Why aren't more people playing BIG bass drums?

larryace said:
For my gigging kit , I need a 10" suspension mounted tom. I don't believe Ludwig made a 10" 2 headed tom in the 60's did they? If not then I will go with a the oldest 10" Ludwig 2 headed tom I can find, because I want old wood.
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If you can't find a double headed one, find a concert tom. They have the rings and bearing edge on top & bottom, so all you have to do is drill for lugs....
 
larryace said:
I think I am going to graduate from a 22 to a 24. On the prowl for a 60's WMP Ludwig 24 x 14.
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Hallelujah! He has seen the light!!

...seriously though, don't forget to post pics when you start on this project. You know how I love restoration threads.

Tom placement was a issue on my Stage Custom when I tried using the stock mount, I just couldn't get it angled just right and when I got it close it was to high. I ditched the mount and gave it to my girlfriend's dad for his conga and just use a cheap snare stand. I suppose this might be an issue for shorter guys or if you use more than one rack tom and sit very low but it works just fine for me.
 
This is Ginger Fish, drummer of Marilyn Manson, he play on a BIG bass drum (43")

Sorry about the quality, it's a scan from a drum magazine...
 

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My gigging kit has a 22x18 kick. The sound of it mic'ed up is perfect. It has the punch that rumbles your guts and plenty of low end. For micing purposes and modern type kick sounds live, a 22" kick is probably standard. I also have a 26x14 Ludwig kick from my Bonham kit and it sounds awesome. It's a different animal though and I would have to change the way I run it to use it for modern rock purposes. It sounds best with full heads and little muffling. Huge and booming. If I cut a hole in the front head and put a muffling pad in it, it sounds great, but the 22" seems punchier. The 26" kick is more fun to play from an acoustic standpoint, but the 22" seems to work better for my current rock gig.
 
latzanimal said:
If you can't find a double headed one, find a concert tom. They have the rings and bearing edge on top & bottom, so all you have to do is drill for lugs....
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Are you telling me the bottom bearing edge is done on concert toms? I've definitely seen them unfinished, but I don't know if they come with the edges done on Ludwigs.
 
It sounded terrible and looked worse! I'd guess you get a special beater for your pedal that action must take a while to happen hahaha!!! Honestly how can some folks not tell whats for show and whats reality. Doc
 
larryace said:
Are you telling me the bottom bearing edge is done on concert toms? I've definitely seen them unfinished, but I don't know if they come with the edges done on Ludwigs.
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Yes, the old 3-ply shells have a bearing edge on the bottom. Just look for one that is not all beat up. You can cut an edge on there, its not hard..
 
RE: "Why aren't more people playing BIG bass drums?"

Maybe because they like to be able see over the top of it ...


Bigbassdrum.jpg
 
KarlCrafton said:
Vinnie Paul used to play 26x26 in Panterra, but he used a lot of processing to get "his" sound.

.
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Vinnie Paul never used a 26x26. Biggest he went was 24x24. Everything in his kit is squared. 24x24 kicks, 14x14 and 15x15 up top, and 16x16 and 18x18 on the floor. "His" sound was produced by a combo of wooden beaters and Danmar single click pads, and 2 mic positions, one inside, one on the batter side to capture the "click" of the wood beaters against the pads. Vinnie is my idol, and my main influence, so I apologize if that seemed defensive lol...

I personally own a 24x16 bass drum, with 3 up, one down, and I have had problems with tom mounting. I run a 13x9, 14x10 and 15x12 up top, but I have been configuring my kit since the day I got it. Im never satisfied with the positioning of my tops up top. Now, I have the 13 and 14 on a separate stand my 15 on the right side of the mount on top of the bass, with a 9.5 Zilbel on the left, then my mounted 16x14 floor on my right under my ride, and I am having notions of moving everything around again. I do love the fact that my 24 incher can sound nice and boomy, or nice and punchy. I also have a tone control inside of it that I adjust the amount of boom or punch hehehe....
 
blastbeatkeeper said:
Vinnie Paul never used a 26x26. Biggest he went was 24x24. Everything in his kit is squared. 24x24 kicks, 14x14 and 15x15 up top, and 16x16 and 18x18 on the floor. "His" sound was produced by a combo of wooden beaters and Danmar single click pads, and 2 mic positions, one inside, one on the batter side to capture the "click" of the wood beaters against the pads. Vinnie is my idol, and my main influence, so I apologize if that seemed defensive lol...

