Drum Surgery

Keith Cronin · Post by **Keith Cronin** » Mon May 13, 2002 8:16 am

I bought a slightly damaged shell from Phattie, and resolved to do some experimenting, even if I ruined the shell. I'll post pics soon, but in the meantime I'll describe what I did to this poor unsuspecting drum. 
 
<img src="http://www.cocktailangst.com/drum/image ...  
 
In the bass chamber, I cut a 4" round hole, facing the audience. In the snare chamber, facing the back, I cut three 2.5" holes to vent the snare. I started with just two holes, but wanted even more air and sound to escape, so I cut the third. For all holes I used a circle-cutting attachment on an electric drill. 
 
<img src="http://www.cocktailangst.com/drum/image ...  
 
I cut a thin plywood baffle with a jigsaw and mounted it about 5 or 6 inches down (I'll measure it when I photograph it). The baffle was NOT an airtight fit, and the snares still buzzed like crazy every time I hit the bass drum. I then worked on making it a tighter fit, using weatherstripping, but it STILL buzzed badly. It was not from air leakage - the baffle itself seemed to help transmit the sound wave. When I'd hold my hand over the baffle (with the top head taken off) and hit the bass drum, the baffle acted like a drumhead; I could feel it move. Strange. 
 
<img src="http://www.cocktailangst.com/drum/image ...  
 
So I got creative and cut ANOTHER baffle. I laid a bunch of pillow stuffing (fiber fill from a craft store) on top of the first baffle, then lowered the second baffle on top of it, bolting them together to make a baffle "oreo" with the pillow stuffing in the center. This was crude, but effective. I finally got the level of isolation I wanted. 
 
<img src="http://www.cocktailangst.com/drum/image ...  
 
It was very important to me to be able to get good sounds from both the bass and snare, as I like to use this drum by itself, with no external drums needed. I do have bongos that I use, but on some gigs all I want is kick and snare, with the Zen simplicity of ONE drum. 
 
<img src="http://www.cocktailangst.com/drum/image ...  
 
I'm very happy with the result. The hole in front looks okay to me - I edged it in black, which improved the appearance. The shell is a dark green hand-rubbed oil finish, but I dig vintage wraps, so I'll probably have my buddies at Resurrection Drums refinish the drum for me when I get a gap in my gig schedule. 
 
-Keith 
 
<img src="http://www.cocktailangst.com/drum/image ...  
<img src="http://www.cocktailangst.com/drum/image ...

Don · Post by **Don** » Mon May 13, 2002 9:50 am

OUSTANDING! 
 
Keith; What can I say? I love it! The vent holes look much better than I had pictured them in my head. In fact, they give the drum a cool 'retro-modern' vibe. 
 
One question: What kind of tom sound can you get with the snares off? I ask because I might try the venting, but I won't be using the top head as a snare. 
 
PS - Thanks, John for posting the pics.

kcronin · Post by **kcronin** » Mon May 13, 2002 9:30 pm

Don - 
 
Thanks - glad you like it! Based on your request, I just started messing with tuning the top head as a tom head, with the snares away from the head. Not very impressed by the results - I think you're better off without a baffle if you only use the top head for a tom. 
 
The center of the head sounded very choked, and I could only get a deeper tone by playing on an area halfway between the center and the edge of the head. 
 
Venting your drum might be cool - a drum that big moves a LOT of air, so you might get a richer sound and more projection by doing a big central vent hole like I did. Also, if you ever mic your kit, the hole makes it easy for soundmen. 
 
If you want projection and mic-ability, you could do a 4" hole in the front. If you just want faster air release, a series of smaller holes in the back might be a more visually appealing option. 
 
But you may not need to vent your drum, since you don't have a baffle. With a baffle, both heads sound choked and boxy because there's no head resonating in sympathy with the batter head. 
 
I have a single-headed 4x12 snare I use on my sit-down mini-kit, so I was trying to replicate the sound of that on my cocktail kit; that's why I cut 3 holes, to vent it as much as possible. 
 
But if your kit "ain't broke," I'd think twice before "fixing" it. 
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Don · Post by **Don** » Tue May 14, 2002 3:59 pm

I guess I shouldn't vent or baffle. It ain't broke, so no fixing is required. Although an angled baffle with a vent at the 'end' might be the best of all worlds. Hmm..... Remember North Drums? That should eliminate the dead spot. Whattaya think?

kcronin · Post by **kcronin** » Wed May 15, 2002 5:45 pm

North Drums ROCK! 
 
Okay, so they sound bad. They're LOUD and they look COOL! 
 
Many times I was tempted to buy some, but resisted. I mostly play a 4-piece kit, so the North thing doesn't really work for that vibe, but now and then ya just want to be surrounded by toms that stick out like elephant tusks! 
 
One of my favorite rock albums "back in the day" was Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty," which featured a North-enhanced kit on the cover, and some seriously solid drumming by Russ Kunkel inside! 
 
<a href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000 ...  
 
Rock on with your Northern bad self!

John Mettam · Post by **John Mettam** » Thu May 16, 2002 12:40 am

Ok, you caught me with THAT comment! I HAVE a set of North Drums! I guess I just love wierd drum kits. Norths ARE a dead spot. Made of thick fiberglass with no resonance at all. But they have that wonderful 'DISCO' sound. Built in dead and crazy projection from the curved shell! I've always wanted to make a double headed North though. Scary!!?!! 
 
John 
 
<img src="http://www.humblepie.com/graphics/north ...  
(not my pic but mighty nice)

kamla · Post by **kamla** » Sun Jan 19, 2003 1:59 pm

Hi , How much would a kit like that cost? Kamla. kamlafoxisaacs@hotmail.com

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Drum Surgery