Skitch
Pioneer Member
Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson were playing big band music. While technically part of the jazz family the needs are very different than small group jazz. You would be very hard pressed to use anything bigger than a 20" and still get authentic, stylistically appropriate sounds.
As for the rock dudes, using the small drums, I have tried the EMAD and other similar heads and they just don't sound right. It can be done but there is a lot of compromise to do it.
What about Tony Williams? I don't think he used anything other than a 24" for quite sometime. Max Roach when he was with Ludwig? Mickey Roker? These guys didn't use 18" bass drums exclusively. Neither did Art Blakey! Yeah, he automatically sucks for not having an 18" bass drum!
Yes, if you are purist, then an 18" bass drum is all you will ever use. And it will say Gretsch on it and be a round badge and cost you a fortune. The hardware will be crap by today's standards.
And if you are purist, then your eighties drum kit will be mamoth have blankets in the kick drum(s) and pinstripes with deadringers on the toms (both sides) and some unknown snare drum head with gobbs of duct tape on the snare. You will also spend more money on makeup than any supermodel and spend more time setting up at a gig than you did in the car actually getting there! Am I being ridiculous -SURE just as is this argument that in order to be a proper jazz player, a drummer MUST have a Gretsch round badge kit consisting of an 18" Bass Drum, a 12" tom, a 14" Floor tom with no more than three cymbals or they aren't really a jazz drummer! I was in a band in college with another drummer by the name of Trevon who played a Tama Rockstar kit and 30 minutes of listening to him play would make your head swim. And he didn't care about having the 18" bass drum!
I will agree with you about the EMAD as they tend to have a click sound and not much else. And that was my impression form the sound board - lots of high end and no meat to the drum - and this was on a 22" bass drum!
Mike
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