Hi, new guy here. I have read this forum on many occasions though. I am searching for a donor 16'' floor tom at the moment. Today, I successfully reversed the cam on one of my kick drum pedals-works great! Since I don't want to stand all night while playing, I will be making something similar to the Expresso kit. I will be using a standard 14'' snare(with stand) and a standard high hat stand. The only tom will be the top of the 16'' floor tom. I do have some concerns about mounting cymbals to the drum. One is that I do not want any "outboard" stands other than the HH and snare stand, and the other is balance once the cymbals are loaded.
I would like very much to mount 2 crashes and my heavy 20'' Sabian Leopard Ride. For the crashes, I will be stacking one on top of the other. The ride will have to have something separate. I have thought about using cymbal arms (like Keith Cronin's cocktail kit) or using regular cymbal stand parts mounted directly on the drumshell. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know!
I have been looking into using an adjustable speaker port tube(s) mounted in the drum to see if I could focus the sound. Maybe a stupid idea, but it won't hurt. If it works, I will let you know! As I said earlier, if you have a suggestion, or comment, let me know!
First post!
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Guest
If the floor tom is going to be the bass and the tom and you can't get it to tune quite right (it's do-able, but very difficult), you might think about drilling some 2 or 3" holes in the shell. In my experience with a 16x16 60's Slingerland, any muffling on the bottom head chokes the sound of the top head. This will sound crazy, but in my experience, it's way easier to tune a bass/snare combination than to tune a bass/tom combination well--at least with a 16x16" drum. With a cocktail-sized drum, it's another story.
For mounts, I recommend cymbal S arms or even L arms like you find on 60's shell mount cymbal stands. Are you going to play your hi hats on a hi hat stand? If not, John's idea of two U clamps and some cymbal felts on an S arm works really well for almost no money.
A word of caution--My hunch is you'll give up on the leopard ride idea as soon as you make the drum. The drum will be way quieter than what you are used to, and you'll probably crave a cymbal that fits the tonality of your drum. I have about three sets of cymbals and I love all of them, but only my 12" hi hats and my splashes worked with my cocktail set. Crashes made no sense. What usually works well for most people is a 14-18" diameter cymbal with a good bell that can function as a ride and a crash. Zildjian Azukas or Remixes or Sabian El Sabors work well, as do small, light rides by almost any manufacturer or a lot of bottom hi hat cymbals. Oh, you'll also find you need to readjust your snare technique to make up for the change in feel and tone of your bass drum.
Good luck! Keep us posted.
Will
For mounts, I recommend cymbal S arms or even L arms like you find on 60's shell mount cymbal stands. Are you going to play your hi hats on a hi hat stand? If not, John's idea of two U clamps and some cymbal felts on an S arm works really well for almost no money.
A word of caution--My hunch is you'll give up on the leopard ride idea as soon as you make the drum. The drum will be way quieter than what you are used to, and you'll probably crave a cymbal that fits the tonality of your drum. I have about three sets of cymbals and I love all of them, but only my 12" hi hats and my splashes worked with my cocktail set. Crashes made no sense. What usually works well for most people is a 14-18" diameter cymbal with a good bell that can function as a ride and a crash. Zildjian Azukas or Remixes or Sabian El Sabors work well, as do small, light rides by almost any manufacturer or a lot of bottom hi hat cymbals. Oh, you'll also find you need to readjust your snare technique to make up for the change in feel and tone of your bass drum.
Good luck! Keep us posted.
Will
This kit will be used primarily with an acoustic group. I was thinking the more subdude kick would be a good fit. I use my full size kit/cymbals and have adjusted my technique in order not to overpower everything (even though everything is amplified.) I know it will be a challenge getting a good tom AND a good kick sound at the same time. Both ends will have batter heads. I am not big on muffling, but may have to fall back on it until I get the kinks worked out.
In the future, I plan to get some smaller cymbals, but money dictates what I can add now. The worst that can happen is I make a practice kit I can set up in just a few minutes, and fit entirely in the back seat of my car. I just got an email from a guy that has a 16x16 no name tom he will ship for 35.00. It has all the hardware, and looks fairly decent. It is a good start.
In the future, I plan to get some smaller cymbals, but money dictates what I can add now. The worst that can happen is I make a practice kit I can set up in just a few minutes, and fit entirely in the back seat of my car. I just got an email from a guy that has a 16x16 no name tom he will ship for 35.00. It has all the hardware, and looks fairly decent. It is a good start.