cocktaildrum.com

Bass drum heads have thicker collars, and require bass drum hoops like the wood ones you're talking about. If you're going to use regular chrome tom hoops, you need to use tom heads, which have narrower collars.


KC

I don't think you could play it standing up - the bass drum is onlyl 16x16 - it's just a regular floor tom. If you raised it up high enough to play it standing up, the pedal couldn't reach the bottom head.

It's just a small kit, not a cocktail kit. But it looks kinda cool....


KC

I don't think the seller realizes what he has, with no reserve on this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 3718182439

Looks pretty nice!


KC

The singer/drummer in Jellyfish played a conventional bass drum standing up, with a couple of toms and (I think) a permanently closed hihat - he was INCREDIBLE. What a player/writer/singer! I think a Jellyfish-style kit would be better for power pop - you can't really pound on a cocktail kit, in my ...

Wow, Peter, those are VERY creative kits!

Could you describe your Gigbox a bit more? Is it all wood? Does it have any holes or vents? Any wires or cables under the "snare" surface?

I'm assuming it's somewhat similar to a Cajon, but have never seen anything like this.

Thanks!


KC

My baffle is an Oreo-style - two plywood disks screwed down tight around a bunch of fluffy pillow stuffing. It does a pretty good job of eliminating rattle. I'd be hesitant to mimic the Yamah design too closely, with those super short snare wires. Almost nobody I know uses the top head of the Club J...

Also look into marching snare drums. I know I've seen several that had internal snare mechanisms for snares under the top head. Not sure how easy that would be to adapt to a cocktail drum, but it's worth investigating. I think Premier did this, but I'd check all the makers of marching drums and drum...

Interesting. All I can say is: go play a couple of standup gigs before you make big plans for your left foot. The biggest challenge I find on 3-4 hour gigs with a cocktail kit is how sore my left foot and left leg get.

Good luck!


KC

FW- The problem with using a regular floor tom is that you can only raise it so high before the pedal can no longer reach the bottom head. But that puts the top head well below the height where most drummers can comfortably play it from a standing position. That's why the shells of most cocktail dru...

That's a vintage Rogers Astoria kit, no longer available. But it would be easy to replicate - it looks like it's just a regular 16x16 floor tom with a pedal below and a snare mounted above it. It shouldn't be hard to devise something similar.


KC

Also, one of the reasons I play a cocktail kit is for the different headspace it puts me in. You have to rethink some of the basic elements of your playing to sound good on a cocktail kit, and I enjoy the challenge. The biggest sacrifice I find is that it makes me realize how much I often rely on va...

As far as I know, Peter Erskine sits when he plays his Club Jordan, so it's hardly a copout, just a different approach. I prefer to stand, and only have a closed hihat; no actual hihat pedal. As a result, I would never use my cocktail kit on a "serious" jazz gig. But I love it for mellow s...

VERY clever - nice job!

-KC

Man, I wish we'd had more notice - I would have loved to have seen that!

Hope it went well!!!


-KC

I'm not wild about that mounting method. For one thing, I think you're overly worried about the weight of the tom. If you're that concerned, put some sort of reinforcing plate inside the 15" drum where the tom mount is. Also, RIMS-style mounts can be a bit wobbly. And the one on the 15 will be ...