Bop & cafe kits

Wouldn’t the DW Frequent Flyer Kit at least cut weight but give you an adult bass drum sound since it’s 20”? I was at a county fair a couple of years ago and they used a Flyer kit for their backline and those drums sounded real.
 
I found12/14/18 Maple Custom absolute in a shop a few weeks ago. For under 1k and in pristine condition.

View attachment 96804

I added Crosstown Hardware and its a super gig friendly kit.

A pro kit where those baby kits can’t hold a candle too.

Much easier to transport than the big sizes yet can sound huge because of the build and the riser attatched to the kick.

So put out a search and you can find killer kits for great prices. Especially in these Covid days.
LOVE the finish
 
LOVE the finish

What I love about the older Vintage Natural, is that it turns into a goldish hue due to the microbacteria in the finish, just like the Vintage Brown finish.

And obviously it sounds killer and so is the build quality.

Regardless of the great things coming out of the China and Indonesia factories.

These Japanese models are still the best one can get in terms of build, feel sound.
 
What I love about the older Vintage Natural, is that it turns into a goldish hue due to the microbacteria in the finish ...
My all time favorite Yamaha finish.
 

Attachments

  • 2.jpg
    2.jpg
    85.7 KB · Views: 22
I have the Yamaha Manu Katche Jr. (original version, 1 rack, 1 floor - Philippine Mahogany shells). Paid $415 delivered. The newest version has 2 rack toms .... and it uses an all Birch shell now.

This is one of the coolest sets I've seen in a while, can't find Tony Verderosa series any more or a V wave (or a mini flat)...guessing that's a Engelhart giant hunk of metal there. What is your setup to trigger the effects pedals?

Had a MK Jr. set, was a great value. The Canopus Club kit sounds great from what I hear on video, there are several videos of Brian Blade playing the 15" BD and sounds great.
 
This is one of the coolest sets I've seen in a while, can't find Tony Verderosa series any more or a V wave (or a mini flat)...guessing that's a Engelhart giant hunk of metal there. What is your setup to trigger the effects pedals?
Thanx. I love Pete's stuff. A very good drum brother of mine has the WHOLE Engelhart collection. So I have free use of it (it's in the family). But that item you see is a Morfbeats Mini Marvin. I've also added a Micro Marvin to the collection. I have a contact mic in that, which runs thru a Digitech Jamman (on the floor) ..... ant that in turn goes into the pedal board. Feedback/Dist., Reverb, Echo, Dig. Delay, Flanger, Phaser pedals pictured.

The Sabian VFX's are pretty hard to find now, yes. I've got the whole series, minus the "Distortion" hats. There is one of the 19" Rides on eBay right now. I've bought from that seller before (Hazelshould). He's also bought from me. Really nice guy.

Here's a Mini Marvin in action.
 
Last edited:
I was not at all into 16” basses until I changed some of my idea of what the bass could/should sound like. When you set them up for the standard dry deep thud of a typical rock bass, they can’t do it in a convincing way. Sounds weak and nasal.

I set my current one up for more of a jazz tone: higher, rounder, longer sustain. Put in some foam to nix the basketball ping. Use a large yarn-wrapped beater. It goes “doooom” in a really satisfying way that tunes nicely with my toms.
 
The Breakbeats kit used to be the best budget mini kit back in 2014 when I bought mine. I still like it and still use it from time to time. (minus the snare). But it seems the Breakbeats kit has been surpassed by the competition in the past 5 years or so.

Nowadays I would recommend the Pearl Midtown for the best budget mini kit, given all the praise I've seen for them on this forum. They do cost slightly more, but I think it's worth it for wood hoops and a slight upgrade in hardware.

The Breakbeats aren't bad though, I've played probably 40-50 gigs with them...they're totally roadworthy for smaller venues and quieter playing.

I would recommend the Renown 18/12/14 for a medium budget if they weren't so damn heavy.

The DW Frequent Flyer kit was actually designed to be portable with it's small turret lugs and smaller dimensions. It straddles the line between mini and full sized kits (and is maybe 2 steps up from the Pearl Midtown in terms of quality), but it's $1350. The 20x12" bass drum you'll find is very easy to transport even in small cars. The depth is truly what makes a bass drum easy or difficult to fit into the back seat.

I should also mention the Yamaha Stage Custom bop. 18/12/14. Great value for $500. I'm not a fan of the 6 lug bass drum but I seriously doubt it effects performance. Great drums for the price.
 
Get one of these & you'll fit it anywhere!
I used one for my rockabilly gigs & it's a blast. You'll get used to playing standing up quicker than you think.View attachment 97005
i have always been tempted to get one of these, just not sure of the sound of the bass and snare. i love the idea of just walking into a gig and dropping this thing down though.
 
Get one of these & you'll fit it anywhere!
I used one for my rockabilly gigs & it's a blast. You'll get used to playing standing up quicker than you think.View attachment 97005

I played standing up exclusively with one band for about a year and a different band for about another year. I'm a huge fan and proponent. I really like using a normal bass drum and normal snare drum on a tall concert stand.
 
I can only think of 'There's Something About Mary' when I see the Yamaha Cocktail kit ?

No mention of the Brooklyn Micro yet?

 
I used to think the DW mini pro was outrageously priced at $1200. then I saw the Brooklyn Micro. pass

Maybe it's just me (I'm going to get the hammer for this one lol)... But all Gretsch drums sound the same. Not saying they sound bad, they all have a pleasing high range bop sound, but they sound the same. The only Gretsch kits I've ever heard that broke this mold were intended more for rock and sounded like thumpy mud.

Pearl, Tama, Yamaha, etc all have a discernable difference in sound and feel from their low to high end offerings. Gretsch just always sounds the same to me.
 
i have always been tempted to get one of these, just not sure of the sound of the bass and snare. i love the idea of just walking into a gig and dropping this thing down though.
When I used it for the rockabilly stuff, it made for a great stage presence as we all stood & had lots of motion.
The key to playing standing up is said motion. Gotta keep moving or your leg & hip will let you know. ;)

I found the kick/tom to be decent with some head choices & slight damping. I put a "John Bonham felt strip" across the dual-ply bottom head on the inside & that made for a decent sound. Then tuned the single ply top for as good a floor tom sound as I could balance.
A small rim mounted mic on the bottom did well for both sides (and trust me, you'll need one to get the sound out of it).

Snare is snappy with a good amount of crack if you tune it up high. The "rack tom" has a good tuning range for its size & I was happy overall.

The big downside is how much it wobbles if you lay into it. With small cymbals on the stand, it's pretty top heavy. I got around this by using a separate stand for the ride with a DW Dogbone attached for the small 16" crash.
You can literally carry your whole kit to your show in the trunk of your car.??
 
Back
Top