Show us your Four Piece Kits.

[Ryan Culberson]

Updated version of the Pete Thomas DW set. The 18x22 bass drum sounded great, but was like playing golf with an orange golf ball. Yeah, you can do it, but it just isn't right. Dana Bentley had a matching 16x22 from the same era and in the same condition (date stamp only 6 months apart), so we did a straight up trade. Much more in proportion now, methinks.

 

[Ransan]

Concert toms sound really good with Blue Hydraulic's.

Hi Elvis
This is roughly a quarter of my Luddie.

Sans bass drum and snare - I would need a total of 10 hydraulic skins to outfit The Big Red Machine. ?

 

[Elvis]

Try it on the two seen in the picture you posted and see what you think.
The reason I brought it up was because it brought to mind a Stewart kit I had in the first half of the 90's after a friend asked me to join his band (I hadn't played in about 3 years at that point).
It was a 3 piece but the guy found a 16" Ludwig floor tom and threw it in for no cost ( ? ).
Each tom only had batter heads. I never got the stuff to put bottom heads on it, because I wasn't too sure how this "band" was going to go.
All the heads needed replacing. I found coated Uno 58's for 99 cents and a pack of Remo O-Rings were only a couple of bucks more. The bass got a clear CS black dot, but what to do with the toms? ?
I thought about Pinstripes, but the guy at the music store (who was really cool. I'd dealt with him before) said he had a slight overstock on Evans Hydraulic heads and asked if I wanted a couple. I figured, ok I'll give it a shot, so he gave me a deal on a couple of blue Hydro's and I was off.
I'm not much for twin ply heads. I never met an Emperor I liked (and I've tried many!) and even Fiberskyns sometimes get on my nerves (although they make great BD heads!), but the blue Hydraulic's really impressed me, Tuned up easy and I didn't need to add any tape. They had a good amount of "built-in" muffling but also had some life to them and they felt good under the stick...plus you get that Whumpy sound that only Hydraulics can produce.
Other than Pinstripes, they're the only other twin ply head I've been able to live with.
My drums were smaller than yours (mine was 20-12-16-14x4) so I bet they'll work really nicely on your kit.
Blues are a little lighter than than Red's. Don't know about the other colours.
Good luck.

Elvis

 

[newoldie]

4 Piece quiet-practice kit. Just about everything I need to get the job done in a small space.

 

[Kona1984]

3pc 2011 GreTsch Custom USA 14x18bd, 8x12 tom, 14x14 floortom Vintage build out at my request and GreTsch 125th Anniversary 3.75x14 Vinyard snare all in Champagne Sparkle.
All drums signed to me by Mr. Fred Gretsch.
I have some photos that aren't good so I'll finish the post here and post some good photos tomorrow.

I also have a 4pc... just the shellpack:
... 1959 GreTsch Progressive Jazz with a Special Order 5.5x14 snare in Gold Sparkle. I bought them from an original owners' family member in 2009.

 

[Chunkaway]

1967 Ludwig Burgundy Sparkle

 

[Kona1984]

Gold & Green....
My 59 Progressive Jazz drums with Special Order 5.5x14 snare and the 8x12 tom switched out for my 50s 9x13 Cadillac Green tom.
The gold hardware is in exceptional condition.
A fun setup to play.

 

[Bozozoid]

I remember years ago playing a club with a 4 piece and while on break some local rushes up to me and says dude! I rate you a close second! in town!..only because I didn't have as many drums as his first choice. I just said thanks for the compliment that's great.

 

[Elvis]

3pc 2011 GreTsch Custom USA 14x18bd, 8x12 tom, 14x14 floortom Vintage build out at my request and GreTsch 125th Anniversary 3.75x14 Vinyard snare all in Champagne Sparkle.
All drums signed to me by Mr. Fred Gretsch.
I have some photos that aren't good so I'll finish the post here and post some good photos tomorrow.

View attachment 101406

Kona, you've got some great sets!
Thanks for sharing them with us.
I like that stand too, although it appears a bit heavy.
Is that a Gretsch stand or something you pieced together?
The legs remind me of my old Gibraltar 9500 series cymbal stand.

Elvis

 

[Kona1984]

Kona, you've got some great sets!
Thanks for sharing them with us.
I like that stand too, although it appears a bit heavy.
Is that a Gretsch stand or something you pieced together?
The legs remind me of my old Gibraltar 9500 series cymbal stand.

