Why do I want a bop kit?

bermuda said:
Got this cool bop kit in 2012, and took an obligatory pool photo.

The end.

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The end? This is not a good sign, Guru Schwartz. That is such a beautiful set of Club Dates. But if you won’t play them, what hope do I have? And who needs Bo busting your chops about it, either? Not me, sir, not me.
 
did you see what a fella in Texas found..
I mean they're not Gretsch but...


has to be a Top Ten Ludwig find of the year maybe 5 years
Told ya Silver Sparkle was in Your err somebody's..future Jim 😁

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not bad huh. Living room set never left house +/-
😁
 
I know it's not the same but I've been wanting a Yamaha Stage Custom Hip kit SO bad lately.
I love the idea of a small compact kit.
 
jda said:
Elvin walked right up to a buddy of mine (I had just met) and I shook Elvin's hand and looked right eye level to him, he wasn't that tall but was a mile wide; so I don't think he had a small foot..
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He always had that big rolling sound on all the drums he’s played - he’s a total exception!
 
wildbill said:
Ludwig Element SE - I knew there was one I was forgetting.
Saw a red sparkle SE bop kit at Casio before they closed down, and loved the look and sound of it.
It was priced really reasonably too at the time. I should have picked one up. :unsure:
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That might have been nice. But I think I better wade into the mesh head thing slowly after giving it some thought. And I got scared right off of 18’s after busting out my Pearl 20. I think that’s about as small as I should go. So I’ll pick up a mesh head for it and my Acro and test the waters. And if that goes well, we’ll see what happens.
 
JimmyM said:
That might have been nice. But I think I better wade into the mesh head thing slowly after giving it some thought. And I got scared right off of 18’s after busting out my Pearl 20. I think that’s about as small as I should go. So I’ll pick up a mesh head for it and my Acro and test the waters. And if that goes well, we’ll see what happens.
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I had a set time of the cheap Catalina clubs in 12 14 18.. or something (quite forgettable.) They were made out of asian mystery wood. No volume. Great for practice. Completely lacking testicles. If your 20 isn't doing it for you an 18 would be a challenge unless you got the right shell material. Like hunt down a Pearl fiberglass Art Blakey kit... if you can find one.
 

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In terms of stripping and tolexing a kit, Pearl fiberglass is super easy to rewrap, and 18” floor toms show up now and then for a bass conversion.
 
I hope y'all aren't serious about tying your masculinity to the size of your bass drum. Grow up. That's what your pickup trucks and sports cars are for.
 
That Ludwig Revette looks very interesting and cool. But I have found some of the Ludwig drums to be heavy despite their diminutive size, depending on hardware.

I have owned an extremely small size Sonor bop kit I think AQ1 ??? Maple. The kick and floor tom were heavier than 20x14 and 14x14 standard size drums from DW, Ludwig, and Gretsch. I mean buzz killers for gigging when you're buying a bop kit for portability.

And yes an un-mic'd 18 is not going to be as loud as larger drums. I have three bop size kits right now DW Performance, Tama Superstar, and a new Canopus Yaiba. Love the portability. The Yaiba and Tama are featherweight thin shells - the Yaiba the lightest of all, which surprises me because I had a Yaiba snare that wasn't all that light.

I have to tune 18" kick low to get any volume.

I like bop kits but I understand the limits of the 18" kicks. Mic'd they are no problem. Un-micd in small venues playing jazz and blues no problem. If they fit your genre then no problem. Just know what you are buying.
 
Once, walking around New Orleans, I heard the most killer bass drum in a brass band. Turned out it was a small combo using the front of St Louis Cathedral as a sound reflector. The bass was a 16x16 tom with an Emad, being played with a heavy marching bass mallet by a muscular young person. Its authoritative boom was a gut punch.

This flipped some lights on in my head. Any ordinary tom will not sound like that if you just turn it on its side. But with the right beater, the right treatment, the right attack, and the right amplification, it can kick teeth in. That’s what convinced me to get into a bop kit, even after hearing some lackluster or wimpy 18” basses.
 
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Just for clarity's sake...

Are we talking about a bop kit that will NOT actually be used for playing bop?

I ask because it seems that most of the posts are talking about the fun factor or whether or not there's enough low end, etc.

For better or worse, in my mind, a bop kit is the standard instrument for playing small group jazz. I really can't even imagine going somewhere like the Village Vanguard and seeing something that isn't a bop kit.

Of course, the ironic part is that Max, Philly Joe, and others frequently used bigger sizes...but at this point in time, that doesn't seem to matter anymore. The 12-14-18 (+ 14 snare) "bop kit" has become the accepted norm.
 
MattRitter said:
Just for clarity's sake...

Are we talking about a bop kit that will NOT actually be used for playing bop?

I ask because it seems that most of the posts are talking about the fun factor or whether or not there's enough low end, etc.

For better or worse, in my mind, a bop kit is the standard instrument for playing small group jazz. I really can't even imagine going somewhere like the Village Vanguard and seeing something that isn't a bop kit.

Of course, the ironic part is that Max, Philly Joe, and others frequently used bigger sizes...but at this point in time, that doesn't seem to matter anymore. The 12-14-18 (+ 14 snare) "bop kit" has become the accepted norm.
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Matt, unless it’s light standards for an occasional dinner set, that’s about as bop as I’ll ever get. But I have worked many years on bass with drummers who use bop kits for Motown, rock, blues, what have you, and it always sounds like a bass drum to me. It’s all about the drummer, anyway.

Anyway, I decided that if I do this, it would be a total badass move to expand on my Ampeg themed Ludwig drum set and just keep on the lookout for beater Classics at good prices. Worked out awesome for me before. 18s may be hard to find but 20s aren’t. I suppose that’s bop enough.
 
And that didn’t take long to break ground on the Ludwig shell bank bop additions. Just bought an already stripped but weirdly refinished 3 ply 60s 12 x 8 Classic for fairly cheap. That will save a lot of work. My other drums are 6 ply but who cares? And definitely going Downbeat over bop unless a freak cheap 18 pops up. You guys talked me out of too small for the most part.
 
I don't play any kits that have kick smaller than a 22" because if I do, I look like a gorilla on a tricycle.

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If the gig requires anything smaller than a 22" kick, I won't play it.
 
Never once thought the thought how I look behind a set
..until read it on the internet 😁
the internet has brought to surface so many things..
 
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