Drummers around 5'6" - What size drums do you have?

[KamaK]

I'm a tall 6'1" (as opposed to you short 6'1" guys) and I have a spare kit with a similar size config. After looking at your pics, The advice I can give is that you have to flatten out the toms and bring them together. While having a bit of an angle to the toms is OK, yours have gone too far.

Here's a video of what your 22-12-13-16 kit should roughly look like.

Notice how the rack toms are only slightly angled. Make sure your throne is not too low, and you shouldn't have any issues.

Here's a pic from the drivers seat.

Notice the rack toms are fairly close together, which makes room for the ride on the right.

 

[WaitForItDrummer]

I'm a tall 6'1" (as opposed to you short 6'1" guys) and I have a spare kit with a similar size config. After looking at your pics, The advice I can give is that you have to flatten out the toms and bring them together. While having a bit of an angle to the toms is OK, yours have gone too far.

Here's a video of what your 22-12-13-16 kit should roughly look like.

Notice how the rack toms are only slightly angled. Make sure your throne is not too low, and you shouldn't have any issues.

Here's a pic from the drivers seat.

Notice the rack toms are fairly close together, which makes room for the ride on the right.

Thanks for this. I think on a large set like this if you're 5'6", you have to angle to toms, otherwise it's even more uncomfortable... (Did tried not angling them) But I can see how if you're taller, you can flatten out the toms more. My throne is already at max height.

I'm with the 20" bass drummers on this - thanks all! I think a 20' bass and shallower toms would make a big difference for someone my height.

 

[WaitForItDrummer]

I'm exactly 5'6" and have used the sizes you mentioned (did you mean 22"?) without problems.

I meant. 23", I measured it and it's a weird size... I think might have been sold as a 22" but it's definitely bigger than that.

 

[KamaK]

Thanks for this. I think on a large set like this if you're 5'6", you have to angle to toms, otherwise it's even more uncomfortable... (Did tried not angling them) But I can see how if you're taller, you can flatten out the toms more. My throne is already at max height.

I'm with the 20" bass drummers on this - thanks all! I think a 20' bass and shallower toms would make a big difference for someone my height.

I agree that you're going to have to angle the toms (and if you look at mine, they're angled a bit) to get the sticks over the rims. Looking at your pics, your toms are angled to such a degree that you'll have a difficult time striking them properly.

The other option that you have is to leave the 12" up top and get a tom holder for the 13 so that it can be set up like a second floor tom.

 

[Red Menace]

I meant. 23", I measured it and it's a weird size... I think might have been sold as a 22" but it's definitely bigger than that.

Did you measure the hoops or the actual drum shell? People make this mistake on ads pretty often.

 

[WaitForItDrummer]

Did you measure the hoops or the actual drum shell? People make this mistake on ads pretty often.

Ok, guilty as charged, I *might* have measured the hoops.... So they are 22"...

 

[v.zarate]

Im 5'8 and I use a 18x22 , 8x12 and 12x14 kit no problemo whatsoever

 

[uhtrinity]

Am curious of you "20inch bass drummers"... is it the lower height that you find helps the most, or lower width , thereby allowing floor toms or cymbals in closer?
When playing a 20 the biggest ergonomic benefit to me is its width, not height. (though size in/out of vehicle is nice!).

For me it is only bass drum height since I use a rack.

 

[TopHat]

I use a 22x16 with a rack and the 8" deep toms. 20 would be sweet for height but I liked the sound of the 22 traditionally. I may still end up grabbing a 20 though.

 

[brady]

Am curious of you "20inch bass drummers"... is it the lower height that you find helps the most, or lower width , thereby allowing floor toms or cymbals in closer?
When playing a 20 the biggest ergonomic benefit to me is its width, not height. (though size in/out of vehicle is nice!).

Speaking for myself, it's a height issue. Otherwise the rack tom is almost at too steep of an angle. The 20" allows me get the rack just where I like it.

 

[iwearnohats]

Well, I'm 5'8" now, but I certainly wasn't when I started playing drums.

I have always - bar when I had my Mapex Venus Series kit with a 20" kick - had 22" kicks.

The number one problem with tom placement is... drumroll... T bar mounts.

Kick mounted toms are the biggest problem, not the size of the drums. Granted, deeper toms and a larger-diameter bass drum are going to mean your drums are placed higher, but removing the T-bar or other kick-mounted tom hardware is the first step in the right direction.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd....77_1409830529287803_2346495373513520616_o.jpg

That is my kit. I have a rack now, which makes life a LOT easier with all my stuff, but the setup is virtually identical to how it was when I was using only stands - now THAT was a nightmare at set up/tear down times!

So you can see, you can have a lot of stuff and still have everything placed ergonomically, even if you're a shorter guy.

