Need tips for future custom kit

WeMustDevour

Junior Member
Hi guys. I'm graduating college soon and am looking to move to a more upper-level kit. That being said, my GF and parents will help pay for it so cost isn't much of an issue unless it's over $2-3k.
I used a crappy starter kit for 6 years and been using a mapex armory and Roland kit since then. I play some post-rock/jazz/progressive/hardcore so I'm looking at a smaller kit but one with some character. Here's what I'm thinking at this point:

(WxD)
11x7 tom
15x13 floor tom
13x6 snare
20x18 bass drum
And using my HHX groove ride (21) and hats (14) as well as HHX Xplosion (18)

I currently use the 10" and 16" toms (without the 12) on my mapex because I like the contrast, but in some applications the range in the tones is too large. The 16" can be a little overpowering, especially because the depth is also 16". I also don't really like the tone in the 12", which is why I'm thinking about using an 11" even though it's extremely uncommon. The mapex is birch-maple-birch shells and for the custom I'm thinking about maple or a maple hybrid.
I'm pretty happy with the standard bass drum size (22x18) but 20" has a more attractive sound to me and would probably work better with the smaller toms. I'm a little unsure about the depth because from the bass drums I've heard it's been a very marginal difference. I know a lot of guys do 20x20 to make up for the smaller diameter.
Also, give me some advice on snares! I've never owned a 13" but have really fallen in love with the sound. Should I go deeper than 6"?

So I guess, what do you guys think of a kit like this for the styles I'm looking to play? Do you think custom shops would be willing to make an 11" tom? I know sound is all about personal preference but give me any advice or feedback you're willing to!
Thanks in advance guys
 
I'm not sure why you would want the odd size toms. Easy access to drum heads would concern me. the bass drum and snares sizes seem Ok, but I wonder about the toms. And for 2-3K you can pretty much buy what you want.
 
I know a couple head manufacturers that take special orders and that offer 11s, so I'd just get 3 or 4 at a time. I see 15s fairly often so I'm not worried about that.
 
It's not so much the heads that might be an issue for an 11" tom but the rims.
Reasons I've never bought a custom kit have been I've never found or settled on a set of sizes or a finish that I can definitively say will suit me for the rest of my playing career and I've never needed anything that I've been unable to pick up elsewhere at standard prices.
If you're still not sure of what you want then there's a chance you're going to spend a lot of money on a kit that isn't actually what YOU have decided on or decided that you need.
And from my most recent experience I've found that the shallower depth 20" x 14" bass drum performs brilliantly, far better than the 22" x 20" I had in the past, but having said that it's perfectly likely that someone else will post a comment saying that their experience has been the exact opposite.
Snare drum wise, 13" x 6" is a very standard size which tells me that it works, there are deeper drums out there and alluding back to my first point I think you need to play drums in these sizes first before pulling the trigger on one and expecting/hoping that you will have made the right choice.

Finally whatever you buy it's your kit and your decision and thinking about resale value further down the line shouldn't be a part of the decision making process in an ideal world. However thinking about my purchasing history and that of other people I know either in the real world or on Forums there's a more than good chance that at some point down the line you might decide to sell it and I've lost count of the number of kits I've seen that had the potential to be really nice but haven't sold or have sold at bargain basement prices due to them being being comprised of unusual sizes or even ones that have sizes that were once fashionable but no longer are.
 
You finally have some serious coin to throw at a kit, and you want odd sizes?! Youth is wasted on the young! :)

But seriously, there aren't going to be many times you'll be able to just throw down a couple grand or more for a kit. Buy something that you'll have for the rest of your life. Buy the kit you'll never sell.

There are really only two drum sets you should buy: a rock kit with a 22" kick and a 16" floor tom, or a bop kit with an 18" kick and a 14" floor tom. Anything else is just trying (and failing) to do both things at once. Since you don't seem to be playing much traditional jazz, the rock kit should be your first purchase.

