20" bass in rock applications

wolfgang

Senior Member
Hey everyone, I was just wondering if any of you know of any rock (punk, hard rock?) drummers that use a 20" inch kick.
I know that a while ago 20" bass drums were a little more common in rock bands (Mitch Mitchell, Ringo), but that have been because drummers really didn't have much choice as to what sizes kits came in.
Now you can get a drum in just about any size you want, but are there any that use one by choice?

For the record, I use a 20"er and I can't complain. It doesn't have the boom of bigger drums but it's nice and punchy. Not to mention easy to gig with.
 
When i use to play in a rock/ punk band i played a 20"er because it had a really nice punch to it and it was so easy to gig with. And know that im in a metal band i play with a 22 or 24 but still use a 20 for gig purposes. i say 20 for gig purposes and whatever size you want for home. its the best idea unless there are other people carrying your drums for you but if you dont then i say 20 for giging purposes. it does the trick and you can get a 20 inch to boom to.
 
I could have sworn that both Ringo and Mitch used 22" kicks during their "most famous" periods. Mitch started out playing on a 20" Premier kick, but switched over to a 22" Ludwig and then ended up with a 24" before Hendrix left the experience in 1969. Ringo's kit that appeared on the Ed Sullivan show was a 22" as well...

Besides that, man, I love the sound of a punchy 20". The "boom" of a 22" kind of takes away from the thump you get in your chest from a 20".
 
...

Besides that, man, I love the sound of a punchy 20". The "boom" of a 22" kind of takes away from the thump you get in your chest from a 20".

I second that. I'd take a 20" over anything else in almost all musical situations.
 
I use a 20" kick where ever I use my own kit, and it seems to perform quite well. It has enough sensitivity for soft playing but also sports a lot of headroom for louder and more projecting sounds.
 
Stefanie Eulinberg, of Kid Rock, plays 20" kick(s). I believe she had Obelisk drums, but now drives a Gretsch kit.
 
Tom Noonan of 36 CrazyFists uses either an 18 or a 20" kick drum. When it was miced up, wow it really hits you! and i guess that's the beauty of it which is that if it's not quite loud enough you can always just mic it up. Smaller kicks are quite good for micing as well because the "boom" of a kick drum can actually damage your speakers so the sound of a miced up kick tends to be more focused on the sound of the actual beater hitting the head.
 
I currently use a 20 inch kick drum for Rock and Death Metal applications, and I must say I have fallen in love with the tight focused "punch" of a 20 inch birch kick drum. My other kit has a 24, which is great but I have a tiny tiny car, and the 20 inch is so much less of a headache trying to fit into the backseat!

wow, this is just about exactly what i was going to say. My "go" kit has a 20x18 bass that just sounds like a Rocky Balboa bare fist to a side of beef, lotta power and tight "thud". I use hard plastic beaters to get a more percussive slap which is great for seperation, especially when you're doing double bass rolls at 200bpm. I like that bass ( a ddrum diatribe birch) a lot better for metal than my standard Ludwig 22x14 and it is a heluva lot more manageable in the backseat of my Daewoo Lanos.
 
Justin Foley (Killswitch Engage, Blood Has Been Shed, Red Tide) uses a Yamaha Oak Custom. 20"bass, 10 tom, 13 floor tom, 15, floor tom.
 
I currently use a 20 inch kick drum for Rock and Death Metal applications, and I must say I have fallen in love with the tight focused "punch" of a 20 inch birch kick drum. My other kit has a 24, which is great but I have a tiny tiny car, and the 20 inch is so much less of a headache trying to fit into the backseat!
I have a 24" kit and a 20" kit both 4-piece and with a little car it's a lot easier to put the bass

drum in the passenger seat. My bass drums are my favorite passengers LOL

Bonzolead
 
Sometimes Brann Dailor from Mastodon gigs with a 20". Raymond Herrera of Fear Factory always uses a 20". These are both metal bands.
 
Tim Alexander (Primus) uses a 20 on the LEFT and an 18 on the right. Bang-a-rang. I've used both these sizes and it's pretty sweet. I have a 22x18 Yamaha Maple absolute, a 20x14 no name maple drum from the 70's, and an 18x16 Yamaha RC floor tom that I turned into a bass drum, none of which have "jazz" tunings. It's always fun to decide which one to bring out, they all offer something, but lately the 20 has been leading the pack. And since it's a p.o.s. at it's core it has some sorta crazy soul behind it, and I don't have to treat it as gingerly. The 22 is just a bitch to bring out(but it sounds great), although I do lug it anytime I play a bigger venue. My next kit will have a 20x18(amongst some other cool sizes), or maybe even a 20x20. I am just loving the feel of a 20. I theorize it's cause the kit I cut my teeth on for the first 5 years had a 20...
Also, Danny Carey of Tool uses a 20 and a 22, but I think for him the bigger drum is on the right. I could be wrong.
 
I have a 24" kit and a 20" kit both 4-piece and with a little car it's a lot easier to put the bass

drum in the passenger seat. My bass drums are my favorite passengers LOL

Bonzolead


Back or front seat for the Bass really depends on if my girlfriend is attending said gig or not ;)

I don't think she would appreciate riding second fiddle to the bass drum, although many days I would love to have her ride in the TRUNK :D
 
Wow, I didn't realize there were so many guys using 20s - or smaller - in rock and even metal. That's really cool.

When I recorded with my band a few months ago I used the 20" kick, and when I listened to the finished product it was really one of the few times I've heard the drum properly from the other side lol. Cranked up nice and loud, you could tell it was a 20".


I could have sworn that both Ringo and Mitch used 22" kicks during their "most famous" periods. Mitch started out playing on a 20" Premier kick, but switched over to a 22" Ludwig and then ended up with a 24" before Hendrix left the experience in 1969. Ringo's kit that appeared on the Ed Sullivan show was a 22" as well...
QUOTE]

Yeah, I realized that they moved on to bigger drums, I was just noting that at one point in their careers they had used them.

Thanks for the replies guys :)
 
David Silvera from Korn (a band I can't stand!) was playing twin 20's at one time, though they may also have been triggered... I played a Tama B/B turquoise sparkle kit at my local GC with the, umm, I think 20x20 kick (maybe 18x20?) and it killed. Sounded like an 808 with a slightly higher pitch.
 
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