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

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:
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... set them up like this:
1351031987_449328603_4-Pearl-brand-new-drums-kit-green-made-in-usa-03012581754-Musical-Instruments.jpg


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.

I agree guys that this looks better than my setup... In reality, if I extend the L tubes this high, the top of the toms will be almost around my shoulders (with a high throne setting) not making for great comfortable playing... I'd rather have the toms almost as low as the snare...

So I'm thinking loooower is better as in the attached picture of miss C.
 

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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.

+1

(There should not be a 20 character rule...)
 
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.

Fun-size or bite-size? I figured sooner or later you'd get in here and comment...
 
I agree guys that this looks better than my setup... In reality, if I extend the L tubes this high, to the toms will be almost around my shoulders (with a high throne setting) not making for great comfortable playing... I'd rather have the toms almost as low as the snare...

So I'm thinking loooower is better as in the attached picture of miss C.

So I think the answer is to get the toms off to the left side and lower, get the ride over the kick -- with the drums you have.

But a 20" kick would probably not be too bad an idea for later.

BTW, Emm is rocking a 16" kick with an 8x10 rack tom.
 
So I'm thinking loooower is better as in the attached picture of miss C.


Indeed. She has smaller toms mounted on her stands. The only thing that's slightly odd in that picture is that she's sitting with her posterior on the back of her throne rather than the front. I imagine she scoots forward a bit when she's playing. It also looks like a 10/14/16/20 kit.
 
So I'm thinking loooower is better as in the attached picture of miss C.
If that's the direction you want to go ..... then your 2 up, 1 down, is probably gonna have to change. Or, as I posted before, move your toms off the bass drum, and to the left. Really left, if you want to go super low. Emmanuelle is pictures with 1 up, 2 down. The current kit I play, 3 down.​
 

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Indeed. She has smaller toms mounted on her stands. The only thing that's slightly odd in that picture is that she's sitting with her posterior on the back of her throne rather than the front. I imagine she scoots forward a bit when she's playing. It also looks like a 10/14/16/20 kit.

But it's not. She does a 10/14/16/16.

http://www.emmanuellecaplette.com/gear-and-sponsors/
 
I'm precisely 5'6" and I have two kits and regularly play on a third, none of which pose me any real ergonomic issues.

A woman of the same height as a man will generally have more of her height in her legs than her torso. Men have longer torsos. So when we sit behind the kit, we're "shorter" than a guy of the same height.

I'm 5'4". I'm not sure how many BPUs or hectares that is, for those of you who don't use Stone Age measurement systems. My toms are 12, 13, and 16, and seem deeper than others of their circumference (it's the Starcaster beginner kit). I'm still fairly newb, and I have a chronic pain problem from a little motorcycle get-off a few years ago ("get-off" in this context is no fun whatsoever), so I can't say if anything specific to the drums is causing me trouble or ergonomic problems, or if it's caused by the pre-existing condition. I'll try to pay more attention and let you know if I notice anything, audioragegarden. :)
 
Your kick drum is backwards. The spurs should be in the front of the drum, as well as the tom mount on the drum. Having it backwards will cause the toms to be too close to you, forcing you to have those awkward angles that you have. You stated that if you set the toms up with the L-Arms almost fully extended it will put the toms at your shoulders. This is because they are too close. Turn that kick around and your toms will be at a more comfortable distance, the height wont seem like such an issue. Also, your throne is higher than your snare. Raise your snare up a bit and it will cover some of the distance between it and the toms. Since you are short, don't be afraid of the dashboard setup. Flat toms are great for those of us who are tall enough to sit over our drums. Angling them for ease of access is perfectly fine if they are too high when flat. But you have to turn that kick around first, you wont feel so cramped when you do.
 
A woman of the same height as a man will generally have more of her height in her legs than her torso. Men have longer torsos. So when we sit behind the kit, we're "shorter" than a guy of the same height.

I'm 5'4". I'm not sure how many BPUs or hectares that is, for those of you who don't use Stone Age measurement systems. My toms are 12, 13, and 16

Just curious, what size is you bass?

