Kit Too Big or Too Small

Large kits contain smaller kits within. You can always make a larger kit smaller, but not the reverse. Plus, it depends on what you consider a large kit. I keep my kits set up as 6 or 7 piece kits. Within those kits exist a 4,5 or 6 piece kit to handle whatever presents itself.
An excellent post. With my current band, I use the kit in 6 piece form for gigs (lots of melodic scope), & in 4 piece form for rehearsals.


Any kits with wind chimes is too big a kit :)
and even wind chimes.
Oh here we go ;) Not content with sneaking big kits vs. small kits through the back door, we roll in the old wind chime hatred too :)
 
I think Mr Sausage dog is talking about how much our kits box us in, not so much the number of drums we use or don't use on our kits.

Apparently you already know how I feel. On my main kit I would like a trashy crash to go on my right side (acting as a china) but when I finally buy it I'm sort of dreading closing myself in more.
 
I like gigging with a small kit. 1 snare, 1 bass, 3 toms, 2 cymbals and a hi hat.
Easy to haul around and set up. And the audience can see me.

But as soon as I land that national tour with a famous rock band; and that DW endorsement,
I’ll have roadies and I’m going to get the biggest drum set I can find…………


.

Surely that's a standard kit size?

I consider a small kit to be a one up one down.

Are we including cow bells and splash cymbals in this debate?
 
Mine is one up, one down AND I have a cowbell, splash and tambourine. I have to lock all the doors to my house when I play though, because these three items together attract women from miles around. Alas, I knew what I was getting myself into.
 
I don't know where I fall... because I play one up, one down, but they're 15" and 20" and then there's the two 24" kicks. The biggest small kit you've ever seen.
 
I have done both, and to me it's not predicated by much more than to have available the sound palette I need for the music I'm playing.

For years I was one of those guys who dug Rush and Porcupine Tree and tricky music, and so my kits were large. In fact, for some years I had my kit set up similarly to Neil's because in private that's what I enjoyed playing most. There was also a band where I was asked to specifically do "proggy" stuff, and so I brought most of the kit when we gigged. I downsized as appropriate for musicals and other for-hire gigs. Having a 9-piece wraparound kit would have made no sense to back a choral society singing swing classics, for example. When I moved to my new home, I similarly downsized my kit to what made sense to play in each situation.

And now, I'm in playing situations where my new acquisition, the 4-piece Ludwig, makes all the sense in the world. It also allows me to really look at different aspects of my playing, which as of late has become much more groove-oriented and less "busy".

It wasn't to be more or less "free", although I do miss having something to the left of my hi-hats when I play a smaller kit for whatever reason.
 

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To me, too big is when my cymbals have no space left and are clanging into each other. I can't add another ride or medium sized crash without taking out my china and splash on my right side. Still, I consider my kit medium big, and just big enough to give me the variety of sounds I want without having to make compromises for ergonomics.
 
I think Mr Sausage dog is talking about how much our kits box us in, not so much the number of drums we use or don't use on our kits.

Apparently you already know how I feel. On my main kit I would like a trashy crash to go on my right side (acting as a china) but when I finally buy it I'm sort of dreading closing myself in more.

Yeah, the boxing in effect.

Amount of drums has no effect on me, but the heights of everything sure does. If the drums are set up with the cymbals at skyscraper heights I feel like a mouse trapped in a cage. I like to be able to see over my gear, not feel like I will be crushed by it if it falls.
 
I don't know where I fall... because I play one up, one down, but they're 15" and 20" and then there's the two 24" kicks. The biggest small kit you've ever seen.

That sounds pretty funny!

Yeah, the boxing in effect.

Amount of drums has no effect on me, but the heights of everything sure does. If the drums are set up with the cymbals at skyscraper heights I feel like a mouse trapped in a cage. I like to be able to see over my gear, not feel like I will be crushed by it if it falls.

Oh, I forgot to mention that! I haven't had any cymbals over my eye level in several years, which is maybe why I don't have the mentioned effect. I keep everything as low as possible.
 
If you're referring to towering kits, you can see the difference in my kits over the last few years, as stuff keeps getting lower and lower. One things for sure, it makes eye contact with the other guys on stage much easier.
 
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