2 different Kicks in a drum kit?

Davo-London

Gold Member
So here’s my mad idea:

If a manufacturer offered the following:

• Kick Drum: 18” x 14” and 22” x 14”
• Snare: 14” x 5.5”
• Rack Toms: 10” x 7” and 12” x 8”
• Floor Toms: 14” x 12” and 16” x 14”

Then you could just about do any gig under the sun, i.e.

Jazz with 18” kick and 14” floor tom and either 10” or 12” rack tom

Pop with 22” kick and both rack toms and maybe 14” or 16" floor tom

Rock with 22” kick and all the toms or just 16” floor tom

This also caters for the 2 up 1 down and the 1 up 2 down kind of folk

And it should keep Bo happy!

I’m relatively new to drums, so has any manufacturer ever offered 2 different kick drums as part of a kit?

Cheers
Davo
 
I doubt you'll find it as part of a standard configuration, but just about all manufacturers will happily let you order extra drums.

Most brand will offer the 22, 10, 12, 14, 16 setup right off the shelf, so all you have to do then is buy an 18" kick drum in the same series and finish.

Alternatively, you might be able to find two separate kits. One kit with 22" kick, 12" and 16" toms (a typical "rock" setup) and another kit with an 18" kick, 10" and 14" toms (a typical "jazz" setup). Combine the two and you have what you want (along with an extra snare and a few extra bits of hardware)
 
I've never seen a kit offered with two bass drums as a standard factory option. There are, of course, many custom kits which have been ordered this way. That's because people buy into the hype of getting a smaller bass drum for jazz and a larger one for rock. All you really need is a 20"x14" bass drum and you're all set. :D

I bought a vintage Ludwig silver sparkle 12/13/16/22 to complement my existing 12/14/20, thinking I could use the bigger bass drum for louder gigs, mix and match the toms as I pleased, etc. I have yet to play a gig where I NEED anything other than my 12/14/20.
 
You know, Davo, that would make me happy. Ironically I was just thinking today that when I order my next kit, it will have to include both a 14x18 bass drum and a 22 bass drum in some undetermined depth as of this writing.

I was looking at the numbers today and I know I can get away with 7x10 and 14x14 toms. The biggest inner debate right now is if I should also jettison the 14" snare size I've been mentally trained to use since my childhood. I'm thinking a 5x13 might be a smarter move. But definitely get both an 18 and a 22 bass drum.

It is too bad manufacturers don't do this kind of thinking for the customer. It's always a special order kind of thing. Alot of people use two snare drums and the companies don't offer kits like that either. Perhaps the companies think in terms of selling more complete drumsets. Why give the customer an additional bass drum when the customer might just buy an entirely different kit for his jazz tendencies? From a marketing standpoint, this makes sense. Or, if you're on a budget, you could just get a 20 and use it for everything.

But I've been there and done that ;)
 
I'm not sure that it would be terribly advantageous to a drum company to offer complete kits with 2 bass drums when you can just order a regular kit and add the second one on. Maybe I'm missing something?

But I definitely get the sentiment. I have a 22" and 24". I can't see getting anything bigger than a 24", but I could see me looking at a 20" or an 18" at some point. I've only been using the 24" for the last year or so, but I've been wanting to give the 22" another go and bring my rack tom down and in a bit.

Before that, I'll be adding a couple more toms. Right now I have 12x8 and 13x9 toms, 15x14 and 18x16 floors. If I added a 14x10 rack and a 16x15 floor, I'd have every size between 12" and 18". This would allow me to run:

My current tom defaults:
13/15/18
12/15/18 (alternate)

And my fantasy tom alternates:
13/14/16 (2 up 1 dn)
13/16
14/16/18

I remember seeing Dave Weckl's kit on ebay (the Cherry RCs) and he had most sizes that he could choose from to make different kits. I thought that was a brilliant idea. More recently, I was reading Matt Chamberlain in MD and his list of toms were exactly what I want, though he has a ton of bass drums and snares to choose from.
 
The biggest inner debate right now is if I should also jettison the 14" snare size I've been mentally trained to use since my childhood. I'm thinking a 5x13 might be a smarter move.

Try it, you'll be pleased! I play a 13 x 7 snare and it sounds cool and deep, and gives me lots of space between my legs. I don't think I'll be going back to 14" for a long time.
 
I don't know why a manufacture would have to offer it in a pre-pack when anyone can just order such a thing.

Anyhow, it's been done

Ed Shaughnessy had a double bass kit with two different sized bass drum on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, appear each weekday night for some 20-30 years
ed_shaughnessy.jpg


Studio great JR Robinson had a two-different-sized bass drum kit in the 80's
John%20Robinsonww.jpg


And then Terry Bozzio, Mike Mangini and many others are running "remote" bass drums off the sides of their kit in different sizes.
 
Ginger Baker ... his Ludwig kit ....​
1960s
20"x 14" Bass (right foot)
22"x 14" Bass (left foot)
12x8" & 13x9" top toms
14x14" & 16x14" floor toms
1940's 6.5" x 14" black finished Leedy Broadway wood Snare
Snare tuned high, toms and bass tuned low
In May 1968 Baker purchased a new Ludwig drum kit with 20"x14" & 22"x14" bass drums, a 14"x5" metal Super-Sensitive snare and the same-sized toms for Cream's farewell tour.
Far as I know, a pre-pac kit has never been marketed, with two different sized kicks.​
Easy enough to buy one kit, and add a second kick drum to it ... that I've done, plenty of times.​
 
Cool. I wasn't really thinking of double bass players. Just having the drums available so you could pick and choose. Whenever I've looked at the cost of adding more drums there seems a huge premium and I guess I would like to see this change. Anyway just a fantasy ...

Peace
Davo
 
Try it, you'll be pleased! I play a 13 x 7 snare and it sounds cool and deep, and gives me lots of space between my legs. I don't think I'll be going back to 14" for a long time.

Yeah, sometime ago someone loaned me a PDP 7x13 snare and once I put good heads on it, it actually tuned to where I wanted it to go, and tuned down very well too. I may have been amiss just assuming the usage of the 14" snare drum for most of my career. It helps to keep costs down too ;)
 
Well, I would have jumped at such a chance if it had been available. I ordered a five-piece in a 12/13/16/22 configuration. I later added a 14x14 floor tom and 14x18 bass drum. I don't play all the drums at once, but it gives me two four-piece kits in one: 12/14/18 and 13/16/22. This makes me happy. I can play rock gigs with the 22 and jazz with the 18. Both give me exactly the sound I want. If I could have purchased a pre-configured set with an 18 and 22, I would have been thrilled. Maybe some company will latch onto this.
 
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