Drummer uses 4 bass drums

bobwright

Member
Was watching one of my old VHS music tapes the other night. It was Celtic Frost recorded sometime in the middle 1980's.

The drummer was using 4 bass drums which really impressed me as I can only use 2 at one time.

Anyone else use a 4 bass kit? I might get one and set it up in the spare room, that'll really make my better half spit the dummy.
 
Were the all the same sizes? I know drummers like Terry Bozzio and Mike Mangini have used kits with multiple bass drums, but they've been different sizes and such. I can't imagine why anyone would have four bass drums the same size or same tuning.

Once upon a time, Brooks Wackerman (on and off touring member) of Tenacious D played a kit with three bass drums, but the third drum didn't even have a pedal attached to it. There was a large 6 on the resonant head of each drum, so it was almost purely a visual thing.
 
Yawn. Wake me up when someone finally has the balls to go with 11 bass drums.
 
Jonathan Moffett has a multi bass drum setup, too - I saw a video where he's using 5 but they're all different sizes for various tones/pitch.
 
I see some metalhead sitting in his basement going "If 2 is good then 4 is better". I see no point to 4 bass drums even if they are different sizes, your gonna tell me you can hear the difference between a 20 and a 22 in the middle of a song?
 
We're all different. Why don't you ask Jonathan himself?
Here's the video I was referring to - check out the part beginning from around 6.10 into the video. Now could you reproduce this with 1 bass drum?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd9fcmBLbDQ

Actually I think it was another video (where he was explaining his setup in detail) but I didn't found anything else when I searched for it. But you get the idea anyway.

You know, as a guitarist I never cared for Fender & Gibson. Some never care about anything except Fender & Gibson. That's the fun of it - everybody needs/wants different things and fortunately this stuff is around on the market (in fact, manufacturers are making good money out of it). So what's wrong?

BTW, I think your idea of playing 4 bass drums at the same time isn't too far a stretch. There are already pedals around which have 2 beaters (I have 2 of them - the Sonor Giant Step Twin Action), plus don't forget the Duallist as triple version. Admittedly those beaters are designed to be played on the same bass drum head but if some manufacturer wanted they might redesign this to actually hit 4 different bass drums without having to switch (double) pedals.

There's so many things across instruments which could make me scratch my head and think: bah, I don't need that - but that's the point - someone might need that. Isn't that something we should all accept? Now let's assume you'd like to have some extraordinary/unusual setup. Would you like others to complain about it? Or would you simply not care? We all have a choice. I'm trying to be more careful (at least by now) when deciding how much sense other peoples' stuff makes.

Hey all ya medal dubble base playrz - if ya like to play 4 base drummz - go fer it. ;-)
 
Brandon Saller of Atreyu plays 3 bass drums. He says it's a joke...
 

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We're all different. Why don't you ask Jonathan himself?
Here's the video I was referring to - check out the part beginning from around 6.10 into the video. Now could you reproduce this with 1 bass drum?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd9fcmBLbDQ

Actually I think it was another video (where he was explaining his setup in detail) but I didn't found anything else when I searched for it. But you get the idea anyway.

You know, as a guitarist I never cared for Fender & Gibson. Some never care about anything except Fender & Gibson. That's the fun of it - everybody needs/wants different things and fortunately this stuff is around on the market (in fact, manufacturers are making good money out of it). So what's wrong?

BTW, I think your idea of playing 4 bass drums at the same time isn't too far a stretch. There are already pedals around which have 2 beaters (I have 2 of them - the Sonor Giant Step Twin Action), plus don't forget the Duallist as triple version. Admittedly those beaters are designed to be played on the same bass drum head but if some manufacturer wanted they might redesign this to actually hit 4 different bass drums without having to switch (double) pedals.

There's so many things across instruments which could make me scratch my head and think: bah, I don't need that - but that's the point - someone might need that. Isn't that something we should all accept? Now let's assume you'd like to have some extraordinary/unusual setup. Would you like others to complain about it? Or would you simply not care? We all have a choice. I'm trying to be more careful (at least by now) when deciding how much sense other peoples' stuff makes.

Hey all ya medal dubble base playrz - if ya like to play 4 base drummz - go fer it. ;-)

Very well put. I use a single kick with a single bass drum pedal. One rack and a floor tom, and never more than two or three cymbals. I'd get lost with any more than that - but I don't hate other drummers for using such unusual setups. The thing we need to keep in mind drumming as a part of band is a new concept - it's barely 100 years old maybe.

The things that people are innovating today might be considered neccesary in the future. I consider us all fortunate, because we live in the times when drum equipment and techniques are being pioneered. To most of us, four bass drums, or even two to some people, seems like over-kill. But in the future, a drum set with ONLY one bass drum, might feel like a car with a cassette player, lol.
 
The penny finally dropped......that guy from Celtic Frost has 4 legs. Why didn't I see that the first time? Silly Bob......
 
Very well put. I use a single kick with a single bass drum pedal. One rack and a floor tom, and never more than two or three cymbals. I'd get lost with any more than that - but I don't hate other drummers for using such unusual setups. The thing we need to keep in mind drumming as a part of band is a new concept - it's barely 100 years old maybe.

The things that people are innovating today might be considered neccesary in the future. I consider us all fortunate, because we live in the times when drum equipment and techniques are being pioneered. To most of us, four bass drums, or even two to some people, seems like over-kill. But in the future, a drum set with ONLY one bass drum, might feel like a car with a cassette player, lol.

Really I think drum sets are like clothes. Meaning fashions come and go. In the 20's small sets were the thing. 80's it was big and later back to small. Its whatever people in that generation think is cool.
 
I see some metalhead sitting in his basement going "If 2 is good then 4 is better". I see no point to 4 bass drums even if they are different sizes, your gonna tell me you can hear the difference between a 20 and a 22 in the middle of a song?

If you are using a wider range of sizes and tuning styles, then yes, you can hear the difference. Morgan Agren is doing something like this, and I want to do something similar. As versatile as a 22" might be, it can't quite do what an 18" or a 26" would do, and having those off to the side is pretty workable given the different kinds of remote and double bass pedals available these days. If you did it right you could actually fit your setup into a fairly normal riser area.
 
If I could, I would enable my feet to produce the same sounds as my hands and my hands the same sounds as my feet...i find the idea of 4 bass drums a small step to freeing the drummer from restrictions currently imposed...though im not sure i need that many bass notes...but thats my limitation.
 
I heard that the drummer from Celtic Frost lost his 4 legs in a Golfing accident recently and now uses no bass drums at all. As I once said to a ladyfriend....."come on, would I lie to you?"
 
"Yo dawg, we heard you like double bass... So we got you 4 bass drums; that way you can double-bass while you double-bass!"

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Ah, I was going to post a Hammerfall pic if nobody else had got to it!
 
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