20x20 bass drum?

Mli

New Member
Hey. I am an intermediate drummer looking In to bying my first acoustic drum kit. For now I will not use it in the studio or live, but hopefully use it at some gigs in the future. I came over a used Ludwig centennial drum kit for a very reasonable price. My only concern is that it has a 20x20 bass drum and I’m wondering if this is very unconvenient when I am not going to use it in the studio? I’ve heard that deeper bass drums might be a bit more «boomy» and not as punchy as for example a 20x16 kick. Also, does it have a different feel to it?
 
Hey. I am an intermediate drummer looking In to bying my first acoustic drum kit. For now I will not use it in the studio or live, but hopefully use it at some gigs in the future. I came over a used Ludwig centennial drum kit for a very reasonable price. My only concern is that it has a 20x20 bass drum and I’m wondering if this is very unconvenient when I am not going to use it in the studio? I’ve heard that deeper bass drums might be a bit more «boomy» and not as punchy as for example a 20x16 kick. Also, does it have a different feel to it?
It's much heavier and would be rather boomy.
 
A 20x20 bass drum will feel slightly different than a 20x16. The deeper the bass drum, the more effort is required to excite the front head.

I haven't played a 20x20 specifically, but I have played a 22x20 and to my surprise it played and sounded great. It kinda depends on your playing style and preferences.

If the Centennial is a good price, get it! Just make sure the 20x20 will fit in your car! :D
 
If there are any drum builders in your area, you could have it cut down. In all honesty, a 20x20 will sound okay. Not as good as a 14x20 or 16x20, but good enough. However it looks weird, and takes up much more space than a 20" bass drum should. If it's a good enough of a deal, I'd consider it, and would look into getting it cut down at some point. But if it's not a great deal, then I'd pass.
 
Don't get it. 20x20 is too deep, too much to carry around, fit in the car, and takes too much space, harder to control, harder to sell, and looks weird. You will end up muffling it any way. 20x16 is plenty deep and big sounding. 20x14 is better. Don't buy it and cut it down either, too much hassle.
 
I have owned a 20 x 20 centennial kit.

Notice, past tense. :)

Ok, here are all of the things I didn't like about it:

1. The look. At first, I was like "whatever," but after a year of gigging with it, I started hating the "beer can" look of the kick drum.

2. It's a one-trick pony, meaning that in order to get a good sound out of it, you have to hit it pretty good. I play a lot of low-volume gigs, and in order to get all of that air from the batter to the reso, I had to play it too loudly to get a decent sound out of it. Feathering it or playing lightly just didn't work well. Sounded bad played lightly. It just sounded like the head, not the shell. I don't know if that makes sense or not.

3. Resale - Hard. To. Sell. I made a nice little flip on mine, but no one wants these. I'd thought about getting my kick cut down, but I didn't want to put anymore money in it. I ended up selling it for about half of what they are going for used at Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc.

4. The feel - I've had two 20x20 kicks (One Centennial and one Basix birch), and I just don't like how they feel when I play them. I feel like I'm always having to stomp on it to get a decent sound. I had my front head ported, and the rebound is hard to describe. It wasn't bad or good; it was just weird-feeling. Sort of goes back to #2.

5. Doesn't really save on space - One always thinks that a 20" kick will save one space. While it can help with tom-mounting height, it doesn't save on depth. As a matter of fact, I have more room with a 22" x 18" kick than I do a 20" x 20". I also get a much-better sounding and feeling drum.

6. The shells are NOT the same a Maple Classics. Yes, these shells are made of American maple, and yes they have the Ludwig name on them, but they are are not the same. How do I know? Because I now own a set of Maple Classics and they are just in another league. I'll go into more detail upon request, but I'm afraid it'll deviate from the initial question.

Your mileage may vary on experience.

I've posted this before, but check out the depth difference of my 20x20 Centennail and my 20x14 Classic Maple:

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Ok, thanks for replying:) I think I’ll find another kit. Doesn’t sound like a 20x20 kick is something i would prefer.
 
Ok, thanks for replying:) I think I’ll find another kit. Doesn’t sound like a 20x20 kick is something i would prefer.

Good deal.

Not trying to discourage you. This is just my experience, and it wasn't exactly stellar. I'm sure there are people out there who have had them and have been happy with them. I was not one of them though.
 
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Personally I like them, the only thing that would turn me off is if I had to transport it to gigs all the time, then it would be a space/weight issue, but if it's just for home I find they have a lot of depth and power that shallower kicks don't have.
 
On the other hand 20x20 allows cutting down to 14 or 16 depth. How much can it cost?
I personally like the 16" depth, you cannot cut a 18" to 16", you must cut it to 14 in most cases, but you can cut a 20 to 16".
 
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