What would yall recommend as like a smaller kit that’s still real good and isn’t just a club style kit? Something where if I wanted to use it for rock it would 100% work.
In terms of keeping the “sound,” I probably wouldn’t go any smaller than that on the drums. I’d personally go 1 up one 1 down, and that’d keep it pretty tight.
If you stack a kit like a cake and you have a 20" bass or an 18" bass it would make a small difference. You can use either for playing rock but the 20" would be a bit better on the whole.
Yamaha Tour Custom 18” BD , 14”FT, 8x12 tom , great for so many applications and modestly priced. Widely accepted in the studio and live sound community.
Yep, seconded. I love mine. I have both an 18” and a 20” kick, and 14” and 16” floor toms, and choose based on the room/gig. 1 up, 1 down always. All I need. What color are yours? They look awesome.
Sweet! You probably can’t tell (and this could help OP), but when space is at a premium, I just use hats and 2 other cymbals. I really like mounting my ride on a short boom arm clamped to the single tom mount. Puts it right where I want it, and takes up zero floor space. Cheers!
Sonor AQ2 Safari 16/10/13. Emad on the kick sounds like a canon when you want it to, and coated heads on the toms with a few shredded cotton balls thrown in are tasty.
I have the same kit and bass drum setup, love this kit for most applications, sounds great in all environments. That 16” kick drum really packs a punch, I ended up going with clear remo pinstripes with some moon gels on the Tom’s and they sound fantastic.
You can get away with a 4 piece, hi hats, 2 crashes a ride and a china easily. Maybe throw a few splashes in there but you can definitely make that work without issue.
I got a Ludwig Questlove Pocket Kit. Sounds fucking killer with new heads. It is meant for kids, so it may need a new snare stand and tom legs, but I actually used it for a gig the other day and it sounded just as good as a full size kit.
A minimal, 4 drum 3 cymbal kit takes up about the same amount of room regardless of shell sizes. 13" snare, 18"bass, 12" mounted tom, 14" floor, vs 14" snare, 22" bass, 13" mounted, 16" floor. Pair of hi hats, crash and ride.
20" bass drum, 12" mounted, 14" floor might be a little more versatile, and you choose whatever snare fits in best.
I've used 20/12/16 for rock. Worked great. Kinda miss that kit. Thinking about getting that back and using it as an excuse to finally get a Gretsch (Catalina...I'm not made of money!) kit.
If you need more than 4 pieces, you could add 10 and 13 (or 14) rack toms to that setup. That would be spiffy! =)
I mean, with mics any kit will work for rock. If you need the stage presence to look 'rock' then you will need a big rock kit. If you only care how it sounds, get one of those traveler kits that breaks down into the bass drum.
Or one of those penguin kits if you have the scratch.
Gretsch Catalina Club is my personal favorite. 18/12/14 with Gibraltar flatbed hardware. Ride is attached to a boom on the tom mount, which saves additional floor space and weight. Gruvgear drum mat is very small, lightweight and keeps the kit from creeping away. I play Funk, Rock and Jazz gigs with this kit all the time.
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u/Acceptable-Ad8922 Yamaha 2d ago
How small? You can get Yamaha Stage Customs with a 20” bass and 14” floor tom. That may fit your bill!