Sell me on a 24"

[The SunDog]

My favorite bass drums are 14x24 and 16x20. The 24 hints at a 26, and can also creep into 22" territory as needed, and the 20" covers the poppy, present sound, while also covering a 22" pretty well. I've pretty much eliminated 22" kicks from my regular rotation.

Bermuda

Yup! Cut out the middle man. 24" sets the bar. It slays in terms of attack to volume. If I go smaller I want a noticeable difference, so 20" is my little kick. Like a 13" tom compared to a 12" or 14", it really does neither of the same things. No hate for the 22" size and I've often said if you can only have one then 22" is the winner, but if you want that real big, powerful, and punchy sound then go for the real deal. 24" rules the roost for sheer power and 20" is just so tight and tasty. My vote is for the two and switch up for certain gigs.

 

[Vintage Old School]

24" all day long. It's all about the tone.

 

[Fred D]

So I don’t understand - you have a longer beater or you have a pedal that can raise your beater up? My pedals height aren’t adjustable so my technique stays the same on any bass drum. How do you get a longer stroke?

You can adjust the beater height the full length of the beater shaft of shorten it.

DW 5000s have stroke adjustments as do most pedals. I think you play 5000s?

 

[Bo Eder]

You can adjust the beater height the full length of the beater shaft of shorten it.

DW 5000s have stroke adjustments as do most pedals. I think you play 5000s?

Ah. I leave the beater shaft all the way out - the action sucks when you shorten it, and my stroke setting is whatever it was out of the box. Call me old skool

 

[beyondbetrayal]

I find my 22 can sound much like the average 24... I use my 20 more often anyways.

Less weight for gigging, And I can have more options for where I position my toms if I wan't them flatter and over the drum etc.

My pedals can hit in the center on an 18 if I adjust the beater height haha.

24's are great if you want more volume and a bit more low end though. I find 2 inches makes the biggest difference in volume more than anything else.


It's a super personal thing you should decide for yourself. If it suits the music you play, and you want it, just get it.

If your touring out of a van, lugging it up and down stairs all the time, and like your toms flat and over your kick, you may want to think about it.

 

[River19]

I always felt my old 22x16 was gutless, if I went for punch I would get a boomy goofy sound......then I found my current 22x18 without the port and I have been happy ever since......

Would have to give a 24 and 20 some consideration on the next kit.....

 

[johnwesley]

You want me to motivate you to buy a 24" bass drum? OK here goes;

You are a wimpy drummer. You play the bass drum pedal like a 5 year old.
You don't deserve a 24" bass drum. Therefore you are not allowed to buy or use one.

.

Ha Ha....Excellent response Hollywood. Good thing he didn't ask about a 26 or God forbid a 30!

BTW...I just started playing a 26 and after a while getting used to it I love it. As for toms....Got rid of them and use snares tuned as toms instead. AND not only do they sound better than toms....they FIT OVER THE 26 at the same level as my toms over my 22....Best of both worlds....AND...I can add really cool snares as toms.

 

[williamsbclontz]

Ha Ha....Excellent response Hollywood. Good thing he didn't ask about a 26 or God forbid a 30!

I really am too wimpy to play a 26. I sat behind a DW kit in a local guitar center a few months ago and it was a 26 x 18. Sounded ok but I don't know if I could get used to that thing

 

[2bsticks]

Not a problem at all using the 24" bass drums, as long as I'm not the one that has to move it

 

[J-Boogie]

If the mobility issue isnt really an issue, I say go big, love the feel and sount of big bass drums. 14"x24" being my ideal for a 24". Big bass drums feel so beefy and satisfying and also Im hungry now. I say go 24" and a cold cut sub, 12".


BTW thats really freakin' cool johnwesley...diggin' it

 

[Bo Eder]

I'm not sure what mobility issues there would be going from a 22 to a 24. It's not a huge difference in size, right? I could see it if you played 18's all your life and decided you must try a 28, but 22 to 24? Not that big of a deal. Even 20 to 24 isn't a big deal.

But I guess depending on the car you drive, make sure the drum fits?

 

[Ghostnote]

It only takes a few days to get used to different sizes. You just adjust. I've gone from 20" kick to 26", 13" hats to 17", 13" snare to 15", etc.... In all cases it was an easy transition.

 

[Living Dead Drummer]

Currently touring and playing live with a 24".

I've used 22" for most of my life, I did have a 26" for a while.
There is a HUGE difference in feel, tuning, and even mobility between 22" and 26".

But that 24" isn't as much of a leap. You get a great big sound, yet it's still easy to move around, mount toms, and the feel between playing that and a 22" isn't really noticeable depending on how you tune.

