cocktaildrum.com

Hey! I learned a little trick last week when I was playing a really demented set up--a 20" bass, a 16" bass, a 10" snare, a 12" tom, a 22" ride, and closed hi hats (no pedal). I realized that with my 14" 70's Zildjian lights that an accented hit near the edge of the cym...

That timpani effect is especially interesting to me after a recent dilemma. I usually leave my bass drum wide open (26x10, only a felt strip lightly touching the beater head), and the sound is great when I play alone, but it sounded awful with a full band. So I shoved a sleeping bag in the drum and ...

His bass sound is like a timpani! Totally cool.

I wonder about birch, actually--my cocktail was a maple/poplar/mahogany blend, and I can't help but wonder if birch would have given it more "punch". Normally, I hate punchiness, but I think it would have been desirable in the cocktail set, since the tunings ended up needing to be punchy t...

These GP sets are a good deal: http://cgi.ebay.com/GP-Pro-Maple-Cocktail-Drum-Set-New-in-Wine-Red-or-Blue_W0QQitemZ320017765814QQihZ011QQcategoryZ38097QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Or you can make one. http://www.aitwood.com, precisiondrum.com, and drummaker.com can all help. Sometimes you c...

Crazy! So your trick was to get concert toms with a matching finish...cool. My old cocktail set was two drums glued together, but the holes from the hardware I removed made refinishing mandatory. Plus, it's difficult to get the drums perfectly even, so one piece of wrap wouldn't do the trick. Even t...

Yeah...I helped a student rewrap one of those great old WFL/Ludwig transition kits with the mahogany/poplar/maple shells and nickel hardware. It was white marine pearl, but someone had painted it gold, and then someone else had tried to strip the paint which cracked the finish. Then someone else put...

Forget it--the wrap would be $91, so even if the shell is $10, with shipping I'm looking at over $130 before I even start on hardware.

If anyone has a Ludwig silver sparkle 18" or 20" drum lying around, let me know!

Will

I was just pricing out parts--I haven't built that particular drum, but check out kylebronsdon's post "Build Along With Kyle". He goes step by step through the loungecaster process.

Hey! I'm thinking about buying a black and white badge era Ludwig Rocker shell to make an 18x16" bass drum. The auction ends today, and before I bid, I'd like to know a few things: 1)Do you know if the holes for the rocker lugs will match classic lugs? 2)What is the material of these drums? I'v...

I don't like them in general, but I'm wondering if something in Zildjian's new ZHT line might work. The crashes I've played were kind of stiff and dead sounding...they might work. Also, here is an oddball candidate--Paiste PST5's--the total bargain basement Paistes--the sub Alphas. They sound like d...

Okay--the purpose of this thread is to see who can come up with the cheapest way of making a decent cocktail drum. We'll compare just the main drum itself, but if you have tricks for cheap pedals, mounts, tom toms, or cymbal arms, include those after your main drum price. Here's my entry: On ebay I ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-ZILDJIAN-15-in-THIN-CRASH-16-in-RIDE-cymbals_W0QQitemZ120012792060QQihZ002QQcategoryZ41444QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I just saw these--an old A. Zildjian 15" crash and 16" ride sold by someone who doesn't know much about cymbals, plus a few extras. Have fun! He's got ...

Your last posted before I finished writing mine--it sounds like you are already pretty set in the cymbal department. I think 17" crash rides are perfect cocktail cymbals, and as long as those AAX's aren't 14 or 15", they ought to sound pretty nice. Welcome to the world of cocktail!

What sort of cymbals are you looking for? You'll find that the cocktail set forces its own rules on you--what you like about the sounds of kit drums and cymbals won't necessarily apply to the cocktail set. You might find, for instance, that a bottom hi hat cymbal makes the perfect ride for a cocktai...