Drum Configuration

buzzbuzz

Member
I currently have 3 rack toms and 1 floor tom. 8, 10, 12 and 14.
I play old school Metal and the 8" is hard to tune and doesn't really belong. I am considering replacing the 8" w/ a 13" so I would then have 10,12,13 up and a 14 floor. Or, should I get a 16" floor tom?
With a 13, I already am set up for it and am used to the 3 up, 1 down. With a 16, it would probably sound better plus be a better configuration for what I play - Judas Priest. However, an extra floor tom won't fit in my trunk (I already have limited space in my car) and takes up more space on the stage.
Can anyone give me some additional thought for the benefits one way or the other?
 
For old school Metal, get a 16 inch floor tom !

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Agree on the 16" floor (as a replacement for the 14?), but not critical, especially if space is an issue. I'd experiment a bit with heads first. Clear Ambassadors are great heads but are pretty generic; and other heads will give you different tonal quality. Check out this link http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/products/drumhead-guide-comparison for some ideas. It may just be a case of using different heads. It will def be cheaper and you will not have to change your playing style. ;-)
 
I currently have 3 rack toms and 1 floor tom. 8, 10, 12 and 14.
I play old school Metal and the 8" is hard to tune and doesn't really belong. I am considering replacing the 8" w/ a 13" so I would then have 10,12,13 up and a 14 floor. Or, should I get a 16" floor tom?
With a 13, I already am set up for it and am used to the 3 up, 1 down. With a 16, it would probably sound better plus be a better configuration for what I play - Judas Priest. However, an extra floor tom won't fit in my trunk (I already have limited space in my car) and takes up more space on the stage.
Can anyone give me some additional thought for the benefits one way or the other?

Those are the exact same sizes I play, and while I lean more towards standard hard rock/grunge, I play stuff like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden too and they sound fine. I used clear Ambassadors for a long time, but recently I switched to clear Emperors and the sound difference was definitely noticeable. My 8" has no resonant head so it's naturally brighter than normal, but with an Emperor it sounded like the 10" tom did with Ambassadors, and the pattern repeated all the way up to the 14" floor tom. It was like each drum had given its old pitch to the drum at its immediate left. Not sure if the same will be true for you, but I'd suggest giving those heads a shot before trying other drum sizes. Word around here is that the coated or hazy Emperors are also worth trying if the clear ones don't cut it. I've only ever played Remo though, so you might want to check other brands as well. Good luck.
 
I'll add to the noise - I always played 8, 10, 12, 14.

Just added a 16 last year and took the 12 away (don't like 12's much), it's a good size to have.
 
Yes, get the 13". Big floor toms only get used sporadically. Only issue with the 13" is that your hi-hats will need to be positioned differently to make room for the 10".
 
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