2nd floor tom option

Hey guys,

I've been thinking about getting a 16" floor tom to add on to my kit for a while, and I just need a bit of help whether to choose 16x14 or a 16x16. Im using a pearl forum fusion sizes (10,12 14). I play most stuff and I've heard that the 16x14 is a lot easier to tune which is useful for me so I'm moving towards that but I'm not sure.

Thanks in advance
 
If by "fusion" sizes, you mean your current is less than 14x14, then I'd opt for the shorter 16x14.​
 
My current kit came with a 16x14 floor tom and I did find it easier to get a nice sound out of it. I might've gotten lucky though. It is noticeably lighter and easier to cart around in the 16x14 Humes & Berg Enduro case too.
 
If my 14" floor tom is 14" deep, then I'll go with a 16" x 16". If the 14" is 12" deep, I usually will choose a 16" x 14" . Play them before you buy them if at all possible. The only kit that I have where my floor toms are 14 x 12 and 16 x 14 are my Tama Starclassic Bubinga drums and this was chosen because of the relationship to the 12 x 9 and 10 x 8 drums in the kit. The 14" and 16" square floor toms just sounded a bit too powerful or overwhelming compared to the other drums in the kit. A lot of the decision making process will be addressed by the type and make of the drums themselves in terms of tone and intensity. They just all got to fit and sound great together and you can only make that choice when they're in front of you.

Being able to tune something better than something else never becomes a factor when making these decisions because it's all about the sound, not how fast you can tune them.

Dennis
 
If this is a help to you, I use 14 x 12 and 16 x 14 with my Mapex Orion classic series but have a different approach with my Tama Granstars.....14 x 14 and an 18 x 16 gives me great bottom end and with just one square of moon jel on the 18 to cut the resonance slightly it sits with the 14 and equally the rest of the kit with no tuning issues yet retains the 'big' sound i wanted.
Nice to have options and if you can experiment to see what fits.
 
I agree that it depends on what your 14" depth is.
If it's a 14x14, then I'd get the 16x16.
If it's a 14x12, then I'd get the 16x14.

I'm a sucker for symmetry.
 
Why not be really wacky and eliminate your floor toms altogether? Remember Chris Franz from Talking Heads? He just had two deep-sounding rack toms on his kit, and in place of his floor tom, he had two LP timbales. The original drummer for the B-52s when they debuted on Saturday Night Live back in the day had no floor tom and nothing in place of it, either. Definitely a case of two players determining what they needed to make their music, and the mandatory floor tom wasn't part of that. Very cool thinking.

I know my kit looks very standard, but part of me wonders how much the look of the drumkit is promoted by marketing, or by actual musical requirements. Hmm....
 
Why not be really wacky and eliminate your floor toms altogether? ..........................................................................................................
but part of me wonders how much the look of the drumkit is promoted by marketing, or by actual musical requirements. Hmm....

How're you gonna call down the thunder?
 
i have 14x13 and 16x15 :)

if you can't decide between 14" and 16" get a 15" floor :p
Cool! I have a 15x14 and an 18x16. I was looking to add a 16 to the mix and figured a 16x15 was the correct choice. Instead, I bought a used kit with a 16x16 and an 18x16, which just looks odd to me!
 
Does 2 inches of depth really make a difference on a 16" floor tom?

I wonder if anyone could tell the difference blindfolded.
 
Does 2 inches of depth really make a difference on a 16" floor tom?

I wonder if anyone could tell the difference blindfolded.

A/Bed you could probably tell if it was same drum, heads and tuning, but otherwise no. I would still probably follow convention in general, but if you want both floor toms the same height for visual reasons could do 14x14 and 16x14 without anyone noticing. I find more difference in the individual drum and its sweet spots than that 2".
 
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