3 piece for Metal (is it good enough)?

neksss1

Junior Member
I have been using a 3 piece for about 6 months (snare/bass/tom-tom) and before 3/4 months i bought double pedal and started playing blast beats(16"notes 200BPM+).
So i'm curious is it okay to use a 3 piece with 3 cymbal (classics setup hats/crash/ride) to play that kind of music(death/deatcore/black/progressive)?
 
as long as you can play extremely fast - a 3 pc should be OK, as long as the drums are really, really black

Hahaha!

Seriously, the drum police aren't going to take away your drums if you don't have enough toms. Use what you like. Floor tom/kick/snare is definitely enough for a lot of stuff. You miiight want a china/stack in addition to your cymbal setup but even that's not absolute.
 
Hahaha!

Seriously, the drum police aren't going to take away your drums if you don't have enough toms. Use what you like. Floor tom/kick/snare is definitely enough for a lot of stuff. You miiight want a china/stack in addition to your cymbal setup but even that's not absolute.
I don't wanna sound rude but i wrote (snare/bass/tom-tom) !(please don't get offended)!
To clarify to you and others that gonna read setup is (22' bass drum,13" snare and 13'tom-tom(as in hanging tom)).
 
I'd personally add a couple of floor toms. One would suffice, though. Flams on the snare can only get you so far and that deep tom sound is kind of important for other stuff as well.

For practicing, with a bit of imagination, you can get around it with just the snare for a while. It's actually good for your creativity to practice with a limited number of playing surfaces.Playing music with others though, especially in a rock context, just one more bigger drum would add tons of options for you.
 
I have seen a few Rockabilly cats that just use a floor tom, seems to work well.

Are you just using the rack tom because that is all you need or do you not have a floor tom? If it is a stylistic choice then I say rock on. If you're limited by what you own then I would say add a floor tom if you're feeling limited.
 
As everyone knows, nothing matters for metal with the exception of how fast you can hit your bass drum. Get a china for marking your quarter notes and a double pedal and you can play all metal in the known universe.
 
If you feel that the music that you are playing can sound good on a 3 piece kit, go for it. Some music only requires a 3 pc, others need (or sound better) with much more.
AC/DC sounds just fine with a minimal setup, Iron Maiden sounds better with a 37 pc drumset.
 
So i'm curious is it okay to use a 3 piece with 3 cymbal (classics setup hats/crash/ride) to play that kind of music(death/deatcore/black/progressive)?

If you're the one writing the drum parts, then of course it is.

If you're playing covers, there's only one way to find out if it's gong to work. Sit down and start economizing the parts to see if you can reduce them to where they sound good.
 
It's all personal preference. Looking around today, a lot of drummers use hugely diverse kits with all sorts of percussion sounds derived from them. Main reasons, (in my opinion, as a metal drummer and owner of a very large kit and a very practical sized kit) would be price, ease of travel, and depth of your sound.

Obviously, the large your kit is, the more initial capital investment you will have to make and the more it costs to maintain. My 10 drum 77 ludwig is expensive as hell every time I re-head.

A small kit travels more. If everyone is coming over to jam at your house, as I had the luxury of throughout gradeschool, then a large kit works. If you are constantly carrying it around, then obviously a small kit is the way.

Sound is huge as well. Personally, I find that in metal drumming with covers and originals, that having a plethora of cymbals to choose from is the best way to diversify your sound. Maintain a 3 piece kick, snare, tom combo, but on top of that buy a rack and get yourself some splashes, chinas, bells, heavy/light crashes, and an extra hi hat to lock when you run the doubles.

Buy cheap crap off of ebay to get a feel for the different applications of each cymbal. When you find one you like, price out some nicer brands and ALWAYS test them out before you buy in your local music shop. Personally, I like zildjian, meinl, and staag for my metal fun times.

Smooth sailing~
 
Honestly, what you have is what you have. If you're passionate about drumming, you'll make it work. If you want to add more drums and cymbals later, that's OK, too.​
 
Have you heard of the band Periphery? Matt Halpern, one of the greatest metal drummers of today shows how it can be done on a 3 piece. Check out his other vids on youtube as well. He is seriously so freaking good.

http://www.drumaddik.com/video-matt-halpern-periphery-is-beast-on-a-3-piece/

I quite like the look of 3 piece kit. Its very open, shows the drummer, and has a beautiful, sensible simplicity.

Check out Matt's fancy new snare dampener, the black thing ;)

I totally agree, a 3 piece kit for metal HAS to be very black.
 
I don't wanna sound rude but i wrote (snare/bass/tom-tom) !(please don't get offended)!
To clarify to you and others that gonna read setup is (22' bass drum,13" snare and 13'tom-tom(as in hanging tom)).

Tune the 13" low and I think you'll be fine. A floor room could be nice but I think you can get away without one since it's 13".
 
Do whatever you want, man! Using that setup could force you to come up with some really creative stuff. No disrespect to anyone here, but the people that are telling you to add floor toms or tune the 13 really low are advising you to fit into a mold. Yeah, most metal drummers have more drums, and generally tune them pretty low, but why should you necessarily do the same thing? Maybe try tuning your 13 really high. See what happens. I find when you limit yourself, you actually force yourself to be really creative. You could come up with a really unique sound that's totally your own thing.
 
@original question: Yes.

Matt Halpern gets along just fine with one floor tom.

Rings of Saturn gets along just fine with just a 10 and 12.

do what sounds good to you.
 
Show me a metal drummer that uses a cranked 13" rack tom with no other toms and I'll throw myself into the nearest river. Not that uniqueness isn't a good thing... but being a reliable player who, yes, fits into a mold can be good too.
 
2 floor toms are fun but unessential for metal. I believe Justin Foley only ever used 1 floor tom.
 
Of course you can play metal with a three piece but, it depends on your style as well as the band not just simply the genre. Matt Halpern used a three pice on the first album because it was convenient for touring and focusing on groove. Periphery is does a lot of grooving which fits a three piece fine. Also note that he used a 5 piece on P2 and it looks like he's using it again on Juggernaut. Ragnarok and Erised are good examples when three pieces aren't enough, even in a groove based band.

SO what are you doing for often? Technical groves that utilize the whole set? Or serious tom work that requires more range?

Rings of Saturn gets along just fine with just a 10 and 12.
lol wut
 
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