Hmm... Could this work?

Hmm... Would this work?
Hey guys. I've come up with an idea but I'm not sure if it has been done or would work or not. Hoping to get some feedback on it:

Imagine a 20x16 bass drum. Very versatile drum. Tuned high, it is good for jazz and such and tuned low, it is good for a nice punchy, meaty, thump. Well instead of finding a head that works with both styles, why not change the head? Now picture the bass drum again without the batter head. Reso head still on it. You have 3 different batters with each mounted on it's own bearing edge, hoop, and lugs. My idea is to cut the batter hoop and lugs off of a drum (With the head still on) with the hooking part on it and the anchor part of the nesting kit clamps on each to make a quick head change mount that leaves the head mounted and tuned. You could have a wide variety of sounds from just changing the batter side hoop and shell section. You could have a SuperKick 2 for that meaty punch, Coated Powerstroke 3 for a more jazz oriented sound, and an Emad for more fusion-y tones.

In a nutshell: You cut the the batter side hoops and lugs off the shell by about an inch to keep the head mounted and tuned with some locks to reattach the shell section with a different head and sound.

Logistically, you'd need an ISS or RIMS to mount it since the Optimount wouldn't work.

Would it work or am I just an idiot?

I don't think you need the Opti or ISS to make it work. Just the clips will do fine.

Check this out. That's a great idea, btw. They separate the drum for a different reason though.

Precision Drums Nesting Kit

Lots more unnecessary hardware on shell for mine....extra drilling, extra pieces of metal to clip the specific bearing edge to the shell etc etc.

Why not either just adjust the tuning depending on the gig or swap out the heads?

Pocket-full-of-gold said:

Lots more unnecessary hardware on shell for mine....extra drilling, extra pieces of metal to clip the specific bearing edge to the shell etc etc.

Why not either just adjust the tuning depending on the gig or swap out the heads?

Click to expand...

Pretty much my opinion too, plus, some shell tone through to the reso head will be lost, although that may or may not bother you.

Well I know that changing heads for a short time is a pain in the arse for me and probably a bunch of other folks too. I think that guys like session drummers would enjoy the quick change when they're playing different styles.

Right now, I'm trying to come up with a very low mass or floating design to keep too much drilling unnecessary.

Seems to me that that link to the nesting kit has a gasket between the drum halves that might kill some of the sound.

Wonder if you could cut opposing bevels on the halves so the pieces would fit together with a liittle interlock instead of throwing away the shell resonance to a rubber gasket. This would require some clamping latches with springs to force the interlocking bearing edges together a bit more than a standard trunk latch might.

Know what I mean?

Yeah I understand what you mean. Maybe just cut some "shapes" for lack of a better word and their opposing shapes on the other section. The butterfly camps could still hold it together though, I'm sure.

Umm... there is no "gasket" in the Precision kits. They just cut the shell so that it will fit together better with the other portion.

The Precision Drum method is the one that would work.
They could build a multi head kit like you describe in the IP.
Is there a market for such a drum? I don't know?

There comes a point where complexity and expense lose out to the simpler option of buying a second bass drum. I mean, you'd have to buy half a drum (shell, lugs, and a hoop) to pull this off. Add in fabrication expenses, the nesting hardware, etc...

The Yamaha Hip gig kit and the nesting kit are proof that it can work.
Who cares if there's a market? Get a shell, have it cut, and get some case clips.

"Loose resonance"? How many people use a full out bass drum un-muffled in any way?
Not trying to be a tool, it just doesn't really make much sense to me.

Just because the drum might have a few clips on it, or has the shell tightened together?

A bass drum is resting on the floor for one thing, and secondly, the movement of air between the heads is what produces most of the "sound" anyway.
I'm no scientist, but, IMO edge type, head selection and tuning are going to have a lot more effect that a few screws and a couple clips.

If the two halves, or however long the clipped section might be, fit nicely, IMO it could work just like the OP envisions.
It's not like it hasn't been done before. Roberto has something similar with his Roto-Drums with the sliding sections.

I say try it and see. Seems like a cool idea. I'd put a re-ring where the two sections meet to keep things flush, but other than that, I doubt anything would make the drum less "resonant" to anyone's ear.
Older bass drums had center re-rings and they resonate just fine.

claw hook for the bass drum ala tama starphonic snares?

its good idea connecting elements should be flexible. might be fun to have a sort of seal of a merger? for better fit and to prevent excessive air leakage, pressure during the impact