Kick drum hoops seem too large

mo2vation

Senior Member
I've had this issue for years - wondering if anyone else has experienced it.

I can't get my Kick Drum hoops to seat evenly on the rim of the Kick Drum head.

There is always this wacky bow.

The head seats on the bearing edge perfectly... so the kick drum is round.

The hoop will roll across my wood floors perfectly - so the hoops are round.

They just seem to be a little big... like 1/4" or so.

I can take my fist and sort of punch the hoop until its mostly on most of the rim of the head - but its never on perfect, or even near perfect.

What's the dang deal? Are they supposed to be close but not that close? Do kick drums have much more relaxed tolerances than other drums?

Pics attached.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

-Ken


Hoop-2.jpg


Hoop-1.jpg
 
You're right, the hoops are simply too large in diameter, by as much as half an inch from the look of it. Depending on how old the kit is, where you bought it, and what kind of warranty went with it, you should try contacting DW and seeing if they'll replace it with hoops that fit the drum better.

On one hand, that hoop should have never left the factory. On the other, the hoop does what it's supposed to do (hold the head on), so the issue is cosmetic.

Are both hoops too big or just the one?
 
You're right, the hoops are simply too large in diameter, by as much as half an inch from the look of it. Depending on how old the kit is, where you bought it, and what kind of warranty went with it, you should try contacting DW and seeing if they'll replace it with hoops that fit the drum better.

On one hand, that hoop should have never left the factory. On the other, the hoop does what it's supposed to do (hold the head on), so the issue is cosmetic.

Are both hoops too big or just the one?


They both are.

The kit is from 1995... I've had it since then. Its been like this for a several years now.

If I tap it around a bit, I can get the hoop to hang over about 1/8" to 1/16" evenly all around.

Just seems strange.

Thanks

-K
 
I can tell you that none of mine are like that at all. I'd see if I could do something about it.
 
Are you using aquarian heads? They have a slightly narrower rim. I have the same thing on my bass drum which dooesn't happen with evans or remo. Makes 0 difference though and i like aquarian bass heads more.
 
Are you using aquarian heads? They have a slightly narrower rim. I have the same thing on my bass drum which dooesn't happen with evans or remo. Makes 0 difference though and i like aquarian bass heads more.


This is true, Aquarian heads can sometimes be a problem with old(er) drums, if you're using a Aquarian, try another head brand before taking drastic measures.
 
a few notes...

1) it is generally common that this happens with any brand of drum hoop. i used to work at a music store and be a drum tech, so i've seen and worked on a lot of drums.

2) BUT if yours is a dw (going off the claw and what someone else wrote) then in 95 dw was using keller shells. in 97 is when they started making their own drums. which leads me to...

3) you see this problem with mainly after market (keller) shells/hoops. when i worked for a indie drum company, the shells and hoops were never exact in size. some shells may be under or oversize while the hoops are always a bit oversize. its just how they make their stuff and there's nothing you can do about it. keller is actually a furnature company that makes drum shells.

4) it can also depend on how many plies the hoops has and the way someone is tuning. and if the hoops are wrapped, that's basically like having another "ply" added to the overall size of the hoop.

5) if someone has a vintage kit (say 50's to the 80's) were the hoops have been over tightened thru time, then that's the reason for that. for modern drums with this problem, its a hit or miss.
 
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