In Search of Higher Pitched Sounds...

Lovetadraw

Lovetadraw

Senior Member
With fun-fun tax refund season on its way, I'm thinking of treating myself to some new/upgraded gear. I'd really like to add 6" and 8" toms to my setup, however, my budget doesn't allow me to get vintage, add on, or custom-made drums to fully realize this desire. I've looked around and while I like the sound of Rototoms, I prefer to have something with at least SOMETHING of a shell, and Octobans are too long and obtrusive for my tastes. I've been looking around and I've found some people praising Tama's 'Mini Tymps" to work well for this, however, just as many reviews seem to say the opposite. I've also looked at DW/PDP's mini timbale/piccolo toms and frankly I'm stumped. The DW/PDPs I fear won't sound or fit quite right due to the sizes being 8" and 10", not 6" and 8". I also fear that the Tama option might be too high pitched. I tune my 10" tom high and I imagine that if I ever get a new gigging kit it would have an 8" tom thus closing any current pitch gap I might have. I understand they won't sound exactly the same because they are single headed and metal. What do you all think is the best thing to do?

This video here is the 8" and 10" Mini tymps and it nearly has me sold. Only I'd get the smaller ones as the 10" here is about the pitch of my 10" tom.

Too long; didn't read
I want 6" and 8" toms but I'm thinking Tama mini tymps, or pdp/dw piccolo toms might work just as well. Input please.
 
Lovetadraw

Lovetadraw

Senior Member
Tommy_D said:
Scratch that... The Tama's are cheaper:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/tama-mini-steel-timbales
Click to expand...

Yes. I've been looking at the Tamas. I know a tad of Japanese which came in handy here haha. Unfortunately, none of the stores around my way carry the Tama mini tymps and I'm afraid I may not care for them in person. I'm hoping someone on here has used them/compared them to PDP/DWs for use as small quasi-concert toms, and found that it worked. I think they would, but I'd like to be a little more sure :)
 
B

BFrench501

Senior Member
To combat this I have come up with a solution - I use LP bongos on my kit. They have a depth that is not too dissimilar from a normal 10" tom and it is very easy to tune the heads the way you want them so they are not stupidly high.

People laugh whenever they see them but everyone who has got behind my kit has said that they work brilliantly.

Got mine for £100 with the stand. They sit perfectly between my hihats and the gap where my 10" tom :)
 
R

rtliquid

Senior Member
I have a PDP CX kit with 10, 12, and 14 toms. I wanted a voice higher than my 10, so I went with the PDP/DW 10" piccolo. It fits perfectly sonically and physically - it's shallower than a tom, so it fits nicely above my hats and leaves room for a mic claw on my snare.
 
Lovetadraw

Lovetadraw

Senior Member
Unfortunately, I'm looking to add 2 toms and my budget doesn't allow for 2 DW piccolo toms :( They sound rad though. I'm heavily leaning toward the Tamas but I'm still not sure. I've even toyed with the idea of getting a deep 8" tom and chopping it in half. But the ascetic part of me wants 6" and 8" sizes, and I'm REALLY not keen on something like 8x3.5 by 8x4.5.
 
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