Playing a four piece

S

sticks4drums

Guest
Well many of you know me as the guy with the huge 14 piece Saturn. This weekend I took my little 4 piece Saturn Jungle kit up to my guitarist cottage to work out our new songs. Believe me, going from 14 to 4 is quite an adjustment. I will be building a 6 piece Saturn kit in the near future for gigging purposes, so this will help me simplify some of my fills.

I have heard many people on drum sites say that using a smaller kit makes them more creative. I have always taken offence by this statement. I think I might of been reading into it wrongly. It doesn't make your drumming sound more creative, you just have to learn to create things with less drums.

Friday and Saturday, I was struggling to play the little kit. I kept looking for more drums to hit. It really handcuffed my playing. By Sunday I was flying on this thing. I just learned how to do more with less. This was not a good thing sound wise to me. Just a practical thing. If you have to carry your kit around from gig to gig, you want to have less things to set up. You can still play what you have to play, you just won't have all the different sounds at your disposal.

When I sit back and listen to the simple iphone recording I did for our practice, the songs sound the same structure wise. I just don't hear the palate of sounds I normally do with more toms and cymbals to play.

Is less or more drums, better or worse. My answer would be play what works for your style of music.
 
Last edited:
I regularly play three kits:

4-piece for rehearsals (guitarist's kit at his house)

5-piece at church (I leave my kit there)

6 or 7-piece for practice at home and at gigs, depending on the room available

I have to learn to adjust for each circumstance. The 5-piece is fine for church because I'm usually not doing anything fancy. I also have some percussion instruments to spice things up.

The 4-piece is a struggle for me, because I sitll don't feel comfortable with only 1 rack tom, and the space from that tom to the floor tom is sometimes problematic for me. My guitarist wants to record and create a demo, and I'm afraid the drums will sound lame. It's a small little jazz kit to boot, so I don't feel like I have a lot to express myself with. He also only has one crash and one ride cymbal, which limits what I can do. But it beats having to haul drums every week to practice!

When I get to take my big kit on the road, that is a great experience, because I feel like an artist who has additional brushes and colors to paint with. Just the addition of an 8" tom makes the rolls sound so cool to me. Listening to my recordings of gigs, rolls on even just the 6-piece sound like there are double that many drums. And I'll have a ride, two crashes (14" and 16"), a splash, and sometimes a china cymbal and/or an 18" crash if I have the stage room.
 
Very early in my drumming I switched to a 4pc and I don't think I'll ever use more drums. Since I'm left handed, and in most gigs here we share the kit with other bands, I need more time to set up, to make up for that I use the least I can, a 4pc with three cymbals. I'm very comfortable with this setup, when I got my new kit, I tried it as a 5pc and I just couldn't find a way to make it feel comfortable, so I quickly switched back.

So I've always been content with the sounds I have as far as drum goes, cymbals are another thing. I would love to have a couple of 6" splahes and some kind of stack.

tumblr_llcasktsmg1qcxcjfo1_500.png
 
Last edited:
When I played at church I used a 9 piece electronic kit. Believe me I used all of it. The one leader who is a folk loving drum minimalist told me it was always fun playing with me because I was very creative with all my drums.
 
Very early in my drumming I switched to a 4pc and I don't think I'll ever use more drums. Since I'm left handed, and in most gigs here we share the kit with other bands, I need more time to set up, to make up for that I use the least I can, a 4pc with three cymbals. I'm very comfortable with this setup, when I got my new kit, I tried it as a 5pc and I just couldn't find a way to make it feel comfortable, so I quickly switched back.

So I've always been content with the sounds I have as far as drum goes, cymbals are another thing. I would love to have a couple of 6" splahes and some kind of stack.

tumblr_llcasktsmg1qcxcjfo1_500.png

Yes. Your pics say it all. :) Has to make us wonder why we ever starting playing this instrument. Drums are great as long as you don't have to move them. Guess it is all about balance, and finding it.
 
I regularly play three kits:

4-piece for rehearsals (guitarist's kit at his house)

5-piece at church (I leave my kit there)

6 or 7-piece for practice at home and at gigs, depending on the room available

I have to learn to adjust for each circumstance. The 5-piece is fine for church because I'm usually not doing anything fancy. I also have some percussion instruments to spice things up.

