I have a cheap, Empire cocktailer. After viewing some of the versions of cocktail kits on here, I saw that a lot of them have an 8 inch snare, 10 inch tom, and the main drum is the floor tom/ kick variety. Mine had the snare wires under the main drum and the two smaller drums as side toms. Sooooo, I removed the snare wire and control knob combo from the main drum, drilled two holes in the 8 inch tom, mounted the snares under the top head of that drum and VOILA! Instant popcorn snare! It actually sounds pretty good, and the bass drum is now more pronounced and not all rattle-y as before.
I also installed a Remo "Muff'ler" in the kick drum and this really gives it a nice thud. Also, as mentioned elsewhere, I paired two Wuhan 10 inch spashes together for a nifty, and CHEAP hihat cymbals option.
The last thing I did was put both the new snare and the 10 inch tom to the RIGHT of my kit (by drilling holes) because I am a left-handed drummer and wanted to flip the drums. Before it was really awkward to play the toms on the left, and with the new side snare, it would have been near impossible to play this combo righty, being a lefty and all.
Hope to upload some pics soon.
Cheers,
Tom E. Gunn
Modification updates
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Tom E. Gunn
- Posts: 49
- Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:53 pm
- Location: California
Re: Modification updates
Hi Tom,
Sounds like you made some good modifications. I'm also a left-handed drummer. I play open-handed on my regular kit so I also have my snare and tom mounted on the right side of my cocktail drum (with ride and hats on the left side of the shell). I find it easier to play that way.
MM
Sounds like you made some good modifications. I'm also a left-handed drummer. I play open-handed on my regular kit so I also have my snare and tom mounted on the right side of my cocktail drum (with ride and hats on the left side of the shell). I find it easier to play that way.
MM