Follow-up to my Drum Sizes/Plies question...

[AndyDierker]

Hey again. Thanks a lot for your help. I'll go with the 12x10 for sure, and I plan on buying the 10x8 with it if I have the money at the time.

A couple of real quick follow-ups, though. Are you sure I can get a beefy sound out of a 20x18 kick? I like the way you described the sound, but I know almost ALL rock drummers use a 22x18. Again, I'm looking for that kind of THUMP. I don't like the real big BOOMS or the wimpy little slap sound. I like it fast decay but still with body to hit you in the chest.

Anyway, the big question I have is: after I went up to the music store to play around on some Spaun kits, the salesman said that he usually sells 16x14 floor toms with kits of this size. I explained to him that I would be using it for both jazzy stuff and punk/rock stuff. He told me that the 16x14 would work fine.

I would love to believe the guy, but I'm not sure I do. Would I be able to pull it off? He didn't have a 16x14 there, but he said I'll be able to get a nice low out of it and still be able to extract a tone, and not a pitchless thud. Offer any help on this one?

Thanks again. I promise this is my last one for a while.

-Andy

[Bart Elliott]

Andy ... you're just going to have to listen to the drum and hear it for yourself. I think it will work great and do what you say you want it to. If anything, a bigger kick drum (big diameter) is going to sound more "boomy".

A 20 inch kick drum will typically have a LOT of punch, attack and body ... especially when working with the deep shells.

Try to make a point to listen to the instruments before you buy them. It all depends on the drums and there are no guarantees based on the "rule of thumb".