Kit composed of pieces from different kits?

johnjssmith

Junior Member
Hi!

Do you have any experience with/playing on kits composed of drums with different specs, say maple toms and birch bass drum, for the warmth and punch respectively?
Because of an ideal set I could assemble I would end up with something like that, and on one hand I think that would give me more room to get the sound I hear in my head, but on the other hand I fear it would make different parts of the set sound like "different drums" rather than "a drum set".

Any input, experience or insight will be greatly appreciated!
 
I did a gig in December with a 20" maple kick drum and 12"/16" walnut toms along with a padauk snare.

Whatever tickles your fancy. Have at it!
 
The original concept of the Yamaha 9000/7000 series drums was to give the player a mix and match.

Steve Gadd made famous the use of birch toms and a maple bass drum.

The Pearl Reference series basically does this https://pearldrum.com/products/kits/drumsets/reference/#shell blending birch/maple/mahogany in different ratio's to enhance highs/mids/lows.
 
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Thanks for the input everyone!
I had no idea about Gadd's maple bass drum :p
I definitely feel more confident now, and I'm about to pull the trigger on a Mapex Saturn with a ludicrous finish for the toms to mix with a Mapex Orion 20" bass drum.
Wish me luck :giggle:
 
I have a Poplar Tama imperial star with DW Design Series (Maple) concert toms (all are black). The two blend in well as a complete set. I took the bottom head of the 8" Tama tom and tuned it the same as the DW Concert tom. They sounded exactly the same, even though one is maple and one is Poplar. The DW is about .5" shorter than the Tama BTW. Not sure if this helps ....
 
You mean like this? Maple bass, copper rack tom, birch rack tom, maple rack tom, aluminum floor tom, bronze snare. Sounds better than anything I've ever played. My theory: Each drum should have it's own voice rather than the restrictive paradigm of compatibility. Each of my drums blends well with the others and as my liberal friends declare.....DIVERSITY!!!! My advice....go for it and let your ears be the guide. If the drum sounds good, add it to your kit whatever it's made of. Have fun.
 

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Thanks for the input everyone!
I had no idea about Gadd's maple bass drum :p
I definitely feel more confident now, and I'm about to pull the trigger on a Mapex Saturn with a ludicrous finish for the toms to mix with a Mapex Orion 20" bass drum.
Wish me luck :giggle:

You may end up liking the Saturn bass drum more than the Orion. All maple is great, but add in some walnut and the low frequencies get a boost.
 
I have a non-matching rack tom, but that's going to get remedied in a couple of weeks. :)

I've never mismatched drums, but in my search for a matching red sparkle 12 x 8 Classic Maple, I thought it'd be cool to have a black (preferably black sparkle) rack tom. Looks like Taylor Hawkins beat me to it.

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Also, Carmine Appice's Slingerlands he used on Ozzy's Bark at the Moon tour, he had red toms and black kicks.

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I know you are talking about totally mismatching woods and whatnot. I don't have anything against it, but I don't foresee me doing it.
 
I put together a custom pearl kit that sounds absolutely fabulous. All the parts work together. It consists of a 22" Keller 6 ply maple bass drum, 16x15 1968 mahogany Pearl floor tom, 13 x 9" Pearl 1968 mahogany tom, 12 x 8 1968 Pearl mahogany tom, 10 x 8 Pearl Session series mounted tom ( it's mahogany/birch). All the hoops are Ahead S hoops which never cause detuning.The snare is a 1969 premier Hi Fi that I just can't stop playing. Heads are Remo Ambassador coated top and bottom. I had all the drums rewrapped in red sparkle. Two of the mounted toms had the bearing edges redone to factory spec. The tone is full, beefy and classic. It can be tuned high or low or anything in between. I have to say it blows my Gretsch Renown out of the water. Yes, it took some time, work and expense but it is worth it!
 
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I’m currently playing a hybrid setup: 16” Tama Starclassic bubinga bass drum, 14” Tama Silverstar birch floor tom, and 12” Tama Starclassic bubinga tom, with maple snare. It’s my version of an Elvin jazz kit.
 
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