Cocktail conversion system?
Cocktail conversion system?
Jon. It's Jamie Moore. You MONSTER you! This site is incredible! I had no idea. <br><br>Last night was my first attenpt at pseudo-cocktailing and it was a bit of a drag, (due to my own short comings) but it got me thinking. This morning I googled for cocktail drum and there you were with all this great info! I've spent way to much time here!!! Please... kill.... me....<br><br>OK. So, here's what I was thinking. Is there any hardware out there anyone knows of for converting your floor tom and snare into a quick cocktail kit? It doesn't seem like it would be that hard. Converting my Yamaha pedal was easy, and then all I was missing was something to float the snare up above the floor tom. <br><br>On my two hour train ride home (please kill me) I designed my own subway cocktail kit in my head. Tell me what you think.<br><br>Start off with a standard 16" floor tom for the bass drum. Close to the top of the shell add three more flr tom leg struts - yes, yes, more wholes and hardware on the shell, I know... <br><br>Then take a 13" X 5" snare and add three of the same leg struts to it's shell. <br><br>Then get three zig-zag rods by LP, Gibralter, whoever and mount that snare on that floor tom!<br><br>Beyond that, why not get one of those floor toms that splits so you can nest your snare, cymbals & stuff inside it? And why not a rolling, waterproof case with a lip around the soft top so you can place shakers & crap on it during the gig that won't fall off? <br><br>Other bells and whistles would be easy enough to add - ask me about a fully-functional hi-hat that could still be played standing - but that's the gist of it.<br><br>Anyone seen anyting like this?
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fw
Hey JM!
Cool website!
I've been building my own cocktail drum out of old marching drums, and I scrapped a lot of ideas before I came up with my prototype.
Okay, so I thought out your idea and realized the benefit of the floor tom legs is that they would raise the snare up to a playable level. Plus, with all that space in between the two drums, you might not need to mute the top of the floor tom head (say, with a rubber pad).
In your concept, would you play the floor tom's top head?
Also, your allusion to a working hi hat intrigued me. Has anybody ever thought of using remote cable to make some sort of hand operated device (like a garden hose gun type thing)? I've tried just lifting up the clutch and closing it by hand, but I can't do it very precisely. Plus my cocktail set doesn't have a clutch--just two U clamps.
Cool website!
I've been building my own cocktail drum out of old marching drums, and I scrapped a lot of ideas before I came up with my prototype.
Okay, so I thought out your idea and realized the benefit of the floor tom legs is that they would raise the snare up to a playable level. Plus, with all that space in between the two drums, you might not need to mute the top of the floor tom head (say, with a rubber pad).
In your concept, would you play the floor tom's top head?
Also, your allusion to a working hi hat intrigued me. Has anybody ever thought of using remote cable to make some sort of hand operated device (like a garden hose gun type thing)? I've tried just lifting up the clutch and closing it by hand, but I can't do it very precisely. Plus my cocktail set doesn't have a clutch--just two U clamps.
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Keith Cronin
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon May 13, 2002 8:21 am
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 drums are 24" tall.
Regarding hihats - here's another option. Instead of trying to open a closed hat by hand, try the opposite. Use some kind of spring to elevate the top cymbal on a rod with an untightened clutch. Then you could use your hand to grab the clutch and press down to close the hats.
I saw Dom Famularo do something similar in a clinic. He got an intense double-bass rhythm going, and then used one hand to open and close the hat in this manner while playing the hat with his other hand.
I'm content with a closed hat on my cocktail kit - to me it's a different instrument than a conventional kit, so I don't try too hard to make it feel or sound the same. But I do miss the sonic variety of an openable hat, so maybe this might be something to investigate....
KC
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 drums are 24" tall.
Regarding hihats - here's another option. Instead of trying to open a closed hat by hand, try the opposite. Use some kind of spring to elevate the top cymbal on a rod with an untightened clutch. Then you could use your hand to grab the clutch and press down to close the hats.
I saw Dom Famularo do something similar in a clinic. He got an intense double-bass rhythm going, and then used one hand to open and close the hat in this manner while playing the hat with his other hand.
I'm content with a closed hat on my cocktail kit - to me it's a different instrument than a conventional kit, so I don't try too hard to make it feel or sound the same. But I do miss the sonic variety of an openable hat, so maybe this might be something to investigate....
KC
Yeah yeah. Thanks for the replies!<br><br>The thing I think is unique about the idea is that the snare and bass drum don't have to be the same size, but the snare IS still ABOVE the bass drum. Using S rods to "float" a real snare above a real floor tom just expands the options of the conventional drums. If the rods are long enough (standard should be) the snare would indeed be the perfect height to play comfortably standing up, and infact more adjustable to height than the standard cocktail. The floor tom would also be low enough for the pedal. <br><br>The focus would be on playing the snare, but because three S rods are used to mount it, and because it's 3 inches smaller, you could off set it enough to be able to hit the top head of the floor tom on a limited area.<br><br>I was also thinking that you could get customized rods that would bend out once more after the snare mounts, enabling cymbals or other stuff to be attatched. <br><br>Regarding hi-hats - I don't know if this would work without a severe amount of athletesism, but it's worth theorizing. <br><br>Say you get a remote cable hat stand and mount the hats however you want. Then you put the pedal part under - deep breath.... your left HEEL... BACKWARDS. <br><br>If you stand with your left toes clocked towards the left it makes balancing easier. Figure the hats will be closed most of the time so you can mostly just "stand" on the pedal with the weight of your heel on it. To open, just lift your heel, shifting your weight to the ball of your foot. Might take a little practice and getting used to, but I think it could work. AND, it would still be a different instrument!<br><br>Cut to me falling over during a drum break at my first gig trying this. %^)
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Keith Cronin
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon May 13, 2002 8:21 am
JM, I've done the remote hihat thing and it works well. You can check out a previous discussion on this further down the page and you can check out some pics of the set up and how I use it.
http://www.angelfire.com/music/dinkus/c ... tehats.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/music/dinkus/c ... tehats.htm
Good lord! It's the coktail cage! Cool set up Dinkus. I shutter to think of lugging it onto the subway though. Re: Hats. I'm curious how the remote thing would work if the pedal is under your HEEL. So you move your weight off your heel to the ball of your foot to raise the hats. Seems like it wouldn't limit your bass drum foot having to make up for the shift in weight... I don't know. Thanks for the photos.
Side note: Anyone know of any good cocktail drum instructional books to help get people started? John, you and Boris should write one together!
Side note: Anyone know of any good cocktail drum instructional books to help get people started? John, you and Boris should write one together!
good idea to convert
i'm building one now useing drum legs and mounts.i'm conserned about bass rattling the snare.maybe some kind of rubber to cut the rattle. I am not a drummer but i'm intrested. the small foot print sound handy in the studio since space is limited.i'm real close to playing it feed back is welcome rebob59