Floor Toms - 14" vs 16" - Yamaha Players?

TColumbia37

TColumbia37

Silver Member
Sorry if this has been covered somehwere. I tried searching, but couldn't find what I was looking for.

So, I'm looking at drum kits, and I think I may have found the one I want, but I have run into a small predicament.

I'm looking at a Yamaha Rock Tour kit, 22, 12, 16/14. The salesperson of the shop said he could replace the 16" with a matching 14" they have in stock if I wanted.

The thing is, I've always hated 16" floor toms. I've never been able to get them to tune up just right. Then again, all the kits I've owned with 16" floor toms were crappy entry level kits, so you can expect them to be hard to tune. But my current kit is an entry level kit, with a 14" floor tom, and I've never had an easier time tuning a floor tom than with this one. I like the deep sound of a properly tuned 16", but I just can't seem to get it whenever I try. I figure, with a 14", I could be sacrificing the tone that I want for something that I trust more to be able to easily attain an acceptable tone.

This being a mid level Yamaha kit (which, from what I've heard are as good as some pro level kits out there), I imagine it may be just as easy to tune the 16", given that it will be of much higher quality than my current kit. I just want to cover all bases, here.

Any thoughts? Yamaha users?
 
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16"...........and practice your tuning.

Or else where the hell is the thunder gonna come from?

Love 14" floor toms.......they sound great with an 18" or even 20" kick. And even better when in between a 12" rack and 16" floor. But on their own? With that size bass drum? Come on, are you a man or are you a mouse?
 
Definitely get the 16 if you're going to have just one floor tom. That is, unless you play jazz, in which case the 14 is a no brainer. Or get both since they have the matching one in stock. Then you can have a 12/14/16 tom setup, which is what I use (and love!).

FYI, I've generally had a harder time tuning my 14 vs. the 16. It can be difficult to get a good low sound out of a 14 without sacrificing tone, whereas the 16 sounds great no matter what I do to it.
 
Pocket-full-of-gold said:
Come on, are you a man or are you a mouse?
Click to expand...

Perhaps he's a modest mouse.


And yea, if you're only doing one and playing rock, go 16. A floor tom of that size tuned low is practically orgasmic and you can do so many things with it...
 
16"...embrace the growl!
 
A "get the 16" from me as well.

It's a better quality drum than you're using now, so it will be easier to get a sound you'll like. Just play around with different tensions on the bottom head, in relation to the tone you like from the top head, and you'll be good.
A 12-16 combo sounds great too.

Have fun with the new kit!
 
Learn how to tune it and enjoy the full benefits of a 16" floor tom. I have both the 14" and 16" but never left for a gig without the 16.



Dennis
 
Not to hijack but....

audiotech: Is that a Yamaha Absolute Nouveau set? I ask because I see floor tom legs and I have a hanging YESS solution for mine.

I ordered mine with the YESS mounts and hanging toms. Unfortunately I have to pack some very heavy hardware to take these babies out on gigs. I've been considering putting floor tom mounts/legs on the hanging floors. That way I can scoot out the door with my single brace 740 stands and not the massive 900 series tom stand.

The catch is that I don't know if adding the mounts will mess with the sound. I have the Maple Custom Absolute Nouveaus and love the way they sing but have kept them at home mostly. The main reason is moving them around is a major work project.

Let me know if you had to make decisions on the mounts or whether they came that way and how you feel about them in regards to sound.

Jim
 
Can buy both? 2 floor toms sound awesome and you'll have more flexibility if you play a one-up-one-down config in different scenarios.
 
I've never had any problems with tuning, other than those old 16" floor toms. I've tuned friends' floor toms to sound great, but could never get mine quite right.

I think I'll go for the 16". Seems more versatile, anyhow.

Hopefully the kit won't be sold by the time I get the money. I really want a Yamaha kit.
 
Shedboyxx said:
Not to hijack but....

audiotech: Is that a Yamaha Absolute Nouveau set? I ask because I see floor tom legs and I have a hanging YESS solution for mine.

Let me know if you had to make decisions on the mounts or whether they came that way and how you feel about them in regards to sound.

Jim
Click to expand...

Yes Jim, they're the Custom Absolute Maple with Nouveau lugs. Where I bought them, they had both this set and another set with the two large toms with YESS mounts that hung on a double floor stand. I chose these just for the fact that they were more stable when I played them and the sound between the two sets was almost indistinguishable. I just made a comment to myself just today that these toms sound gorgeous. I'm using G1 coated over G1 clear heads.

Sorry for the hijack.

BTW, I believe that you made the right choice on the 16" drum, TColumbia37.

Dennis
 
I'll go against the grain and vote for the 14. Not because of tuning issues, but because the "advantage" of a lower note is lost on me. Unless you're playing classic rock and doing fills in empty spaces, or drum solos, or you need to tune it up to make it loud, in my world, very low toms get lost in the mix. This also comes from doing live sound where you are trying to find an acoustic space for everything that is distinct. An 18 or low tuned 16 occupies much the same space (albeit with a different sustain) as a kick drum and bass guitar. So unless you are doing fake double bass things (Mike Johnston to the rescue) or some other "effect", you'll lose that low tom against the bass. And if you have guitarists with big thumpy 4-12 cabs competing for that same acoustic space, it's a lost cause. Something a bit higher can find it's own space.

Just my $0.02
 
Aeolian said:
I'll go against the grain and vote for the 14. Not because of tuning issues, but because the "advantage" of a lower note is lost on me. Unless you're playing classic rock and doing fills in empty spaces, or drum solos, or you need to tune it up to make it loud, in my world, very low toms get lost in the mix. This also comes from doing live sound where you are trying to find an acoustic space for everything that is distinct. An 18 or low tuned 16 occupies much the same space (albeit with a different sustain) as a kick drum and bass guitar. So unless you are doing fake double bass things (Mike Johnston to the rescue) or some other "effect", you'll lose that low tom against the bass. And if you have guitarists with big thumpy 4-12 cabs competing for that same acoustic space, it's a lost cause. Something a bit higher can find it's own space.

Just my $0.02
Click to expand...

I think is true of all the toms. Tuned higher than one might think from playing the drums on their own actually sounds better in the mix than low flappy drums. The exception to my ears would be 10 inch and smaller which I find can still be fairly loose and have a distinct pitch. Funny thing is I hear pro's tune to low all the time in live situations. It makes all the drums sound like the bass drum.

My vote goes to the 16 tuned up a bit.
 
Pocket-full-of-gold said:
Come on, are you a man or are you a mouse?
Click to expand...

Please pass the cheese!

I play in a semi-acoustic setting - mostly folk and soft classic rock. My 14" tom works fine, but I find myself wanting rather than needing a 16".

Having said that, I'd get the 16" for a bit more versatility.
 
I'd think musical style comes into play, These questions are never an either or, it depends on what you want to do musically with the kit.
 
audiotech said:
Learn how to tune it and enjoy the full benefits of a 16" floor tom. I have both the 14" and 16" but never left for a gig without the 16.



Dennis
Click to expand...

I would feel claustrophobic with all that stuff so close around me in a circle. Maybe that's part of my preference for smaller kits.
 
I'm gonna' go trade some stuff in tomorrow and hopefully come up with the money for the new kit by the end of the week. I'm getting excited.
 
I spent years playing without a 16" floor tom, and the 14" just couldn't fill its role.

And after the last number of years playing WITH 16" toms as well as 14", I can tell you right now which drum is the first to get left at home if I'm downsizing for a practise or gig, and it's not the 16"!

I personally would suggest getting both if you possibly can, but I know that may not be affordable or practicable.
 
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