'Travel' Cocktail Drum!

[jmettam]

Hey All,

I have finally put photos and a description together for my latest experiment.. a 'Travel' Cocktail Drum!



How can a Cocktail Drum be more travel-able you ask? Well, take two diverent size drums that can nest together when packed up adn expand to a full height drum for playing!

I've made a protype and want to share it with everyone.

Go to the 'Construction' heading in the 'learn' section of the ste. You will see my second project:

'How to Build a Travel Cocktail Drum'

Link there. Check it out!

- John

[ratatattat]

great work John!! are you gonna cover it? or just leave it as is? What a great idea!
ratt

[n4vgm]

That's the spirit. Great job!

Bob

[robertm]

Very inventive idea John! Seems there might be a second side benefit - some isolation between the snare and bass sections,more than in a single tube drum. Have you played this enough to see if that's possible?

[zorf]

John,

Great work.

Been thinking about something similar.
The ultimate goal: 1 trip from the car using 1 handcart.
with 1 hand free to open doors and sign autographs.

I was surprised how heavy and bulky my jordan setup
actually is. At least consolidating the bulk would help.
If you used lighter/thinner shells, what do you sacrifice in tone/volume?
It looks like you have room to nest a snare and small tom in there too. Probably could stuff a couple of small cymbals, sticks,everything but the pedal. Easy to mount a bass mike inside too!

As an alternative,what do you think of starting with a couple of cheap (non collectable) floor toms, say 16 and 14 and hacking off some inches? I was thinking 2 inches difference in diameter would allow the outside lugs to clear.

Another question: does decoupleing the 2 drums reduce
the interaction when tuning?

[MetalHead]

Hey Zorf, I've got an answer to your question.

You can't fit a 14'' tom inside a 16'' tom with the bottom lugs still on. I found out the hard way after purchasing both, intending to make a "micro kit" with the 16'' as bass and 14'' as a standard floortom, then stack everything inside the 16 inch for easy travelling. The lugs are too wide and it won't fit At least they were only cheap brands.

Now I'm looking at making the 14'' into a cocktail drum

[jmettam]

Thanks for all the great comments!

If you used lighter/thinner shells, what do you sacrifice in tone/volume?

I couldn't say about tone for sure but I do think that thinner shells will get you less volume since these drums aren't really tuned for optimum resonance!

It looks like you have room to nest a snare and small tom in there too. Probably could stuff a couple of small cymbals, sticks,everything but the pedal.

If you want to nest, I would definitely use larger drums (15+14 or 16+15). I went for small since my single drums are all 14 and I like the sound. Plus I use a 14" floor tom case with this which is really small. I made a flight from NY to CA with this and checked the case. Went through fine. Inside I fit: Pulse Pedal (with mounting plate!), Remos Kids Bongos, Cowbell, Clow mounts, Sticks + Brushes (1 set each), 13" Cymbal (on top of the drum, not inside)

As an alternative,what do you think of starting with a couple of cheap (non collectable) floor toms, say 16 and 14 and hacking off some inches? I was thinking 2 inches difference in diameter would allow the outside lugs to clear.

Cuting down drums would work as well. I really like the concert tom thing since there is less work to do and you don't really have to mess up the drums too much! A 2 inch difference is not enough to nest drums together. The hardware still won't clear! That's why I made them 1" difference since they wouldn't clear anyway.

Another question: does decoupleing the 2 drums reduce
the interaction when tuning?

It's a little hard to tell. Between the different sizes and the questionable quality of the rims I think that my particular drum has a very tight response. I can tell you there is still plenty of air interacting with the snare when Ihit the kick.

Being able to take the drums apart is really helpful in that you can hear what each half sounds like alone and then put together. There is definitely a diffrerenceonce the air column is reflected back on itself. I mostly hear it in the kick drum (looses some resonance).

It also makes it easy to play with baffles. I cut out some thinck cardboard with a piece of foam glued to it from a packing box and pushed it in. It sounds OK but it is not ideal. So there is more work to do. If I decide that the baffle is the way to go, I may port the snare section!

[jmettam]

Now I'm looking at making the 14'' into a cocktail drum

Think about this, you could cut the 14" in half (or 1/3 - 2/3 ) and add straps to expand it upward with a gap!

Just an idea!

- John

[zorf]

Hi John,

Have some more questions for you:(sorry)

Do you think that hanging a bunch of stuff off of the top drum would put a lot
of pressure on whatever you use to connect the 2 drums?

I was wondering, do you think instead of the rims system you have, you could just add a couple more of the floor tom leg holders? Seems like you could squeeze 5 of them
evenly spaced on about a 220 degree arc.

Also, do you play your bongos with sticks?

do you think the flared floor tom legs make much of a difference stability wise?

And lastly, (for now) i noticed you and others are proponents of the 14 inch drum.
Can you get much af bass drum sound, or is that just a trade off for bass/sanare
combos? If you were using a side snare, would you still go with a 14 inch bass?

Sorry to be a pest. getting excited about making my own.

[MetalHead]

jmettam wrote:

Think about this, you could cut the 14" in half (or 1/3 - 2/3 ) and add straps to expand it upward with a gap!

That's a great idea! I'm about 6.1' so in order for me to sit at a comfortable height i need to raise the 14" legs all the way, leaving the bass skin so high that the beater strikes it at an almost 90 degree angle The gap would work as a nice bit of a port too, I hope.

Thanks for the idea!

[jmettam]

Do you think that hanging a bunch of stuff off of the top drum would put a lot of pressure on whatever you use to connect the 2 drums?

YES! You have hit on the current problem. The connectors are made of nylon and are a little bit flexible. Also, I have attached them with only one bolt, so they can rotate a bit. There is a bit of play when the drums are attached becasue they rotate AND they sag a little bit from the weight of the top drum.

My next step is to use metal straps with 2 bolts attached on the bottom drum. I believe that this will solve all of those problems. Then perhaps I can hang more stuff from the rim!

I was wondering, do you think instead of the rims system you have, you could just add a couple more of the floor tom leg holders? Seems like you could squeeze 5 of them evenly spaced on about a 220 degree arc.

Absolutely! I just have more RIM clamps than I have mounting brackets...

Also, do you play your bongos with sticks?

I play the bongos with sticks, hot rods, and blasticks. THe best sound is with blasticks taped around the end, 1" or so from the tip. It gives a very thick sound to the hit. Sticks wirk well also but are a little more attack, less body. I use Remo Kids Bongos with synthetic heads.

do you think the flared floor tom legs make much of a difference stability wise?

ONce I started adding more items around the rim of my drum I had to switch to the flared legs. The straight legs did not give the balance necessary to support the drum. Occasionally I would hid something hard and the drum would tip over!

And lastly, (for now) i noticed you and others are proponents of the 14 inch drum. Can you get much af bass drum sound, or is that just a trade off for bass/snare combos? If you were using a side snare, would you still go with a 14 inch bass?

I'm not really sure. I have not used the 14" drum with a side snare before. I know I should but I have not gotten around to it. With the snare/bass combo it is actually quite a good sound. The kick does not project if you are in a large room but it sounds great with a mic. Very tight and punchy. In a small room it is just right!

Sorry to be a pest. getting excited about making my own.

Never a problem, that's why this site exists!

- John

[ak1000]

yes nice one john i like the way they fit inside one another.a great idea.mine also come apart but i used floor tom leg holders and rods to put mine together.if you use two floor toms and cut a few inches off of one they should be the right height.i bet you get an interesting sound.
cheers
adam
ak1000