RABid Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 Every drummer likes to occasionally cut down to a super small kit at times. If for no other reason, just to make yourself and other notice your ability rather than how many drums you can hit. Having said that, when adding to the basic snare/bass/tom set at what point do you feel free and comfortable? I'm really giving this some thought as I pick up individual VDrums and morph my old SP11 kit to something more comfortable. I think I need to toms to be comfortable, but one of them does not need to be a floor tom. I like having two mid-toms mounted very close to the snare. Oddly, I feel that I also need three crash cymbals and a ride. So what is your minimal but comfortable set? Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I used to play on a 4 piece set years ago, now I'm on a 7 piece set. I think the 4 piece made me use my head more. Having a 7 piece set alows me to do more but it doesn't make me think about how to get more out of a smaller set. (If this makes any sense) My 4 piece set had 2 cymbals, one for a ride the other as a ride and a crash. The set consisted of the floor tom, bass drum, bass drum mounted tom and a snare. When I bought another snare drum I used the older snare as another tom. Sounded cool, and didn't take a lot of time setting up. Playing out a lot, I wanted the set to be small. Too much work tearing everything down after each gig. I figured I could make that small set talk, and didn't need a lot of stuff to show off my playing. Most of the work was 4/4 time anyway. I tried to throw in some Jazz beats to give the music some flavor. From then it has only been up hill. Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I think I could be comfortable on a three piece set of 12" tom, 22" bass, and a snare drum, with hi-hats and a crash/ride cymbal. The 5 piece set I've got right now is great, but I'd hate to have to drag it to shows and stuff. I'd want a simple set that I could break down and set up fast, and just do the basic rythym thang on. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_F_H_13 Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 I've got a 6 piece kit and I love it. In fact I'm thinking of buying a new kit with an extra floor tom. However, I'm more than comfortable playing just a 3 or 4 piece kit live. Most of my parts can be simplified down to a 4 piece kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 We sometimes do small pub or coffeehouse gigs where our drummer plays just a kick, snare and one crash/ride cymbal. He plays standing up. He can make it sound like a full kit, it always blows people away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleen Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 I'm playing a seven-piece acoustic kit with seven pads. I love the options available to me, but am perfectly happy playing a tune with just kick, snare, hat & ride. In fact, I took just those to an audition last month and it felt great! It also felt great to get back to the full kit the next day... recording/mix guy don gunn.com myspace.com/dongunnmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super 8 Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 How many drums make you happy? I can remember a time when my answer would have been; 'All of them'. But I've scaled back a bit since my Neil Peart days. For one thing, I noticed some time ago that the way I play isn't the way Neil plays. I'm pretty much a kick/Snare player. So I looked at this huge Roto tom kit I had emassed, wondered where all of the big tom fills were? Then I got into electronics -which changed the way I 'heard' my drums. I realized I use toms and tom fills more like accents, than traditional rolls. Electronics also helped me find the sounds (tom sizes/tunning) I prefer. I generally am pretty happy with about a 6 pc kit. 7 is probably a little nicer, and 5 starts to feel a little confining. But it really all depends on the sounds I'm getting. The more I like how the drums sound, the less need I feel to add more drums. Super 8 Hear my stuff here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techristian Posted February 16, 2003 Share Posted February 16, 2003 I like at least 2 bass drums, a snare and 4 toms on top. I have 2 floor toms but usually have a cup of coffee and a practice pad sitting on them. Dan http://teachmedrums.com TEACHMEDRUMS.COM My Music Videos RED PILL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMWdrmr8 Posted February 24, 2003 Share Posted February 24, 2003 I own a five piece kit, but right now I'm playing with only 4 - kick, snare, mounted tom, floor tom. For cymbals, I like a ride where the second mounted tom would normally be. Then, a hi-hat, crash, fast crash, and splash would do it for me. I like to stick in varying cymbal sounds for extra flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 1 snare, 1 bassdrum, 1 mounted tom, and 1 floor tom works for me, along with hihats, 1 ride, and 2 crash cymbals. Also gotta have a cowbell. If I start adding, it's effects such as windchimes, woodblocks, and splash & china cymbals. After that, a dbl bass pedal and a second floor tom. In the old double bass drum days, I used to have two mounted toms and some Rototoms. Never had a gong, but it would be pretty cool. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freelance Posted March 27, 2003 Share Posted March 27, 2003 I like a 7 piece kit with 8",10",12",14" & 16" toms and a 20" kick noramlly with a 3"x13" snare. This providesa wide spectrum of sounds. However, I normally use a 4 piece 10", 14" and a 20" and then add an 8" mini timbale (just to make the setup/teardown easier). I prefer more cymbals and other percussion over more toms. I like to have a couple of splashes and a china with a couple of crashes and a ride. I've done "accoustic gigs" with just a shane and a set of brushes. I'm sure many drummers would agree often the least amount of things to hit, makes you use the gear more creatively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnb Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 Bass, snare, hi-hat, ride. Sweeeeeet.... I did a blues gig once where the drummer just used his snare. He kicked so much ass I was almost moved to tears. Anymore than 6 drums makes me nervous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natty fred Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 how many drums make me happy????... hmmmmm...... depends mostly on how many drummers playing them was that a trick question, yours nattily, natty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted April 5, 2003 Share Posted April 5, 2003 Lee sez: "We sometimes do small pub or coffeehouse gigs where our drummer plays just a kick, snare and one crash/ride cymbal. He plays standing up. He can make it sound like a full kit, it always blows people away. " Cool!!! Me, two drums will make me happy. The floor tom is optional. Only catch- they have to have calfskin heads, and the bass drum needs to be at LEAST 28". WAY rather have two calfskin drums than all the other kits in the world combined. A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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