Your kick drum is backwards. The spurs should be in the front of the drum, as well as the tom mount on the drum.

Well, I just checked on this and you're right! I'm impressed you could tell this from these pics. I got the drums already built as a newb so I wrongly assumed that was just the way they were supposed to be...feeling somewhat stupid now :) I'll turn it around + move the heads around and see what happenes.

The snare is higher than the throne... It might appear the other way around on the pics because of the angle the pics were taken.

Btw, I'm not short :) 5'6" is above average height for a chick... :)

Thanks for comments to all. I guess you don't know what you don't know until you find out :)
 
If that's the direction you want to go ..... then your 2 up, 1 down, is probably gonna have to change. Or, as I posted before, move your toms off the bass drum, and to the left. Really left, if you want to go super low. Emmanuelle is pictures with 1 up, 2 down. The current kit I play, 3 down.​

That's a very nice set.


......................
 
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.

I'm 5"4" with a 22-inch bass drum. My toms are 10 inches deep, and I have to angle them a lot, or I can't reach the skins. I have this problem on almost every kit I use -- in our rented practice studio, in clubs and bars where I use the house drums, and when I use other players' kits.

I don't like doing it, but it's necessary. After reading this thread, I know that when I finally get a good drumset, I need a 20-inch bass. I appreciate everyone's input.


Just curious, what size is you bass?
Oh, sorry, I didn't see this before I posted. It's 22 inches. :)
 
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How do I convert feet into the metric system? I gather 5'6" is rather small then?

According to the online calculator, 66 inches (5 feet 6 inches) is equivalent to 1.6764 meters, or 167.64 centimeters. Which tells me nothing, of course, but maybe it makes sense to you.

We should have converted to metric in the 1970s, but President Carter lost that fight.

Anyway, no, that's not small, nor is it very tall. Maybe slightly tallish?
 
According to the online calculator, 66 inches (5 feet 6 inches) is equivalent to 1.6764 meters, or 167.64 centimeters. Which tells me nothing, of course, but maybe it makes sense to you.

We should have converted to metric in the 1970s, but President Carter lost that fight.

Anyway, no, that's not small, nor is it very tall. Maybe slightly tallish?

Well, here are some avg heights for men and women in both in and cm:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Average_height_around_the_world

US and UK avg height for women is 5'4" (163 cm), and 5'10" (177 cm) for men.
 
A woman of the same height as a man will generally have more of her height in her legs than her torso. Men have longer torsos. So when we sit behind the kit, we're "shorter" than a guy of the same height.

/QUOTE]

This is a good observation! I'm pretty proportional, but my legs are loooong... For example it took a while to find a comfortable place for the HH, as if my legs are comfortable on the HH pedals, I feel like my arms should be longer! I can reach the HHs ok, but there is something about this that took a while get right...
 
A woman of the same height as a man will generally have more of her height in her legs than her torso. Men have longer torsos. So when we sit behind the kit, we're "shorter" than a guy of the same height.

Talk about missing the forest for the trees... the faceless internet strikes again! My apologies for making assumptions.
 
5' 5" and I play a 20" bass drum, anything bigger and I have problems getting the 12" tom low enough. I played with a 24 back in the day when everyone seemed to set up there kit so they were almost hidden, but it was very demanding for a small guy like me. Drums high and cymbals even higher.

With the 20 I feel I am "over" the drums and shoulders and arms dont get tired. It also means the cymbals can be lower and easier to reach.
 
I am 5'5" and use a 22" bass drum with 10" and 12" rack and 16" floor.
I have the ride on a straight stand set up to cover 25% of the floor tom. I bring the floor and ride in close, so if I am riding the edge of the cymbal, my elbow is by my side. To ride the bell, I only have to extend a little. I find this to be more comfortable over the course of a night than having to hold up your arm while riding the cymbal.
I do have a set with a 20" bass drum and power toms- 12" and 13" that fits me well, but if that set had a 22"- not sure I could bring the toms down low enough without hitting the bass drum.
 

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