Tiki Cocktail set

Deathmetalconga

Platinum Member
I wanted a second set for smaller, quieter gigs. Instead of getting a smaller version of a conventional drumset (what's the use of getting a drumset if I already HAVE a drumset?), I took the plunge and got a cocktail kit from www.hbdrums.com. It came with a black metal flake plastic wrap that wasn't very remarkable and started warping when left next to a window. I really got the drums for the awesome birch ply shells.

I headed over to www.spoonflower.com and searched out patterns for tiki, cocktail, retro and 1950s. I finally settled on this pattern, Tiki Freaks, and wrapped the drum in it and put three coats of varnish over it. I also upgraded the stock cymbals, which were terrible and suitable for maybe scraping ice off your windshield. I sold the foot pedal on Craigslist and modified a spare DW 5000.

The Tiki Cocktail set is the result. It has a 16 by 24 combo tom/bass drum, a 10 by 5 tom, an 8 by 5 tom, a 10 by 4 snare, Meinl Classics 10 mini-hats, a 14 Sabian B8 bottom hat for a ride and a 12 Zildjian Z series splash for a crash and a cowbell. The 8 by 5 tom was originally the snare but it sounded lousy so I got a Pearl M80 snare and converted the 8 by 5 drum to an extra tom. I added extra three extra mounting brackets to hold everything and did some custom modification of the hardware to get it all in there.

I can carry this entire set in one trip! It sounds beautiful, mellower than a full drum set and perfect for sidewalk busking and coffeehouse gigs. Cocktail sets are rare and eccentric and I have gotten many compliments on the drum and its sound.

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Cool kit there! And they're in Huntington Beach right near me! And the price is right. Too bad they make the bass drum so tall, it's too tall for guys my size (hence why I went with the Safari). Any videos of you playing it?
 
Ha! That's awesome DMC... Great looking wrap. I was thinking of having mine painted, but I haven't given it much though yet. That looks absolutely great.
 
Nice n' classy!
Sounds though, we need sound!
 
Sweet! Let me know when you're out w/ these babies and I'll come and check you out. I played one of these kits a while back and they're a lot of fun. It's tough to get used to standing and using a kick pedal, though.
 
Sweet! Let me know when you're out w/ these babies and I'll come and check you out. I played one of these kits a while back and they're a lot of fun. It's tough to get used to standing and using a kick pedal, though.

Yes, they are actually pretty uncomfortable to play. You have to shift your weight from one foot to the other. The "floor tom" is at the center of the set and the snare way off to one side, so it takes a lot of re-learning and adjustment. You can't play bass with one foot for very long or you get a serious burn in the front calf muscles. I don't know how sitting makes such a big difference but it does. On the plus side, I can carry the entire set in one trip very easily.

Because you have to shift feet to guard against fatigue, I play bass with my left foot about 30 percent of the time, so it's training my left foot in different ways.
 
Yes, they are actually pretty uncomfortable to play. You have to shift your weight from one foot to the other. The "floor tom" is at the center of the set and the snare way off to one side, so it takes a lot of re-learning and adjustment. You can't play bass with one foot for very long or you get a serious burn in the front calf muscles. I don't know how sitting makes such a big difference but it does. On the plus side, I can carry the entire set in one trip very easily.

Because you have to shift feet to guard against fatigue, I play bass with my left foot about 30 percent of the time, so it's training my left foot in different ways.

I've seen guys use a bar stool or even lean against a wall...maybe that'd help?
 
Cool kit there! And they're in Huntington Beach right near me! And the price is right. Too bad they make the bass drum so tall, it's too tall for guys my size (hence why I went with the Safari). Any videos of you playing it?

Bo, I'm just had to try pretty hard to lay off the short jokes in another thread where you mentioned "shortstack" toms. You're not making this easy on me.

Sweet kit DMC! I think it would only be appropriate to play it while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a big goofy grin. That's one of those machines you could never be bored whilst playing.

I've been pondering getting a cocktail kit or a bop set for smaller gigs. As of now I'm leaning on a bop kit but this post has me rethinking it. I love that laid back island vibe you have going there.
 
Cool set, I love the tiki-retro motif. You did a great job with the wrap!
 
Cool set, I love the tiki-retro motif. You did a great job with the wrap!

Thanks! It was tricky, especially for the first time. I think if I had to do it over again, I would have aligned the vertical brown stripe with the rod holders. Instead of the rod holders being in the middle of tiki faces, they would wind up in the spaces between the faces. I think I still might do that by realigning the tom holders.
 
Bo, they have a complete line of bass drums.
 

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Nice video DMC. What kind of camera did you use? Great picture quality. Are you a lefty, or did you just configure the cocktail kit that way?
 
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