for me.

nice kit, dude. how do you have the bass tuned? (i.e., head tensions, felt tensions, etc.) i play a 24 but i like it big and open. just curious how you have your set up.
 
I guess I'll post a few pictures of my kit. If you want the deets on the set up, go to the link in my signature.

DRUMk2.jpg

DRUMK.jpg

DRUMk1.gif

DRUMk4.gif

DRUM2.jpg

drum5.jpg
 
rogers_68 said:
nice kit, dude. how do you have the bass tuned? (i.e., head tensions, felt tensions, etc.) i play a 24 but i like it big and open. just curious how you have your set up.

I have felt strips on the batter side and the resonant side. The front head is tuned higher then the batter side. All in all the drum is tuned a lot higher then one would think to get the full round sound of the drum. It has a nice big boomy sound. It is the way Bonham tuned his bass drum, in fact all of his drums were tuned with this method. Check out the Bonham page on this site and they really go into depth on his tuning method.
 
toolskid said:
This may interest you, but this is one of Bonham's actual spiral vistalites that was hired for a session I was on! The floor tom was 20x18!!!!!!

That is a SWEET kit! Got any sounds of that kit in the studio? They have a pic of a kit like that in the book, that Bonzo GAVE away to a friend. I wonder if thats the kit? Very cool!
 
pcmckay said:
I have felt strips on the batter side and the resonant side. The front head is tuned higher then the batter side. All in all the drum is tuned a lot higher then one would think to get the full round sound of the drum. It has a nice big boomy sound. It is the way Bonham tuned his bass drum, in fact all of his drums were tuned with this method. Check out the Bonham page on this site and they really go into depth on his tuning method.

I also have the strips on the batter and resonant side. Both heads are tuned way up, mine are probably tuned closer to each other than "Bonham's" tuning. I don't have the coated heads, but I like the batter very firm. Nice tone to it, and still sounds HUGE! When I wear out the Ludwig heads I'll try the coated 2 ply/1 ply combo and see how that goes.
 
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