The 4-piece is a struggle for me, because I sitll don't feel comfortable with only 1 rack tom, and the space from that tom to the floor tom is sometimes problematic for me. My guitarist wants to record and create a demo, and I'm afraid the drums will sound lame. It's a small little jazz kit to boot, so I don't feel like I have a lot to express myself with. He also only has one crash and one ride cymbal, which limits what I can do. But it beats having to haul drums every week to practice!

When I get to take my big kit on the road, that is a great experience, because I feel like an artist who has additional brushes and colors to paint with. Just the addition of an 8" tom makes the rolls sound so cool to me. Listening to my recordings of gigs, rolls on even just the 6-piece sound like there are double that many drums. And I'll have a ride, two crashes (14" and 16"), a splash, and sometimes a china cymbal and/or an 18" crash if I have the stage room.

It is good for you to play a small kit and a medium kit (most people play medium sized kits of 5 to 8 pieces). Each will force you to develop different moves, combinations and routines. I go back and forth between a 4 piece and a 6 piece.
 
I find that the more pieces I start to ass, the more I start to worry about neglecting drums. I've played a 7 piece once and won't do it ever again, because instead of concentrating on the music, I'd be thinking to myself "I haven't used this drums in a while.. lets try to incorporate into the next fill." For me, its just too much to think about. I prefer the 4 piece, maybe 5.

I also like the challenge of making a 4 piece sound like a bigger kit, by incorporating the bass drum in fills and runs. You are right stick4drums, it doesn't force me to be more creative, but its a challenge I face that you don't. I just choose to embrace it.. just personal preference.

and You are also right Numberless, cymbals are another thing. I love cymbals, if I had the hardware and arm length, I'd have like 12 cymbals set up around my 4 piece, haha
 
I find that the more pieces I start to ass, the more I start to worry about neglecting drums. I've played a 7 piece once and won't do it ever again, because instead of concentrating on the music, I'd be thinking to myself "I haven't used this drums in a while.. lets try to incorporate into the next fill." For me, its just too much to think about. I prefer the 4 piece, maybe 5.

I also like the challenge of making a 4 piece sound like a bigger kit, by incorporating the bass drum in fills and runs. You are right stick4drums, it doesn't force me to be more creative, but its a challenge I face that you don't. I just choose to embrace it.. just personal preference.

and You are also right Numberless, cymbals are another thing. I love cymbals, if I had the hardware and arm length, I'd have like 12 cymbals set up around my 4 piece, haha
Who are you calling an ASS! Just kidding. I think you have a nasty type-O.
 
I origanated from a clasic rock and metal background. That being said I used to love a big set and wouldn't touch anything less than a 6 or 7 piece with at least that many cymbals. Well for this last band i've been playing with I had no need for all this stuff as out of 30 or so songs only 2 actualy have more than one tom and a floor tom in them ( I learn covers exactly how they are on the recordings, as we expect our guitar players to do). So I started packing around a 4pc with one ride and two crashes and it has absolutely forced me to become a beter drummer. Having less forces you to have to learn new things and be more creative on fills to keep it still sounding right. I will now never go back unless I have to for a completely diferant style of music, I love playing ( and packing around ) my litle 4pc!
 
I always find these discussions interesting.

I can CLEARLY remember a time when I said NO WAY would I want to play with less than 4 rack toms.
Now I use one, and in my next project I don't plan to use any!
I also want to use just hats and ONE cymbal.

Quite a difference for someone who had a quasi Neil Peart style kit, and then a Tommy Aldridge style kit (with all the cymbals).
A couple years ago, I had a lot of cymbals in my kit, now I use hats and 2 or 3 cymbals.
It's just where I'm at I guess.

I use a 28" Wind Gong too, but that's for effect and visuals for my hard rock band. It's an extra, and if it was a PITA to set up, I wouldn't bother.

I still use 3 floor toms (haha), which I DO use all the time, going either direction for fills or sections of a song.
I don't HAVE TO use 3, I just like to. My kit is a 6 piece for 99% of gigs, but when there's a back line kit, it's usually just a 4 piece.

