New 24x14 kick drum is hopping....

beatsMcGee

Pioneer Member
just bought a 1976 rogers londoner kit with a 24x14 kick. the kick sounds great but it has these stupid legs that come out perpendicular to the drum and have no spikes at the bottom...combine that with the drum being pretty light, because its only 14'' deep, it hops and wiggles all over the place when I play it.

Is there any way to retro fit the more traditional style bass drum legs on it so that it will actually be playable?

other solutions that you guys have found besides sandbags and bricks lol?

p.s. I am aware of the bass drum anchor spikes and I will probably pick one up, but i would still like to switch the legs out because they dont offer any stability and the drum will still rattle...i paly hard
 
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sorry i don't have a link for you on the spurs (maybe after-market kit for these old Rogers?). but i wanted to chime in on how sick these 24 x 14 drums sound. my buddy had a set from 1980 w/ the 24". i had to measure it...and i swear the thing was 13.5". the sound was just insane. i wanted to play AC/DC & Zep licks all day. just the perfect rock sound to my ears & i am sorta looking for a 24" Rogers kit to have one day. anyhow, he put it on craigslist & sold it last year to Craig Krampf. my bud had no idea how famous Craig is RE all those live & studio gigs, plus those Roger ads from the 70s & 80s. bought the whole kit (i think 13,14,16,18, 24) travelling up to Nashville.
 
Harry Conaway should chime in here soon. He has a late 1970s Londoner as well, I believe. Yeah, give us some eye candy pronto!
 
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What a classic kit you have there! Love me those old Londoners! Have you tried removing the rubber tips off of the spurs? I believe that will reveal some sharp edges on the spur/tubes you can use to dig into the floor (maybe you already have?) But I suppose the front hoop bass drum anchor might help here. However, I've always utilized the spurs on the bass drum pedal as well and those in the past have always worked for me. IF the pedal is dug in and holding onto the bass drum, it can't slide away because you're the weight holding it back when the pedal is dug in as well.

But if you aren't planning on selling your kit, I would just upgrade the spurs to something newer. I've used the top-line Pearl spurs on old vintage 'players' kits in my time too.
 
I was hoping to not drill new holes, there is nothing plug n play that will work?
 
With Memriloc spurs, you should be able to angle them forward. That, however, still might not give you "enough" traction. A front hoop bass drum "anchor", will probably solve your problem. I've never had to resort to those, because I have plenty of velcro on the floor plate of my kick pedals. That, and the carpet spikes built onto the pedals. And .... I might not kick as hard as you.​
 
Put velcro on the pedal? If you can keep the pedal from moving then hopefully the drum its attached to should stay put.
 
My pedal has plenty of velcro and stays put, I just don't like to clamp down hard on the hoop of the drum with the pedal... It damages it over time.
 
I see most of your problem from the pics. You are using a snare stand to hold your tom. Theres no weight on the bass at all. Ive never had an issue with this myself, since I have always used at leat one tom mounted on the bass.

So, another option would be to use two new pieces of pipe in the same size and custom bend them to get more downward force from the leg receiver mount down to the floor. The bend would have to start aprox 1 inch outside the mound and go straignt downward. I think this may be somewhere around 110-130 degrees bend.

Also I would recommend adding fender washers to the two mount screws inside the bass drum on each of the mounts. One of the fender washers on each mount would need to have a slight clipping cut to make it fit. You want some substantial washers here, maybe 16 ga. or 14 ga. This will add quite a bit of support to your shell. I have done this with my own five ply Rogers of the same era. It is also a 24.


I use a PS3 batter with a solid front fiberskyn medium reso, vintage vinyl shield logo and rogers logo on the reso head. Big sound.
 
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If you had a good, thick carpet for the kit you could cut a couple small holes where the kick spurs touched the rug and they would then sit in the holes and likely not move.

Always the strap to the stool trick too.
 
Im just going to buy some legs, will any heavy duty legs work? I was thinking these pearl legs here:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/pearl-sp-30-2-bass-drum-spur-pair#review

ive never installed anything like this on a drum. any tips?

Those are the best after-market spurs ever. I've used those at least twice on other drums and they work great. But I had a drum shop install them, and I wasn't replacing ones that put a 1" hole through the drum. You might want to consult with a drum shop if there's anyone in your area.

One trick I heard about that this other builder did was, when he removed the old spurs, he got dowels the same size as all the holes it left open, cut the dowel and glue in the pieces into the shell, let it dry, and sand it down smooth, basically plugging the holes. Then he installed the spurs - it worked out in this instance and it was a great repair job.
 
If you don't want to drill have you tried adjusting the height of the reso side of the drum? Hear me out: your beater is pushing the drum. If the drum is angles too much toward you (reso side is higher than the batter side) you will push it up and away. If the reso head is lower than the batter you will drive the drum into the floor.

Keep in mind any angle at all decreases the surface area contact of the clamp on the hoop. Try keeping the drum level at first to maximize contact area.

If that doesn't work, drill baby drill!
 
If you don't want to drill have you tried adjusting the height of the reso side of the drum? Hear me out: your beater is pushing the drum. If the drum is angles too much toward you (reso side is higher than the batter side) you will push it up and away. If the reso head is lower than the batter you will drive the drum into the floor.

Keep in mind any angle at all decreases the surface area contact of the clamp on the hoop. Try keeping the drum level at first to maximize contact area.

If that doesn't work, drill baby drill!

yeah I have the reso side off the ground some because I like to have my beater strike the batter squarely.... otherwise you really effect the rebound off the drum. don't believe me, weckl told me about it years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-3GU6Nry0Q
 
Running this bass with the front off the ground isnt going to help you a whole lot. What it will do is stress the shell at the mounts. If you are going to run it like that, you really do need to add the fender washers inside the shell at the receiver mounting bolts.

If you are going to remove the mounts and drill holes for a pearl or other aftermarket........ there will be a significant reduction in resale value on the bass drum, should you decide to sell it later.
 
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