Possible to convert a 12" tom to bass drum?!

Grace :)

Senior Member
Hey guys,

I'm just wondering if anyone has ever tried converting a 12" tom to a bass drum. We've all seen 16" floor toms used as bass drums and I've seen the odd 14", but I'm currently at uni and looking for a small set up to practice with that I can transport to practice rooms easily and doesn't take up too much space in my room.

So I have a 12" rack tom spare that I don't use, does anyone have any ideas of how I might be able to turn it into a bass drum? - is it even possible?
 
You'd be the first person I knew of to rock a 12" bass drum. You would have to have a riser because the footpedal beater is at least 12" high. A riser for a 12" tom. Hmmm. Not sure if they make them. But I don't think a 12" tom would deliver an acceptable bass drum tone on it's own. Now if you had a 8" snare and 8" hats, by comparison it might work, but that's just silly. Me I'd try for something bigger. Ask Bo about the Sonor Safari kit. I think it has a 16" bass drum that's not too deep, and if I recall correctly it was quite reasonably priced.
 
That's what I was thinking...it would have to be a fairly tall riser I guess (if such a thing that would be suitable for a 12" tom even exists!)

I'm not particularly bothered about the sound, it's more just having something there to practice on really that takes up very little storage space and I don't think I'd be able to lug a 16" floor tom as well as all my other gear across town on a bus to practice!

I'll have to have another think about it! Thanks for your input
 
Its definitely possible. You can take notes from Yamaha's daxdad. Its a bass drum like instrument (tuned low, played with a pedal). Dimensions are 12x22 (diaxdepth). They are out of production, but you can find pics and videos all over. Steve Jordan use the DAXDAD as a kick on his side kit.

http://usa.yamaha.com/product_archive/drums/bd12dd/?mode=model


If all you need is a practice pad that you can attach a kick pedal to, they sell those. But if you also need it to be and sound like an actual drum then I guess you are on the right track...
 
12" ... what are you doing ZEPPELIN covers?

Might want to look at this.

hey thats cool. Just turned the tom down and around on its mount. Not sure how the pedal is staying in place.
All said, it still just ain't no 'bass drum' sound. More like a gunshot lol
 
You'd be the first person I knew of to rock a 12" bass drum. You would have to have a riser because the footpedal beater is at least 12" high. A riser for a 12" tom. Hmmm. Not sure if they make them. But I don't think a 12" tom would deliver an acceptable bass drum tone on it's own. Now if you had a 8" snare and 8" hats, by comparison it might work, but that's just silly. Me I'd try for something bigger. Ask Bo about the Sonor Safari kit. I think it has a 16" bass drum that's not too deep, and if I recall correctly it was quite reasonably priced.



Dw has a cradle. Dunnett and Gibraltar have bass drum spurs that attach to the hoop. There are several companies do a riser for the pedal end including gibraltar.
 
If you want to be able to easily transport a set you could look into a nesting kit. Or just buy a sonor safari or jungle and take one head off each drum ( I think they'll nest). You'll be able to fit all the drums into one bag, but you need to be careful about weight.

Are you a percussion major in college? My college had a couple drumsets which people could practice on, and I would expect yours to have one somewhere.
 
Me, rocking a 12" bass drum in 1997 for a coffee house "unplugged" gig.

nde17A.jpg


Just a 12" tom, mounted at a 90 degree angle, bottom head removed so I could stick a bit of foam in there. The bass drum pedal had velcro on the bottom, so the pedal was stuck to a bit of carpet so it didn't move. The pedal was no way actually attached to the drum. But given the point was to play quietly, it wasn't a problem. .
 
I made a foot-snare by placing a snare stand on a small piece of plywood, drilling holes on either side of each leg, and zip-tying it down. tip the snare stand to 90 degrees, and clamp the pedal to the piece of plywood. 12" tom would work with the same method.
 
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