I personally own a 24x16 bass drum, with 3 up, one down, and I have had problems with tom mounting. I run a 13x9, 14x10 and 15x12 up top, but I have been configuring my kit since the day I got it. Im never satisfied with the positioning of my tops up top. Now, I have the 13 and 14 on a separate stand my 15 on the right side of the mount on top of the bass, with a 9.5 Zilbel on the left, then my mounted 16x14 floor on my right under my ride, and I am having notions of moving everything around again. I do love the fact that my 24 incher can sound nice and boomy, or nice and punchy. I also have a tone control inside of it that I adjust the amount of boom or punch hehehe....
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Vinnie Paul used 26x26 before he went to 24x24. The Remo kits had the 26x26's.
He had a couple pretty cool Remo kits. Google for pics of them.
He may have had a 26x26 on the first Pearl kit too, but he had a couple kits with 24x24's with Pearl before he went with Ddrum. he was using their triggers for years, so when guys started going to ddrum, I wasn't shocked, but kinda surprised because he was with Pearl for quite a while.
Big, square toms with every brand he's used though, and the 8" deep snare has been consistent as well.

You have some depth on those toms. Good luck with that.
Really great sounding sizes, but when I ran 3 on top (a long time ago), I had a 10-12-13 (trad depths) over a 24, sometimes 2 24's.
I also had 12-13 power toms over the 2 24's. That was high, not too bad, but also not 12" depth like a 15 has (plus trying not to have the tom scrape the bass drum!..esh!!).

Since you are playing with positioning, what about the 13 up top, the 14 on the left side by the hats, then a 15-16 "2 down" positioning?
Or, 13 up top, 15 hat side, 14-16 "2 down". The 16 is a 14x16 so it should still sound cool with a 10x14.
The 15 on the left will also let you do some "big" sounding fills without having to reach up, just over with your hand.
A tom or floor tom in this position works really great. It gives you lots of options, as far as how fills can sound, without taking up any more space, or having to reach all over the place.
Good luck!
 
I have a 24 x 18 bass drum and love it. I can do doubles and triples faster than my friends using a 22 drum so it's not fair to say they're sluggish! You can feel the punch in your chest that's the best thing about it! About your toms being to high with big bass drums, just put your toms on the sides.
 
Anto said:
I have a 24 x 18 bass drum and love it. I can do doubles and triples faster than my friends using a 22 drum so it's not fair to say they're sluggish! You can feel the punch in your chest that's the best thing about it! About your toms being to high with big bass drums, just put your toms on the sides.
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All three of them? :) not going to work.
 
KarlCrafton said:
Vinnie Paul used 26x26 before he went to 24x24. The Remo kits had the 26x26's.
He had a couple pretty cool Remo kits. Google for pics of them.
He may have had a 26x26 on the first Pearl kit too, but he had a couple kits with 24x24's with Pearl before he went with Ddrum. he was using their triggers for years, so when guys started going to ddrum, I wasn't shocked, but kinda surprised because he was with Pearl for quite a while.
Big, square toms with every brand he's used though, and the 8" deep snare has been consistent as well.

You have some depth on those toms. Good luck with that.
Really great sounding sizes, but when I ran 3 on top (a long time ago), I had a 10-12-13 (trad depths) over a 24, sometimes 2 24's.
I also had 12-13 power toms over the 2 24's. That was high, not too bad, but also not 12" depth like a 15 has (plus trying not to have the tom scrape the bass drum!..esh!!).

Since you are playing with positioning, what about the 13 up top, the 14 on the left side by the hats, then a 15-16 "2 down" positioning?
Or, 13 up top, 15 hat side, 14-16 "2 down". The 16 is a 14x16 so it should still sound cool with a 10x14.
The 15 on the left will also let you do some "big" sounding fills without having to reach up, just over with your hand.
A tom or floor tom in this position works really great. It gives you lots of options, as far as how fills can sound, without taking up any more space, or having to reach all over the place.
Good luck!
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Oh ok. Well thanks for that info for Vinnie. And wasnt he with Tama before Pearl? I dont remember him playing with Remo kits...mustve been during the "Power Metal" album eras before Phil Anselmo was brought in for Cowboys....
And I was tooling around with the 13 and 14 up top, with my 15 and 16 down, but i am not sure if I want to move everything over to the right that much. Either that, or getting rid of the 13 all together, with the 14 up top and 15 and 16 down. The 15 to the left of the hats is a good idea as well. I guess Ill just have to dedicate a few days to fooling with the configuration ideas to see what I like and whats easier for me.
 
Im thinking about perhaps purchase a custom made gong drum 28 inch shell(with legs) with a 30 inch drum head in the future.
 
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