I don't care, as long as the drums aren't super dead, and the bass drum is overly stuffed. THEN I get bummed, but what can ya do? It's only a short time, so whatever.

Many years ago (yikes!), I used to have a real problem using someone else's kit on a show where we opened and the "headliner" drummer had a platform or something, and there was no extra room.
It was mostly that my kit was better, and I didn't want to have to use "their junky kit"--even though through the PA it sounded just fine.

It was just in my head, and my ego (but, I DID have a cool kit), but it was mainly ego...and nobody cared but me that I wasn't on my "cool kit" at the show.

Now, I don't care, because if I can't make it sound good and together with whatever is there, I should stay home.

inneedofgrace-- I've been there...Really, it's all in your head, the drums will sound fine. Have fun with the recording!!
 
Well, I guess it's "to each his own". For me, I could never see myself playing a kit over 5 pieces. Having a 14 piece kit (no offense) would be crazy for me, mainly because I don't want to lug that around (couldn't fit in my van anyway), it would cost a fortune in heads, it would take up way to much space for my fellow bandmates and it would be impossible to mic it up without a 16 channel board dedicated to the drums alone.

But, the most important reason would probably be because I wouldn't want the temptation to overplay. In my experience, alot of drummers who aren't seasoned or mature musically set up big kits and just go off on them, never considering the musical space they take up or the toes they step on with their other band mates. At least in club situations where there are cover bands, 99% of that music is groove oriented with minimal, tasteful fills that can be accomplished with 2 or three toms. I'm not saying that big kits aren't cool, they look awesome and can be used perfectly (Neil Peart, Terry Bozzio, Mike Portnoy, etc.) but for me and my style of playing, it's inappropriate.

Give me a nice 4 or 5 piece kit anytime, it'll sound clean, easy to mic up, my bandmates can jump around without danger of falling into my kit and I'll probably play alot more tasteful and appropriate for the music.
 
I use a 5 or sometimes 6 peice kit (3 rack toms) for practise at home - however when practising for a gig I'll often try and only use it as a 4 peice because if I'm using someone elses kit they more often than not only bring a 4 peice. It seems to be the fashion over here to only use a 4 peice even for rock gigs for some reason. I barely ever see a big kit used for pub / club gigs.

I'm not dissing 4 peice kits, I love the extra space for cymbal placement and one of my best gigs was playing a 4 peice. At this point in time I just prefer having more than just 2 toms for the more tuneful tom patterns / fills.

When I purchase my next kit it will be a 6 peice with 2 rack / 2 floor... or maybe 7 with 3 rack toms :)
 
I also like the challenge of making a 4 piece sound like a bigger kit, by incorporating the bass drum in fills and runs. You are right stick4drums, it doesn't force me to be more creative, but its a challenge I face that you don't. I just choose to embrace it.. just personal preference.

This challenge is part of the reason I feel more musical on a small kit. Folks with big kits just tend to use the different parts of the kit, while I like the challenge of coming up with ways to do what I want with less. Tuned right, and using excellent technique, I can get a whole hell of a lot of different sounds from each of my two (or one) toms, especially the floor... Things like varying the spot on the drum I hit, the intensity and style of my hit, weather or not I include rims in the hit, the list is endless. I learned early that if I play properly and use lots of creativity in my fills, it sounds anything but empty or lacking; rather it sounds huge! I don't need a middle tom if I can make the same sounds with the toms I've got!

Like you, when I play a large kit, I can't help but feel that some of the toms and cymbals are lonely and want to be in on the action. That thought process takes away from thinking about the music, and frankly, I just don't hear much is gained when I have so many more kit piece options...
 
Wow, this thread got me thinking..

I've been playing a 4-piece for so many years now that I don't even consider or imagine playing more..

When I get to rehearsal there's a 5-piece kit. The very first thing I do is take the smaller tom off.

Last december I bought my new kit, a 5-piece.. Well, it stayed like that maybe for two weeks and then I put the 18" floor tom back into its' box.

I don't know.. I guess I'm so used to the 4-piece that I wouldn't know what to do with more drums. :)

Cheers.
 
Wow, this thread got me thinking..

I've been playing a 4-piece for so many years now that I don't even consider or imagine playing more..

When I get to rehearsal there's a 5-piece kit. The very first thing I do is take the smaller tom off.