Get a Ludwig or Yamaha or Gretsch, in a somewhat normal finish/color. Get a 10 and a 12 (and realize that not all 12 inch drums are created equally!). A 16 X 16 floor tom is not that big, and can be tuned to a wide range.

Also, a 20" kick just will never "punch" like a 22", no matter what the depth. If you want a small bass drum, get a cheap bop kit (18, 12, 14) to play around with.

Shallower kicks do tend to sound great. Extra long kicks are a fad that started in the late 90s and got absurd in the 00's, and they don't sound any deeper or boomer. If anything they sound boing-ey. The traditional depth is 14".

As for the snare, consider buying a tried and true supra phonic, black beauty, radio King, or, if you must get a 13", a Steve Jordan signature snare.
 
I'm definitely into a 20" kick, the ones I've played were awesome and I felt they worked way better in a studio/miced environment. Let's talk about the toms though!
I definitely hear what you guys are saying about the odd tom sizes-to combat that would it help to get a shallow 12" tom? Say 6" or so? I'm still thinking about 15" floor but for my applications would you guys lean more towards a 14" or 16" with shallower depth as well? Look up bands like totorro or TTNG to get an idea. I've been thinking about odd sizes like this because I'm very interested in new and unique sounds; ones that will hopefully become genre-defining in the future. It's not as much that I'm looking for a specific sound as much as variability in sound. My thought was I could tune an 11 to sound close to a 10 OR 12 and a 15 to a 14 OR 16, if that makes sense. That being said, I value all the feedback but thought I would clarify so you guys don't think I'm insane, lol. If you have ideas how I can achieve something like this with other sizes then I won't by any means shoot it down. Seriously, thanks for all the feedback though!
 
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10, 12, 16, 22

For custom stuff Guru must be mentioned. Lots of standard brands that make great stuff. Gretsch(my favorite), Yamaha, Ayotte, Sonor SQ2s, Tama...
 
For shallower toms I believe that Mapex and certainly Natal do the types of depths you're thinking about if this helps.
 
why get an 11 inch tom and then tune it to sound like a 12 or 10. why not just get a 10 or 12. Same with the 15. If you want 14 or 16 sound, get a 14 or 16. Sounds like you are experimenting for the sake of experimenting on your parents/girlfriends money.
 
A vote against shallower rack toms. Especially with a 20" BD. With a 10" tom, minimum depth (according to me) is 8".

I wish you would get the 11" tom. 11" should be a standard size. You could go down in history as "starting the wave". Your picture would be everywhere.
 
In some ways you're asking for a simple answer to a complex question. And I'm actually not sure you're asking the right question in the first place.

Kit-drum sizes are an interesting thing to ponder, especially in the sense of how they relate and work together, but they're not, in and of themselves, a comprehensive solution to achieving the type of sound or playability that you like -- which are the really important issues that you haven't mentioned. There are so many other factors involved in achieving those qualities, and sizes are not the first things I would examine in order to head in the right direction. Your stated goal is to end up with a kit that has "some character," and that's a pretty vague thing to focus on.

I'd suggest that materials, shell construction, edges, heads, and tuning choices can have greater determination on the character of a kit than an inch variation in size would. So my recommendation would be to go back to square one in your planning and think first about the sound you want to achieve; your (non-drummer) audience won't be able to tell the diameter of your rack tom, but they will know what they hear.

You say you're looking for new and unique sounds that can become genre-defining. To do that -- assuming it's possible -- I think you'll need to break a lot more barriers than just drum sizes. A realistic approach would be to find those sounds and then figure out how to achieve them in drum design. Frankly, if you don't plan to achieve them through your playing style, you're going to be hard-pressed to create anything that's not already out there in an electronic kit's "brain."

You should discuss this with some builders -- avoiding the yes-man types who just take your money and build whatever you say. It will help you figure out what questions to ask and to think about. In the long run, it will increase your chances of ending up with a set of drums that helps you define who you are as a performer.

I'd also suggest putting in some playing time on higher-grade production kits before putting money into a custom kit simply for the sake of odd sizes -- you might find that a better kit than your current one may give you more range and capabilities, and fill your needs without breaking the bank.
 