 

[SmoothOperator]

I'm on the other side of the spectrum in height, but I am aware of the differences, so I will give some recommendations. Avoid too many cymbals, I can't stand the look of a bunch of (ergonomically) overlapped practically touching cymbals, it just looks gross and they don't sound especially good that way. Do get high quality multi-timbral instruments that high light your high degree of manual dexterity. Look at timbales, cow bells, bongos, congas, marching snares, etc who needs three drums when you can get three tones out of one drum, come to think about that is good advice for everyone.

 

[ycpmusicman91]

I've never really thought of my drum sizes in respect to my height. But it is interesting to think about. I'm exactly 5' 6". I play a Pearl EXR kit with a 22" kick. 8", 10", 12" rack toms.and a 14" floor tom.

 

[harryconway]

Maybe something like this .....​

 

[alparrott]

Maybe something like this .....​

And even in that picture, the toms are up way higher than they need to be, probably because it's a catalog picture and they want to show off the grain of the kit.

On my Ludwigs, the tom is off to the side enough that it actually sits slightly below the highest point on the kick's shell. That may take some getting used to if you have always put your toms on the kick and you like having your second rack tom right next to your floor tom, but honestly, I don't really notice it any more.

Another point, which another poster brought up, is that you are setting up your rack tom arms in a way very common among novice users of those arms - i.e. short and at right angles. The way they're actually meant to be used is at almost full extension, with the top joint angled back at you. This moves them closer together, and closer to you.

Instead of this:

... set them up like this:

Notice how the up-tubes are almost fully extended and the top tubes are almost pointed at the drummer's throne? That's the recommended way to use those L-arms. Try that and see if it doesn't make some difference.

 

[uhtrinity]

Maybe something like this .....​

I lose a lot of fluidity if I put my toms that high above my snare. Another reason I like the toms to sit low.

 

[KamaK]

... set them up like this:

Notice how the up-tubes are almost fully extended and the top tubes are almost pointed at the drummer's throne? That's the recommended way to use those L-arms. Try that and see if it doesn't make some difference.

Indeed and agreed. I believe you're 100% correct. That's exactly how I have them in the vid I posted. The biggest hurdle is the depth of the 13" tom. If it were a 10/12 instead of a 12/13, things would be a lot easier for shorter drummers.

On the Ludwig Accent in the video, the toms are angled "2 notches" on the T-Bar. For me, I wish there were 1.5 notches. For a shorter drummer, he may have to go a full 3 notches to get over the rim.. The toms are close together, and even in height. The 13" is 'just' far enough off the BD to prevent contact when I hit it hard. If I were fighting for space, I'd put a piece of corrugated cardboard between the tom and BD to lower it another inch.

I think the solution for the poster will ultimately be a 10/12/14/20 kit, to a 12/14/16/22 kit. I don't mean to diss T-Bars, but life is much more convenient without them.

 

[Bo Eder]

Correction - I am in that Fun-Size category at 4' 11 - 5' 1". But I'm compensating
I can almost comfortably ride a Harley Davidson Sportster 880 motorcycle too.

 

[Bo Eder]

Indeed and agreed. I believe you're 100% correct. That's exactly how I have them in the vid I posted. The biggest hurdle is the depth of the 13" tom. If it were a 10/12 instead of a 12/13, things would be a lot easier for shorter drummers.

On the Ludwig Accent in the video, the toms are angled "2 notches" on the T-Bar. For me, I wish there were 1.5 notches. For a shorter drummer, he may have to go a full 3 notches to get over the rim.. The toms are close together, and even in height. The 13" is 'just' far enough off the BD to prevent contact when I hit it hard. If I were fighting for space, I'd put a piece of corrugated cardboard between the tom and BD to lower it another inch.

I think the solution for the poster will ultimately be a 10/12/14/20 kit, to a 12/14/16/22 kit. I don't mean to diss T-Bars, but life is much more convenient without them.

Although I'm shorter than most, I'm always playing a one rack tom set up. What this does for me is I can push the one tom farther away from the center of the bass drum, which allows me to ride it lower than you would in the picture of the two-tom set-up. And if you used traditional depths (like 8x12, or 9x13), they can go lower still as a two rack-tom set-up.

Or you can do what Bill Bruford did - eliminate the bass drum mounted toms altogether, and mount them to your side. Do a search for Bill Bruford drumset, and you'll see what I mean.

It was more important to me to get the bass drum sound I wanted (either 22, 24, or 26) rather than have the rack tom in a more comfortable spot. My thinking is that I'm always playing the bass drum and snare drum. The rack tom - not so much.

 

[Larry]

I'm with the 20" bass drummers on this - thanks all! I think a 20' bass and shallower toms would make a big difference for someone my height.

Big difference yes. I would bet money that if you do go to this setup, which I am all for, it will be a whole new adventure, one where you totally feel dominant over your drumkit. That's a great feeling.

The good news is a 20" bass drum still has nice bass frequencies. I wouldn't say that about an 18. Would love to see you play on a kit with these sizes.