Cutting Down Bass Drum Shell

RobertM

Platinum Member
For those with experience cutting down the size of drums: would it be possible to cut a 16x18 Ludwig Classic Maple or Pearl Reference bass drum down to a 14x18 or 12x18 size without any difficulty arising from current hole spacing?
 
This is a huge generalization but most companies seem to place the tom mount at a specific spot depending on the shell depth, as the others said above there are a few factors that determine how much can be cut. A 16" depth already isn't terribly deep (though I also prefer shallow bass drums, I currently have a 10x18 and it's awesome) so if you want to take it down to a 12 or 14 it's possible the reso hoop could then hit the tom mount. You can always have a little bit taken off of both sides but then you have to get two bearing edges recut plus I'm always of the opinion that the more cuts the more margin of error.

Now in the chance that these are 'virgin' bass drums with no tom mount, you've got a lot more wiggle room in your cutting. If you are considering taking 4" off to make it 12" depth I also would advise to save the small shell piece, this can easily be made into something cool like a gong drum, a bass drum woofer, a super compact 'pancake' bass drum, or I have even seen people out two or three thin slats of wood parallel on the inside of a shell and hang it on the wall as a unique drum room shelf.

If this was a cheap budget drum and you have any wood working experience, I would say go for it. Since CMs and References are higher end offerings I would suggest having a professional do it unless you are absolutely 100% sure of your wood working abilities. I had a 16" Tama floor tom shell cut down by a friend's dad who owns his own carpentry business, has been a professional carpenter for easily 30+ years, and has been working with wood in general for 40+ years and even he found it a bit difficult to get a single clean cut on a big round shell that didn't need some touch up after.
 
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