I'm definitely into a 20" kick, the ones I've played were awesome and I felt they worked way better in a studio/miced environment. Let's talk about the toms though!
I definitely hear what you guys are saying about the odd tom sizes-to combat that would it help to get a shallow 12" tom? Say 6" or so? I'm still thinking about 15" floor but for my applications would you guys lean more towards a 14" or 16" with shallower depth as well? Look up bands like totorro or TTNG to get an idea. I've been thinking about odd sizes like this because I'm very interested in new and unique sounds; ones that will hopefully become genre-defining in the future. It's not as much that I'm looking for a specific sound as much as variability in sound. My thought was I could tune an 11 to sound close to a 10 OR 12 and a 15 to a 14 OR 16, if that makes sense. That being said, I value all the feedback but thought I would clarify so you guys don't think I'm insane, lol. If you have ideas how I can achieve something like this with other sizes then I won't by any means shoot it down. Seriously, thanks for all the feedback though!

Here's the thing: you love those bands now, but eventually you'll grow as a player and want to play other stuff besides niche indie rock. Maybe you'll want to do some big band, or pop covers, or singer songwriter stuff. Don't buy a kit for one or two bands -- buy a kit for a lifetime of playing in many bands over many years.

Don't get a shallow 12". 8" depth is great. Get a 10" X 7 or 10" by 8 too.

Only get a 14" floor for jazz. It won't tune low enough for anything else. 15" is a great floor tom size, but stick to the full 15" depth.

At least get a kit that you can order a 22" later, for when you realize the 20" just sounds like a wimpy 22", live and especially studio. ;)
 
Also, a 20" kick just will never "punch" like a 22", no matter what the depth.

If you were close by, I'd love for you to come play my Basix birch 20" x 20" kick. I didn't expect much from it, but holy smokes is that thing a cannon! It's got plenty of punch IMO. The pitch is just a little higher than a 22", but it still does the job. BTW, I love 22" kicks; however, I like carrying around a 20" a little better, and my back appreciates it too!
 
To answer the OP, first and foremost, CONGRATS ON YOUR GRADUATION!!!! What an exciting time!

You said, "I play some post-rock/jazz/progressive/hardcore." Sounds like fun! Here's the thing...20 years from now, do you see yourself still playing post-rock/jazz/progressive/hardcore? You may, or you may not. I'd like to share a little of my story with you that might help in your decision:

I used to play nothing but rock and roll. I was a hard hitter, and I loved to pound drums as much as the next guy. When I wasn't doing that, I was really into punk and ska music too. I loved that choppy-fast vibe. When it came time to buy my first pro-set of drums, even though I primarily played a 4-piece kit, I went ahead and got a 6-piece drum set where I can change the configuration around as needed. It was probably one of the best decisions I ever made. I ended up with this:

22" x 18" kick
10" x 8" rack
12" x 9" rack
14" x 12" floor
16" x 14" floor
13" x 5" matching snare

My set is a USA Pork Pie Custom, and I came in under your budget you have posted.

It's been rare that it's all been set up at the same time because I just use different configurations for what I need. There's so many different and fun combinations that I can do, there's never been a time in the past 13 years where I felt that I needed any more drums added to that kit. Right now, it's sitting at my church; however, if I was to ever start playing out with it again, I know that it could handle 100% of any situation I walk into. If I were to really starting traveling with this kit again (and if I had the money), I'd probably get a 20" kick because I hate carrying around a 22" kick these days (this is more due to my crummy back as opposed to the sound).

All in all, here's my advice: Buy something in more traditional sizes, and buy more toms than you think you will need right now. If you play music for the rest of your life, chances are you will probably play with different folks in different genres, and a forever-drumset will need to be diverse enough to meet your needs not only now, but for the future. Your tastes and ears will change as you develop as a musician. Don't pigeon-hole yourself by thinking a certain drum set for a certain genre. Hope this helps! Just my $.02.
 
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