cocktaildrum.com

Hey Boobus, welcome aboard. Can't wait to see how your's turns out.

Jim (JG) Kooser

My big drum is a 24 x 14 floor tom/bass combo, with an Evans Hydraulic on the bottom and an Evans EC2 on top. I tuned the bottom head pretty low, just enough to get the wrinkles out, then a turn more. Top head is tuned a touch higher than the bottom. I have a felt strip to muffle the bottom head, no...

I'll echo what Matthew said. I've been playing standing up for a while now, and it does require an adjustment in style. I've been playing my hats closed, I never got the abiltiy to use both feet, while standing up, and not fall over or sound like crap. I just began experimenting with a drop clutch, ...

I'll be playing my cocktail set, cajon and various hand percussion behind Up Til Four, a mostly acoustic, mostly cover band with stunning vocals and guitar work! At Mangiamo's Restaurant, just north of Kent on Ohio Route 43, in beautiful Twin Lakes. Stop by if you're nearby!

I have to agree with Robert. I've used a Pulse with great sucess for over a year now. Plenty fats and durable enough for the acoustic music I play, and for around $40.00 you can't beat it!

Grant:

Check out the Ghostnote site, lots of good information on drum building and plenty of folks who have tried what you're looking to do. Are you thinking of a mutliple ply, solid, segment or stave shell?

Flaat: My main drum is 14 inches diameter, 26 inches tall. I built it from an 8 ply maple Keller shell, with double 45 degree bearing edges. I'm using an Evans hydraulic on the bottom head, and an Evans EC2 on the top. The drum rang like a demon when I first built it (I finished the inside with a se...

Never tried these on a cocktail drum, but I use heavy gauge low E guitar strings on the cajons I build. I buy 'em in bulk from a local guitar store, bloody cheep and they work really well. I'm not sure how you'd apply the proper tension on a cocktail set-up; I use inexpensive mandolin tuners on the ...

Thanks John, good instructions!
Those Pulse pedals are not bad at all for the price! I've been playing one for several months now.

Hi Robert: I used a polyurethane on the inside of my main drum. I think that may have contributed to some of the ringing I experienced with the drum, but it also aids in the projection of the sound. Thanks for checking out the Willoughby Run site, we got your message on our board as well. I didn't u...

Nice job Robert! Did you use sanding sealer on the inside as well?
I also use a rathe cheap but surpirsingly good Pulse pedal, easy to reverse, fast enough to drive my acoustic band;a nice inexpensive solution!
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the set-up.

I play a Premier 10 inch diameter by 8.5 inch deep snare with my set. I bought it used, and it had a nasty ring to it and quite a bit of snare buzz. I've reshaped the bearing edges and added some muffling to dampen the ring, and reshaped the snare bed to get rid of the buzz, and it's a sweet drum. N...

I play several cajons, all of which I've built. The one I use with my current set up for Willoughby Run (my band) is a large cajon that's 24 inches tall, and 14 inches by 14 inches square at the top. I'd intended to build a large cocktail drum 22 inches tall, so sitting on a 24 inch "throne&quo...

Played the new rig on Saturday night. The large drum/popcorn snare combination worked quite well, lot's more kick than the bass played was used to hearing, and I was able to do more complicated fills than with the old cajon set up.

Hi Carol: There is another percussion option that you might want to explore, if playing guitar and a cocktail set proves unwieldy. Cajons have been used in Flamenco music for some time now. A cajon is a simple wooden box, common sizes run around 18 inches tall x12 wide x 12 deep. Cajons have one or ...