Last december I bought my new kit, a 5-piece.. Well, it stayed like that maybe for two weeks and then I put the 18" floor tom back into its' box.

I don't know.. I guess I'm so used to the 4-piece that I wouldn't know what to do with more drums. :)

Cheers.
Come over some time and I will show you. :)
 
Almost all the bands I listen to and drummers I admire have big to huge kits. Even growing up it was this way. Yes I like the look of drums, and the more to look at the better. They have quite the presence on stage. I just watched the Chester Thompson youtube video and he has a beautiful big kit. He has so many different sounds at his disposal. Can you see him playing a four piece for Genesis. I can't. There are just too many textures for him to cover. How about Queen, RUSH, Tool, Alter Bridge, Dream Theater, along with so many more bands that I love to listen to. Yes they are busy drummers, but I love to hear many different sounds. I hear many on here say that they only need 1 or two toms, but lots of cymbals. I love drums for the tom sounds. The rhythms they create. The natives in the jungles did not have cymbals.

I think that as many get older they start to believe that toms are not all that important. Probably because most started out with big kits that were fun to play, but a pain to move about. Now many settle on the less is more analogy.

When ever I see a drum solo, or big fill whether it is back from Gene Krupa, or from today with Mike, or Neil. A big draw for people is the tom work. I think it grabs us at our native roots. Toms stir something almost tribal in us.

The four piece kit I took up north was easy to move, had the basic elements for most music, but it was seriously lacking in color choice for the music I listen to and play. To me, different size toms, are just as important as different size cymbals. I don't want to listen to the same crash cymbal in a song anymore than I want to listen to the same size tom in a song. They are both as important to me. :)
 
I started off drumming with 2 up 1 down. Never though I would convert to 4-piece as I HATED the gap between the toms. This was probably partly due to playing flat set ups where the rack and the floor are a million miles apart. Also partly due to me having only just started to play, so I found the gap difficult. Yet just over a year down the line I find my kind currently 1 up 2 down (sometimes 1 extra tom really up, Neil Peart-esque). I just love the accessibility of the ride, and now I cant stand it over the floor tom, where it used to be.

I think if you are gigging a lot in the UK, it is important to be familiar with a one up one down kit, because headline acts and house kits are so frequently used. I use them 10 times more often in a live situation than my own. Obviously if you get to a gig and there is a 5 piece there, you can take off a tom and have your 4 piece, and clearly it wont work vice versa. I understand you are going to use just a 6 piece from your Saturns, Sticks, but like you say, imagine practicing every day on a 14 piece and you get to a gig and are expected to play everything with 10 less toms. Not nice!

I still hate the rack tom off to left and as flat and low as the snare, but I love the 4 piece.
 
I find that the more pieces I start to ass, the more I start to worry about neglecting drums.

sticks4drums said:
Who are you calling an ASS! Just kidding. I think you have a nasty type-O.

lol - that sounds pretty dodgy to me. Not surprised that wsabol is neglecting his drums with all those pieces of ass :)

I like small kits. Much easier to carry and set up and they don't take up as much space, either when playing out or being stored at home. However, in some styles big kits are compulsory.
 
I play a three piece kit in my jazz quintet and a two piece kit in my calypso band and also in my country and western band.

I find that I can get quite a lot of mileage out of just that. I think that it also helps me focus on the real essentials, time keeping and playing for the song.

Its also much easier when it comes to gigging.

Once I have "mastered" all the essentials I may feel the need to expand. By that I mean that if I can ever play the essentials absolutely perfectly then I may feel the need to move on. But I doubt that is ever going to happen.

I find that lots of drums just mean that I am distracted from working on what is important. I don't like to move on to something else until I have mastered what I am currently doing.
 
lol - that sounds pretty dodgy to me. Not surprised that wsabol is neglecting his drums with all those pieces of ass :)

I like small kits. Much easier to carry and set up and they don't take up as much space, either when playing out or being stored at home. However, in some styles big kits are compulsory.
I think what you and a lot of people are saying is that you like small kits because they are easier to move around. Not because they are more fun to play. So you like the portability of a small kit. Less expensive when it comes time to buy heads. Easier to keep it tuned.
 
Back
Top