Elvis

Yes... Gibraltar. I bought two of them....very heavy... for my 6pc Gretsch Purewood set when I bought the large Rack system. The tripods pictured here have two swivel and one stationary tube/stand placements. They're really solid but you don't want to be packing them around unless you're bigtime and you have good roadies
The other pictured is the Rack I had but mine had a lot more attachments and a second extention off the side of the main beam...two on one side and the one on one side you see here. I eventually sold it and bought 4 Gibraltar Jazz-lite cymbal stands. I kept the tripods and glad I did because I use them a lot.... only in my drum room.

 

[Kona1984]

Kona, you've got some great sets!
Thanks for sharing them with us.
I like that stand too, although it appears a bit heavy.
Is that a Gretsch stand or something you pieced together?
The legs remind me of my old Gibraltar 9500 series cymbal stand.

Elvis

I may have misunderstood. Were you referring to the stand my 6inch Gretsch tom and 10inch Gretsch snare are mounted to in another photo.... not the photo here showing the Cadillac Green tom?
This stand?

 

[Elvis]

Kona,

I meant the stand pictured with your Champagne sparkle kit.
This one....

https://www.drummerworld.com/forums/index.php?attachments/20210222_175013-jpg.101406/

 

[Kona1984]

Kona,

I meant the stand pictured with your Champagne sparkle kit.
This one....

https://www.drummerworld.com/forums/index.php?attachments/20210222_175013-jpg.101406/

That's one of the two Gibraltar Specialty Hybrid stands I have. Yes... heavy... solid.

 

[marratj]

Four-piece every time, all the time! When I was younger, I looked up to the big thousand-piece kits some of my favourite metal drummers had (think Lars Ulrich in the 80s or Joey Jordison), so I tried to mimic them quite a bit (who doesn't when being inspired to play drums by those guys?).

Over the years I found my own style and settled for a four-piece for over 10 years now. Even the new Starclassic Maple I bought just before Christmas 2020 (life-long dream of mine) I have specifically bought as a three-piece shell kit, knowing that the second rack-tom would only collect dust in the closet.

So here it is, my current setup on which I mostly play fast heavy Rock and Metal.

Tama Starclassic Maple 22x14/12x8/16x16 + Tama Starphonic 40th Anniversary Steel Snare; I'm an all Tama and Paiste guy nowadays (except for one old cymbal stand and the cowbell, which are Pearl).

 

[Delban]

Hello,
Just purchased a Pearl Masters Custom Mahogany Classic.
Shells are 5mm African Mahogany with reinforcement rings.

22 x 16

13 x 9

16 x 14

14 x 6.5 matching snare!!!!!

Finished in stunning champagne sparkle lacquer.
Photos will follow

 

[Elvis]

That's the old MHX shell.
I got to sit behind one of those kits in the early 2000's.
That kit really drove home, to me, why the vintage guys are so adamant about Mahogany.
Gorgeous sounding kit.

Elvis

 

[Delban]

That's the old MHX shell.
I got to sit behind one of those kits in the early 2000's.
That kit really drove home, to me, why the vintage guys are so adamant about Mahogany.
Gorgeous sounding kit.

Elvis

Have you any info on how to find out the date of manufacture? Has the serial number got anything to do with it?

 

[Elvis]

The only thing I can think of is to write to Pearl.
If there's any identifying marks (like a serial number on the badge), include them in your email.

Elvis

 

[Delban]

Thank you mate, but the Pearl forum is hard to join, became a member but never got the confirmation email so i can read but not ask questions.,
will keep trying, thanks for the positive comments on the drum set, its encouraging to know that i purchased ok.
Have also emailed Pearl no reply as yet

 

[Kona1984]

Four-piece every time, all the time! When I was younger, I looked up to the big thousand-piece kits some of my favourite metal drummers had (think Lars Ulrich in the 80s or Joey Jordison), so I tried to mimic them quite a bit (who doesn't when being inspired to play drums by those guys?).

Over the years I found my own style and settled for a four-piece for over 10 years now. Even the new Starclassic Maple I bought just before Christmas 2020 (life-long dream of mine) I have specifically bought as a three-piece shell kit, knowing that the second rack-tom would only collect dust in the closet.

So here it is, my current setup on which I mostly play fast heavy Rock and Metal.

Tama Starclassic Maple 22x14/12x8/16x16 + Tama Starphonic 40th Anniversary Steel Snare; I'm an all Tama and Paiste guy nowadays (except for one old cymbal stand and the cowbell, which are Pearl).

View attachment 101815
View attachment 101816

Nice setup! I like my big setup but I always come back to my 4pc and smaller drums... it just feels right for me
Your drums look beautiful too.