Smaller sized toms?

I'm just curious, I made a few searches on the forum and found nothing on the subject so, who here enjoys smaller sized toms?
I play my kit in a 5 pc. 8" 10" racks and 14" floor + 14" snare configuration, and I love it ! Any of you guys feel the same way?

That's a good combination. I used to have a six piece with 8-10-12-14 toms and now I have 10-12-14 or 8-10-14. When I configure this as a four-piece I go 10-14. The contrast is good.

There is a trend nowadays to huger and shallower toms. I personally like smaller diameter drums. They are uncommon and therefore stand out a bit more.
 
I have 10 12 up 14 down at all gigs. I add an 8 or 16 when I'm in the mood to haul another drum, and the gig calls for it. When I really feel adventurous, I'll bring them all. In general, I'm parital to smaller drums tuned low, for a Steve Gadd type sound. I will say I'm getting more appreciative of what I can do with a 16, but I never use it as the sole floor tom. I only use it after a 14. I just have to have a 14 on every gig. I don't use 13's at all, except at home I use 11x13 as a left side floor tom. I don't take it on gigs.
 
There's nothing like a smaller drum with a huge depth, I played a "square tom" kit one time in a 8 10 12 14 set up, and it was a nice tight sound with this huge rumble to it. First time I really got interested in smaller toms, at that time I was into thrash metal, where your average setup is 12 14 16 18 20! Just kidding, its not QUITE that bad with us metalheads, is it?

Also, the best little drum I ever played was this 6x28 octoban, I LOVE octobans!
 
My house was built in 1860, during the civil war. Unfortunately someone decided to paint the stone walls in the basement, white. You aren't supposed to paint stone. It needs to breathe. Very nice pic you got.

I didn't know that, but I also didn't paint half of my wall. haha. There's random paint down there all over the place actually, and I really don't know why.

Thanks!
 
That's a good combination. I used to have a six piece with 8-10-12-14 toms and now I have 10-12-14 or 8-10-14. When I configure this as a four-piece I go 10-14. The contrast is good.

There is a trend nowadays to huger and shallower toms. I personally like smaller diameter drums. They are uncommon and therefore stand out a bit more.

I agree. I feel they do have a boomy sound if tuned right and with decent heads. Mine aren't very shallow, I'm not sure of the depths but they look pretty squared to me. I'm actually using a 16" floor in this picture, I really enjoy the contrast of the boomyness and warmth of my rack toms, with the thud of my floor tom. And, they make my cymbals look bigger, even though I usually play rather small sizes. :)
 

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Now that's a setup I'd like to mess with. Fantastic groove possibilities there. Do you have any pictures? Tuned nice & open?

No photos yet, it's basically just a 4 piece with a second snare. Maybe a third snare if I find a 10" or 12" brass one that I like :)

The 10 is tuned medium-high and the 18 is low and fat, because I use it like a second kick mostly. The 10 is meant to sound a little bit quirky so I might take the bottom head off and see how that sounds.
 
I had an 8" tom on a kit a couple years ago... I could never get it tuned how I wanted. It seemed choked to me. When I tuned it lower, it just sounded like a shorter sustaining version of the 10". I'm a tuning nut, so I know how to tune drums, I just don't think I had a taste for an 8". They are cool looking though. I kept it on the kit "just in case" for a while.
 
I had an 8" tom on a kit a couple years ago... I could never get it tuned how I wanted. It seemed choked to me. When I tuned it lower, it just sounded like a shorter sustaining version of the 10". I'm a tuning nut, so I know how to tune drums, I just don't think I had a taste for an 8". They are cool looking though. I kept it on the kit "just in case" for a while.
Just remember. Not every 8" drum is going to sound the same. Some will work, and some won't.
 
I went through a phase awhile back after I saw Keith Harris from the Black Eyed Peas and set up my drums with 22" kick and 8 and 10 racks and 12 and 14 floor toms.

Very weird at first. I struggled with my tuning a little since I was used to 16 and 18 floor toms but the sound was good. Very easy to cut through the band. I liked it for a little while but then I went back to bigger drum sounds.

On a lot of the harder rock songs, the tom sounds just weren't low enough.

Now I use a 12 or a 14 as a rack tom and a 16 or 18 for a floor tom.

I did do a gig once with a 10 rack and 12 floor (I forgot my floor tom legs) and no one noticed.

Sounded pretty good actually.
 
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