Measuring Tom Depth

PQleyR

PQleyR

Platinum Member
Just a quick question...when you measure the depth of a tom, is it from bearing edge to bearing edge, or do you include the hoops in that? I've been told, and been telling people, that my toms are square sizes, but I've started to feel that this might be wrong. The 10", for example, measures about a millimetre off 10" deep with the hoops and heads on, but this would mean that it was about...9 1/2" deep without them, I'd have thought. Can someone enlighten me on this?
 
Depths are measured with the hoops and heads off.. from bearing edge to bearing edge. 10x9.5 is an awkward size though. I've never heard of anything like that. What kit are you using?
 
It's an old Ludwig set from the mid-80s. I agree, it is an awkward and bizarre size, which is why it seems strange to me. I don't think the hoops add a half-inch each side, that seems like way too much. I'd have thought it was more like a centimetre or two total, hence my estimate.

You can see some of them quite well in this video, that's the 10" and 12" set up plus a 16x15" floor tom (I assume, that's what it was sold to me as). What size would you say they were?
 
It's more likely a 9x10, 10x12 14x16 or maybe 8x10, 9x12, 14x16. Measure from bearing edge to bearing edge for a drum depth measurement.
 
PQleyR said:
What size would you say they were?
Click to expand...
It's not really a case of what they "appear" to be ... and what we might "venture to say" (guess) that they are.​
They are what they are, and you find that out by popping off the rims and heads, and measuring the shell, from bearing edge to bearing edge. Ludwig might have sold them, simply as 10x10, or 10x9 ... or just called them "power toms" .... doesn't really matter. You have them now.​
By the way, cool song ... and you did a very good job of covering it. Nice looking drums, too.​
 
Thanks Harry. Yes, I ask more out of idle curiosity than from any real concern. I've had them since late 2008, I just took it on trust that they were the size I'd been told they were.
 
The actual size of those toms is (dia x depth) 10 x 9,12 x 11,and the floor tom is 16x16.They are all measured bearing edge to bearing edge.The bass drum was added as an orphan or possibly a custom order.It looks to be a 26" drum,and although they were available,they were not a standard catalog item.Cheers :)

Steve B
 
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