Anyone 'downgraded' from a 5+ piece kit to a 4 piece?

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Phat_Rolls

Senior Member
Anyone ever gone from a larger 5+ piece kit down to a simple 4 piece kit?

I have a 5 piece kit (2 up 1 down) and just for fun I removed my hi-tom and set my kit up as a 4 piece - I'm loving it! The simplicity of a 4-piece kit really appeals to me for some reason - has anyone else gone this route?

Also, does anyone know of any professional 4 piece drummers? I know JP Gaster (Clutch) and Fred LaBlanc (Cowboy Mouth) rock 4 piece kits, do you know of any others - just so I can draw inspiration off of them.

I'm not sure if I'm going to make this a permanent thing but I'm really digging it right now so I just might.
 
Phat_Rolls said:
Also, does anyone know of any professional 4 piece drummers? I know JP Gaster (Clutch) and Fred LaBlanc (Cowboy Mouth) rock 4 piece kits, do you know of any others - just so I can draw inspiration off of them.
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probably 95% or more of jazz drummers have used a 4 piece kit at some point in their professional careers.
 
I recently removed two rack toms and went from 3 up, 1 down to 1 up, 1 down.
Nice to go back to the simple life.
 

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I dont particularly agree with the word "downgraded", but yeah i have! I much prefer the simple four piece, but as always it does slightly depend on what your playing.
 
Bish said:
I dont particularly agree with the word "downgraded", but yeah i have! I much prefer the simple four piece, but as always it does slightly depend on what your playing.
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I put it in quotes for that reason... I guess I could have come up with a better word - no I don't think it's really a downgrade.
 
Yeah, I went from a 6 piece with 9 cymbals to a 4 piece with hats, ride, and one crash.
Makes it a lot easier to transport too.
 
Phat_Rolls said:
Also, does anyone know of any professional 4 piece drummers? I know JP Gaster (Clutch) and Fred LaBlanc (Cowboy Mouth) rock 4 piece kits, do you know of any others - just so I can draw inspiration off of them.
Click to expand...

John Bonham, rocked a 4 before adding a second floor. Charlie Watts. Ringo Starr. Early Bill Ward (Black Sabbath).
 
I've gone from a 5 to a 4 to a 6 to a 7 back to a 4 and now to a 5 etc etc...

Majority of my playing is on a 4 piece. I do it ala Buddy style where the second floor tom is almost exclusive for my towel or something.

But then once in a while I sit behind a friend's kit with all the toys and just go ballistic. It's nice to bash so many things that have so darn many sounds every once in a while.
 
I've been changing my kit around a lot this past year. I play drums left-handed, but many drummers who come over to jam and record are righty, so it gets rearranged often. Whenever I change it back to lefty I try a new config.

Right now it's set up as a four piece. I love having the ride where the second tom would be. It's also a good set up to get used to because many house kits at clubs are four piece. Saves space and makes you play more sparingly. At first I wasn't crazy about having to jump from rack tom to floor tom but you get used to it.

For many gigs when i bring my own kit, I've set up this way. With TAMA and Taye hardware I can mount my ride cymbal on the bass drum's tom mount which saves space and set up time. I also have a snare stand from Taye that you can fly a crash cymbal on. Then I fly the second crash or a china off the floor tom leg and it really clears up space. Only a snare stand- no other cymbal stands. Pretty cool.

Ultimately I really like the SOUND of a four piece. Each drum seems to have more space and just sounds clearer to me.
 
Bish said:
I dont particularly agree with the word "downgraded", but yeah i have! I much prefer the simple four piece, but as always it does slightly depend on what your playing.
Click to expand...

I'd rather refer to it as "reconfigure."
 
Last year at school, the other drummer and I had a nice eight piece, perfectly symmetrical set up that shared floor toms in the middle, left handed on one side, right on the other. After a bit though, we brought it down to a single four piece and now we just take turns.
 
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