Trimmed down kits

Drumlove65

Senior Member
I've been seeing more and more drummers even of the heave rock genre playing one up and one or two tom down kits. It's refreshing for aspiring drummers that they don't need to buy the monster size kits of days of old.
 
Partially because it's very trendy now for your typical hardcore drummer to have the 4-piece look, weirdly. It is refreshing though most don't seem to be doing much with it (trendsetters notwithstanding). The raised crashes seem to still be a thing though :\
 
I like small kits, and very rarely use more than five myself. But the gutsier drummers will cut down on the amount of cymbals. If you see a guy with hi-hats and a ride cymbal he also crashes on, then that's sayin' somethin'!
 
I don't know... I feel like the reason that this is is that straight tom rolls and boring fills are no longer interesting at all. Creativity is considered a very important part of being a "good drummer", and if you're a creative drummer, you don't need rows of toms.
 
well i played always ,1 up 2 down did not needed more!. And now i play more 1 up 1 down ,because my car is to small hehe. and works just fine,.
 
I don't know... I feel like the reason that this is is that straight tom rolls and boring fills are no longer interesting at all. Creativity is considered a very important part of being a "good drummer", and if you're a creative drummer, you don't need rows of toms.

Nonsense. The creative player is exactly who SHOULD have the large kit.
 
You play what's needed for the job. As a musician, your biggest artistic contribution is interpretation. If you feel you need a certain number of drums, or a certain sound, then that's what you provide. The notion that a player who uses less drums is somehow automatically more creative is laughable, just as believing the player who uses more drums is automatically a poor drummer is way wide of the mark.

Personally, I think spending less time examining the choices of others, & concentrating more energy into your own choices is a good way to go.

There's no doubt that a player using minimal gear yet pulling out a multitude of tones & feels is impressive, & takes a high level of skill, but that is not at the exclusion of those taking a different path. It's the end result that matters, & the only ones who care about the mechanics of the approach are other drummers.
 
I'm the opposite. I miss the 7 and 9 piece double bass kits. I miss the power toms and bigger tom sizes in general. Give it another 10-20 years and it will probably cycle back around.
 
I'm the opposite. I miss the 7 and 9 piece double bass kits. I miss the power toms and bigger tom sizes in general. Give it another 10-20 years and it will probably cycle back around.

I don't think it will take that long. We are long into small kit / conservative / keep it simple era. I sense people not in cover bands are getting a little bored with it and are looking to play music they can stretch out in as players. Record deals are rare and record sales even more so. If those are not viable options why not make the music you want to make? We may not see Bozzio sized kits but I think the 1up/2 down shtick is nearing the end
 
I think the small kit made its comeback in heavy music for a few reasons:

1) Economics - way cheaper to buy 4 drums than 8 or 10
2) Quicker to get in and out of clubs and festival stages with multiple acts on one bill (which is the norm for a lot of heavy music)
3) Rebelling against the old "hair metal" large kits, just like punk did back in its day against classic and prog-rock "dinosaurs"

Interesting how everything old is new again. Heck, even I've been playing a four-piece recently!
 
I think the small kit made its comeback in heavy music for a few reasons:

1) Economics - way cheaper to buy 4 drums than 8 or 10
2) Quicker to get in and out of clubs and festival stages with multiple acts on one bill (which is the norm for a lot of heavy music)
3) Rebelling against the old "hair metal" large kits, just like punk did back in its day against classic and prog-rock "dinosaurs"

Interesting how everything old is new again. Heck, even I've been playing a four-piece recently!

True, but, I have been seeing more double bass kits being used lately. Maybe that's going to be a trend with bigger bands or drummers?
Jason Sutter even uses double bass on the latest Smash Mouth tour he is on--with only one tom between the bass drums, which I actually think is the coolest.

I used to to have many cymbals on the kit, but now I use 2-3, which I ride and crash each one. My favorite set up has been just 2 cymbals and hats for quite a while now.
I'd use that cymbal set up for all my bands, but I asked the guitar player, and he said it looked better (IHO) with the 3rd cymbal. He wouldn't "care" if I only used two, he just told me because I asked.
....I also use 3 floor toms, and a gong, so I can't say my usual stage kit is minimal
:-/
 
My kit could have 7 pieces but for now I am playing 4. My mood changes, but I am trying to seel them and don't wish to go through the task of putting them together just to tear them down when sold.
 
We may not see Bozzio sized kits but I think the 1up/2 down shtick is nearing the end

Well it hasn't ended for over 60 years of jazz players, 90% of whom use a 4 piece.
In a practical sense, the only players who can use more than a 6 piece or so are people who are both pro and have roadies or drum techs.
 
Well it hasn't ended for over 60 years of jazz players, 90% of whom use a 4 piece.
In a practical sense, the only players who can use more than a 6 piece or so are people who are both pro and have roadies or drum techs.

Well unfortunately the vast majority are not jazzers. I love jazz, but I don't play it. It ended for everyone else in the 70's through the 80's. I saw plenty of locals giging the bigger kits back then and they could do it now. They just have to want to and I believe its coming. PDP is selling the shit out of those 7pc CM kits to someone
 
Not everyone's a sucker for trends. Many of us copy a setup initially but after that stage we get to know our preferences and refine our kits.
 
Well unfortunately the vast majority are not jazzers. I love jazz, but I don't play it. It ended for everyone else in the 70's through the 80's. I saw plenty of locals giging the bigger kits back then and they could do it now. They just have to want to and I believe its coming. PDP is selling the shit out of those 7pc CM kits to someone

I don't understand - jazz - "it ended for everyone else in the 70's and 80's"?! Are you saying jazz is dead?

Plenty of " locals" could gig a kit that has all the pieces you speak of but who wants to drag all that into/out of a club, for a that is too small anyway. Obviously most are choosing not to, as the music or the gig is not calling for it. For the clubbng musicians its smart to pare down it affects your transportation. Not many guitarist hauling double stacks of Marshalls to their regular gig at Jimmy's Beer Parlor.

The 7 piece CM kits are selling because the PDP are a good value but also there is no option for that particular model to buy say a 4 piece. Many entry to mid level packages offer only a set number of pieces - usually 5 or 6 pieces - think Catalina, Mapex ProM, Tama, PDP, Stage Custom

But i hear you all the same, that is "everything old is new, is old again, is new...". But the small kit is here to stay in a big way, the way it has for 60 + years.
 
I don't understand - jazz - "it ended for everyone else in the 70's and 80's"?! Are you saying jazz is dead?

Plenty of " locals" could gig a kit that has all the pieces you speak of but who wants to drag all that into/out of a club, for a that is too small anyway. Obviously most are choosing not to, as the music or the gig is not calling for it. For the clubbng musicians its smart to pare down it affects your transportation. Not many guitarist hauling double stacks of Marshalls to their regular gig at Jimmy's Beer Parlor.

The 7 piece CM kits are selling because the PDP are a good value but also there is no option for that particular model to buy say a 4 piece. Many entry to mid level packages offer only a set number of pieces - usually 5 or 6 pieces - think Catalina, Mapex ProM, Tama, PDP, Stage Custom

But i hear you all the same, that is "everything old is new, is old again, is new...". But the small kit is here to stay in a big way, the way it has for 60 + years.

1) Everyone but the jazzers went to bigger kits back then.
2) They did it in the 80's/90's. Why wouldn't people choose to do it again?
3) They are available in several configurations with addon drums available as well.

http://www.pacificdrums.com/drums/concept/sizes.asp
 
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