Am I the only one who thinks bass drums should be at least 22"?

Love my 16" kick. Not disappointed in it at all. Sounds good, takes up very little space, and does not effect positioning. Cant say the same about my 24". It sounds good, but is too big.

I want a 20" to split the difference.
 
I personally agree. I've had 26", which seems a little big for me, mounted toms too high and can be a problem transporting in smaller vehicles. I currently have a 24" and 22" and don't care for shallow depths either. Never even owned smaller than a 22".
I don't care for mini keyboards, guitars or basses either. :p
 
22 or 24 are all I've ever owned. I THINK I could live with a 20, but anything smaller is just too cute! I've played on a Tama bop kit with a 16" BD. Sounded fine, but I felt as if I was at the "fun house" of some amusement part, where mirrors distort everything. May massive 160 pound frame looked like I was playing a 3rd grader's drums. I was pretty impressed with a 20" Stage Custom I played too. I don't know, I just like 22s for size/proportion.
 
I've owned 20"s and 22"s over the years. I prefer a 22". I doubt I'll ever go smaller, but I definitely won't go larger.

Diameter is only one dimension in the geometry of bass drums. Depth is important too. My ideal depth is 16". I've owned 14s" and 18s" as well. Both are fine, though an 18" is like a commuter tunnel in that it seems to have no end. It's also harder to transport. The all-purpose winner is a 16" in my experience.
 
Love my 16" kick. Not disappointed in it at all. Sounds good, takes up very little space, and does not effect positioning. Cant say the same about my 24". It sounds good, but is too big.

I want a 20" to split the difference.

Is your 16" bass a Pearl Midtown, by chance? I've never owned one, but it seems to be a great kit for compact purposes.
 
Is your 16" bass a Pearl Midtown, by chance? I've never owned one, but it seems to be a great kit for compact purposes.
It sure is. It doesn't feel like a small kit at all when you play it. I'm sure the riser helps a ton with that.

I only bought it because I dont have room for my full size kit anymore. I was hesitant, but quickly fell in love with the Midtown. It really is a wonderful little kit.
 
I like a 22 inch bass drum also but I get good sounds from my 18 inch bass drum. It is important to keep the 18 inch bass drum elevated for more resonance. I do that by putting a paperback book under the drum.
 
It sure is. It doesn't feel like a small kit at all when you play it. I'm sure the riser helps a ton with that.

I only bought it because I dont have room for my full size kit anymore. I was hesitant, but quickly fell in love with the Midtown. It really is a wonderful little kit.

No such thing as a bad Pearl kit. You get quality and durability with every line.
 
Like most musical instruments, it's all a matter of preference. I had used 22" kicks for my early years, and after 15 years behind the kit, I got a kit with a 26" kick. I toured and recorded and gigged with those drums, but soon settled back into the 22". Over time, I acquired more kits of various sizes, and currently have 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26" kicks in my arsenal.

But I've come to appreciate my 20" and 24" kicks, and use them most of all. Each excels in its range, and both can get into 22" range if I need something in-between. I have twenty 22" kicks - just over half are 14" deep - but I don't use them that often.

Bermuda
 
I've never owned anything bigger than a 22 or smaller than a 20. I like them both but my preference is a 20in for Comfort reasons. I like my Tom's on top of my Kik and I'm short so the Tom's can be lower and still be on top of the kick drum with a 20in and shallow depth Toms. I have toyed around with 16th in the store, I don't think I would want one for general purpose gigs.
 
No such thing as a bad Pearl kit. You get quality and durability with every line.
Totally. I'm in the same boat as you, I have no desire to buy anything but Pearl at this point. Been playing them since 93 with no complaints. That's plenty good enough for me.
 
22 or 24 are all I've ever owned. I THINK I could live with a 20, but anything smaller is just too cute! I don't know, I just like 22s for size/proportion.

this is pretty much how I feel about it. I currently own a 22 and a 24. sometimes I wonder if the 24 is too big and debate selling, but I love how it sounds. I had the Sonor Safari awhile back, but ended up selling it as I couldn't really justify having it around. I don't need another kit nor plan on getting one, but I would consider getting a 20 just to have some more variety.
 
I only have 22" and 24" bass drums. I don't think that should stop anyone from getting the size that fits them, fits their gig, and fits in their car.
 
After watching that, I'm still firmly in the 22x14 or 24x16 camp. The very last BD reminds me of Bo. LOL! Just pocking fun!
 
Anything smaller than a 22" just seems too small. After all it's a BASS drum isn't it?

Up until the 22" I just picked - I've 18"s and 16" for the past decade or so (aside from backline kits).

An 18" can be a punchy bass - a 16" can be punchy - but it takes a little bit of EQ magic to really make it a "bass drum" despite me really liking the sound of it.

So....I disagree - BUT ....mannnnnn my current 22" is a revelation of punchy, canon bass goodness so maybe I'm converting haha.
 
Up until the 22" I just picked - I've 18"s and 16" for the past decade or so (aside from backline kits).

An 18" can be a punchy bass - a 16" can be punchy - but it takes a little bit of EQ magic to really make it a "bass drum" despite me really liking the sound of it.

So....I disagree - BUT ....mannnnnn my current 22" is a revelation of punchy, canon bass goodness so maybe I'm converting haha.

I like punchy too. Stuffed with a pillow, a 22" can be just as punchy as an 18". The nice thing is that you when unmuffle the 22", it assumes a mammoth persona an 18" can't approximate.
 
22" is the perfect choice for me at least. 20" can sound pretty good (but in my opinion looks way too small, which is something at least I myself care a bit about as well...), 24" is not practical for a guy of my size (average), when I want more rack toms than one. 22" is just about perfect, IMO.
 
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