 

[mikyok]

If it's 14" deep get it whatever diameter it is. 14 is the magic number

I find anything above 16" deep on any size bass drum really limits your feel and tone.

The low end on a 24/26 is where it's at. They're just not the most practical to gig with!

 

[BertTheDrummer]

If it's 14" deep get it whatever diameter it is. 14 is the magic number

I find anything above 16" deep on any size bass drum really limits your feel and tone.

The low end on a 24/26 is where it's at. They're just not the most practical to gig with!

Funny, I actually feel the same way. I don't think there's too many others that feel that way.

 

[mikyok]

Funny, I actually feel the same way. I don't think there's too many others that feel that way.

All personal preference, foot technique, drum tuning and to many things to get into on a Monday afternoon.

I'm using a 16x14 at the moment. The 24 only come out on special occasions aka if I can be bothered!

 

[Groov-E]

If it's 14" deep get it whatever diameter it is. 14 is the magic number

I find anything above 16" deep on any size bass drum really limits your feel and tone.

The low end on a 24/26 is where it's at. They're just not the most practical to gig with!

Completely different experience here.

After owning 22x14 bass drums (ludwig legacy and gretsch usa) and one 20x14 (c&c pd2), I felt like the beater was hitting a brick wall and actually started to have ankle and knee pains.

Sold everything, went back to 22x18 and that buttery feeling envelopped my joints. Plus I am faster on a 22x18, so there ya go. Each player being different, I find my sound is better translated in a deeper kick.

Still, the nicest sounding bd I ever played was a 24x14 dw jazz cherry. It sounded so round and warm. Punchy like you would expect from a 14in deep kick but also a lower note with plenty of boom possibly due to the larger size. Plus I could tension it lower so the brick wall feeling disapeared. A bit on the expensive side though but that is a whole other conversation.

 

[mikyok]

Completely different experience here.

After owning 22x14 bass drums (ludwig legacy and gretsch usa) and one 20x14 (c&c pd2), I felt like the beater was hitting a brick wall and actually started to have ankle and knee pains.

Sold everything, went back to 22x18 and that buttery feeling envelopped my joints. Plus I am faster on a 22x18, so there ya go. Each player being different, I find my sound is better translated in a deeper kick.

Still, the nicest sounding bd I ever played was a 24x14 dw jazz cherry. It sounded so round and warm. Punchy like you would expect from a 14in deep kick but also a lower note with plenty of boom possibly due to the larger size. Plus I could tension it lower so the brick wall feeling disapeared. A bit on the expensive side though but that is a whole other conversation.

Never had a problem with my 22x14 Ludwig at all, probably the most versatile bass drum in the arsenal. I have a 22x18 as well but they're setup differently. I have a 24x20 which is tricky to get right. I had a 26x20 which was great (sold it when I got my Ludwig) nice low thud on it with a rolled up towel on the batter head and a felt strip on the reso.

The maddest bass drum I ever played was a 28x14 that my mate had Alan from Richmo build him. The toms were 10&14 in FAST sizes. It was like the Barry White of bass drums

 

[Tommy_D]

I tune my bass drums for different things. 20" is typically higher and jazzy (boing, boing), 22" is tight and punchy (thump, thump) and 24" is big and open (boom, boom). I have not tried every 24" bass drum out there, but my birch 24" doesn't have as much guts as any of my 22" bass drums (Maple/Walnut hybrid, Maple/African Mahogany hybrid). It could be the crappy factory head that is causing its "wimpy" sound, it could be the shell material that is the problem. In any case, I get more thump from my 22" drums. I haven't tried getting the 20" to by thumpy because I have 22" bass drums that do that so well.

 

[Groov-E]

Never had a problem with my 22x14 Ludwig at all, probably the most versatile bass drum in the arsenal. I have a 22x18 as well but they're setup differently. I have a 24x20 which is tricky to get right. I had a 26x20 which was great (sold it when I got my Ludwig) nice low thud on it with a rolled up towel on the batter head and a felt strip on the reso.

The maddest bass drum I ever played was a 28x14 that my mate had Alan from Richmo build him. The toms were 10&14 in FAST sizes. It was like the Barry White of bass drums

Talk about a bass drum ! I went to an event organized by the symphonic orchestra yesterday where the kids could play the instruments backstage beforehand.

There was an old Ludwig marching bass drum, either 30x14 or 16 or maybe 28x14 or 16, played wide open. It went BOOOOOOM !!! Loved it, but would if I used something like that in a band setting I might get some dirty looks from the other members.

It was good fun for the kids.

About my Legacy, I had bought it used and always thought something was off about that specific kit (might had taken in somed humidity, weird wood knot right on the top bearing edge of the 13in tom, etc.) so I offloaded it rather quickly.