DRUMMER CAFE

No - but only because this bass drum was built for jazz gigs, and I wouldn't normally use it for an outdoor, unmic'd gig like this.  For jazz work, I don't want a ported head, and for one gig, I didn't want to sacrifice a head.  If I wanted to use this drum on a regular basis for these sorts of gigs, however, I'd keep a spare ported reso head on hand, to allow easy access for a microphone.  (Through a sound system, or even unmic'd but indoors, this drum would've sounded fine.  The sound of the drum is great - volume is the issue.)

I knew going in that I was stretching the capabilities of this bass drum, given the context.  (Had we been indoors, or if the drums were mic'd, it would've worked out much better - this drum sounds surprisingly good at a lower tuning.)  Besides, I'm not convinced that a port hole would've made much of a difference, unless it was huge - this drum just doesn't move that much air, given its size.

(Some of it might have been my drummer's BD pedal, too.  He brought his Axis pedal, and I didn't notice what kind of beater he has on it.)

As you can guess, that's why the 20" BD is on the drawing board - for gigs exactly like this one, to make the kit more versatile.  Bop gig?  Tune the toms up, grab the 18" BD.  Caribbean or funk gig?  Tune the drums down (to taste), grab the 20.  I also consciously chose a BD tom mount that will accept a 1" post, so if push comes to shove, I could even use my 22" Ludwig bass drum with these toms - the tom mount will fit the 22 as well.  I love the idea of being able to mix and match different components to assemble a kit suited to a given situation.

With the bass drums, I'm planning on doing some experimentation with bass drum muffling and tuning techniques, with these different drums.  What I'm planning to do is to have several different bass drums available, each with its own muffling/tuning setup.  What I've got pencilled in at the moment is:

18" BD:  wide-open (except for a felt strip or two)
20" BD:  pre-muffled heads (EMAD or SuperKick/Regulator combo), ported reso, suitable for mic'ing, but maximizing the amount of air inside the drum by eschewing the use of a blanket or pillow
22" BD:  ported reso, non-muffled batter, with a small Evans pillow inside, for more of a "thump"

I can get a variety of tom sounds with some quick tuning changes - plus, I still have the toms for my Ludwig kit.  Combine that with a change of snare drum and bass drum, and I can quickly redefine the sound of the entire kit as needed.

I may even build a little 15" or 16" bass drum as well, or maybe a shallow 20, so I can use one or two of these toms in a microkit configuration.

Since this thread has been resurrected (or at least, relocated) as part of the new builders section of the forum, I suppose I should offer a few updates.

1)  In the time since I completed the kit, I've taken ownership of my Dad's old router and router table.  After gaining some experience cutting edges on other shells, and after much internal debate whether I wanted to alter the existing edges on my drums, I've gone back and recut the edges on the three toms and the bass drum, basically tightening up the edges that were originally cut by hand.  To be honest, the drums sounded fine before (garnering a number of unsolicited raves about the tom sounds in particular), so I'm convinced that it's possible to cut good edges using a rasp and/or file.  However, using a router and router table is SO much easier, SO much quicker, and (most importantly) offers so much more consistency from drum to drum within the same kit, that I seriously doubt that I'll ever go back to cutting edges by hand.

The toms do sound better now, but I'm not sure how much that is due to the new edges.  I knew that I wanted to rehead the toms top and bottom anyway, and since I decided to redo the edges, it seemed like as good a time as any to get some fresh heads.  So, we've got new heads, and a new make of head (clear single plies replacing coated single plies), as well as new edges - all three of which are contributing to the improved sound in their own way.  (I'll see about tracking some new sound files at some point - right now, I've got the drums tuned a bit lower than what are normally considered "bop" pitches, sort of a "1982 Peter Erskine Meets 2007 Bill Bruford" tuning.)

2)  Following up on my previous post in this thread:  I've since added an 11x16 bass drum to the mix, documented in a recent microkit thread.  I actually prefer that drum to the 18 for "bop" tunings, and I've now got the 18 dialed in for more of a funky "thump."  16s are great - "Billy Higgins wuz right..." 


(For those of you keeping score at home:  6-ply Keller maple, 6-ply re-rings, with a tom arm purchased from Drum Supply House.)

3)  I've got a matching 7x8" tom "in progress" down on my workbench.  I'm still not sure if I want to go to the trouble and cost of adding a 20" or 22" bass drum to the kit, but it's tempting, in order to facilitate the patented Keith Cronin "mix and match" approach to putting a kit together for a given gig.  I love my smaller bass drums, but sometimes you just gotta move some air.  (I've got a Ludwig kit with a 14x22" bass drum, so I've already got the option of a larger bass drum, but it's still tempting to add onto this kit.)  Or, maybe I'll build a 13" floor tom, so I can go with a 10/13/16 setup, and get a bit more separation between the floor tom and the bass drum, compared to the 10/14/16 configuration I currently have at my disposal.  "It never ends..." 

At the moment, the 11x16 bass drum is lent out to a friend.  When I get it back, and when I get the 8" tom completed, I'll try and get some new pictures posted. 

So whaddya think - now that this one is done is it time for me to build a cocktail kit?   I've got a bunch of Yamaha lugs sitting in a box, and some spare counterhoops, and... 

Well, since it's raining and I can't go do the yardwork that needs to be done (that's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it), I had a few minutes to cobble together a sound file:

• sound file with no EQ

• exact same sound file with a bit of EQ

(Recorded with a single overhead small-diaphragm mic', thru an old Mackie mixer, into my computer.  The mic' was placed to pick up the toms first and foremost, so the bass drum isn't as prominent as it could be.)


Thanks, Frank - that's very kind of you.  However, there are approximately twenty reasons why I don't plan to make the jump into offering "custom" drums for sale - but that's another topic for another time.

If there's one thing I wanted to present through this thread, it is the fact that one doesn't need to go to a "custom" builder to have a drum built to their specifications.