Cutting down drums

Duck Tape

Platinum Member
I have a bunch of questions about cutting down my drums, not expecting everyone to answer all of them I'd really appreciate the more important info.

I'm thinking of having my 20x17 bass drum cut down to 20x14. Any thoughts on this? I think I've read enough on this forum to know that it will be a good move. I understand this affects the lugs, spurs and the tom mount. FYI it's a 2009 yamaha stage custom if anyone has been through this. Would I lose any volume by going even shallower? How shallow?

I'm also considering cutting my rack toms down for ease of placement and storage/transport. They are 10x8 and 12x9.

Would 10x7 and 12x7 be a bad idea?
Or is it best I leave the 10 and just have the 12 cut down to 12x8?

Also open to any comments on bearing edges, but I know that's something I should read up on.

Thank you.
 
Like to see some answers on this myself...

Seriously considering taking my Rockstar Custom 20X18 to the table saw and taking it down to 20 x 14. Figure moving the lugs etc. is easy enough. Also figure that since it's the resonant side I would risk trying to do the bearing edge myself. (Probably not a bad idea to cut it down to 20 X 17...16...15... and doing a bearing edge on each cut. Hopefully by the time I cut it down to 20 X 14 I'd have it close to "right" lol...)
 
Well, there are a few on here who did it if you wade through the threads.

IMO, why not just get a 14 x 20 bass drum? - no cutting, no new edges, moving of lugs...etc. and a Stage Custom (pretty standard) should be easy enough to match. Loads of orphan drums on websites. I don't know, maybe where you live its cheap to get work like this done.

My other query would be presumablyYamaha designed it to be 17 deep, when they considered all the other parameters in mind when they made the drum (wood, plies, edges, thickness).
 
Does the drum have a wrap on it? Can you find new wrap to match? If it is, you can make the cut on on end and cover all of the old holes not used with wrap, and re-drill the holes in the new wrap. If the drum is not wrapped it could be when you are finished to again cover the old non-used holes.
 
There aren't any that I can buy, and no the drum isn't wrapped.

10x7 and 12x7?
 
Yeah, I thought they would have to be moved even when cutting down an inch.

Where's sandy and porter when you need them?
 
If its just an inch, you can probably be fine taking a half inch off each side and you won't have to move any lugs... its just two bearing edges to cut, but that's no biggie.. I've built my own drums and I'll tell you that drilling or redrilling holes for lugs is a pain in the neck.

on a 12", anything shallower than 12x8 and you'll loose some character imo. I'd definitely go 12x8.
 
I got a quote. Around $250 per drum.

Ouch. Not much point really. :(

Also pretty amazed at the cost of wraps.
 
Wow, for that price you could order a 10ply 20x14 Keller shell with bearing edges and might still have enough left over for shipping. I chose 10 because it was the most expensive. The thinner shells are less.
 
I got a quote. Around $250 per drum.

Ouch. Not much point really. :(
Understatement of the year. I completely fail to understand that pricing unless it entails the making/installation of new rerings.

1" off the toms - unless it's positionally critical, I wouldn't bother.

3" off the bass drum might be worthwhile but only as part of a focussed review of what you want to achieve. Depth adjustment, in itself, is only part of the picture.
 
Got quoted a less ridiculous $80-$100 for the kick, hopefully the toms are cheaper again.

Just trying to decide on the toms. I'm thinking 10x7 and 12x7 for compactness and ppl seem to like their short stack toms.

If the 10 is losing 1", could they cut 1/2" of both the top and bottom?

And the 12 is losing 2", I doubt they could cut an inch off top and bottom without moving the lugs so they would prob be better off taking it from the bottom?

Is the Tom mount position a critical thing or can any unevenness be fixed by raising or lowering the Tom arm in the Tom holder?
 
Dre, if you're slicing .5" off each tom then you'll need new, shorted tension rods for each side.

Personally, I would just slice the kick down to a much more manageable 14" depth. You won't lose any volume, but you will lose a little bit of the extra rumble and be left with a clearer fundamental note.

As for bearing edges, I would talk to your drum-guy and explain what you're hoping to achieve sound-wise and let them do their magic. More than likely what they'll do is slice 3" off the batter side and just re-drill for the batter side hardware. Easy peasy.

Check out my kit. The kick drum started off as a 24x17 Stage Custom and has been sliced down to 14" depth and both edges redone. I notice it tunes up much more easily and sounds much, much better to my ears.
 
Leave your toms alone and cut the bass drum. 1 inch from the toms won't matter much.
Cutting the bass drum will change your life :)
 
Change my life lol

One thing I can think of - if they do cut the bass drum down on the batter side... the toms won't have as much bass drum hoop in the way so I might be able to set them a bit lower anyway.
 
A happy ending. 20x13 stage custom (took 4 inches off from the batter side). The tom mount won't go through the hole anymore, need to address that (maybe take it back or just file it down a bit) but that will have to come later (going to the US).

It sounds good, I saw a fair difference in response with wide open tuning and it didn't seem quieter at all... as I said I couldn't get the tom mount past the shell because the mount is now misaligned but I expect positioning toms will be a bit weird.
 

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Nice work!
I've been wanting to cut my 22x18" Meridian basses down by 4", because I had a 22x14" before, but I'm scared I won't like it. Also, I already have 22x18" bags. Haha!
 
Looks good.

There really shouldn't be an issue with the tom mount. Take off one of the heads, loosen the screws that hold the tom mount base, then put the shaft in. Move it around a bit
untill everything is centered back up. Then while the shaft is still in, tighten the screws up a bit at a time, while making sure the shaft still moves freely.

Probably quicker to do than it is to describe.

One of these days, I might get the nerve to try doing that to one of my bass drums. LOL
 
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