Let me start by saying...I'm relatively new to drumming. I own a Roland TD-9kx and a Pearl Vision acoustic kit. I have grown very comfortable with the way my Roland is set up. Which has the toms only a few inches higher than the snare and almost parallel with the ground. It's a very comfortable and easy setup for me to play on. My problem is...I can't seem to set my acoustic kit up the same way. I've taken the toms off the bass drum and I'm now using a tom stand to try and get a little more freedom with the positioning. But I still can't seem to get the toms as low and as flat as my Roland kit. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.
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It's not a matter of luck...it's just a matter of time. -
What you really need are short stack toms. You could consider sending your toms to a shop like Precision Drum and having them shortened. That's one of the main reasons I bought an e-kit.Roland Td-11KV, Alesis SamplePad, DW5000 pedal, Vater 7A sticks. -
You've indirectly hit on one of the advantages of e-kits, their compactness. They allow close spacing which in turn leads to greater speed, finesse, etc.,when the same skills are applied to an acoustic set. Is the e-set intended to be a rehearsal set , the a-set a performance set? If so, you might consider spacing the e-set to imitate your a-set. BUT!! ..... do that after getting your a-set positioned where you'd like it to be. Let it be the 'template' for the e-set.
If the e-set isn't a rehearsal set but simply a 2nd set,then I would suggest simply dialing in the a-set with no 'awareness' of the e-set, get it as comfortable as you can. Do the same with the e-set. Position it without using the characteristics of the a-set in mind. The two sets would simply be that .... two sets.
Lyleand the jukebox plays..... !! (the Nails - Home of the Brave )
E-set : TDW-20, 2 up & 2 down, VH-12, 6 cymbals (5 CY14, 1 CY15), 2 Pintech Dingbats all on a Gibraltar rack, thru a Simmons DA200S
VExpressions Gigging Kits & Top 50 Drummers #1
A-set : 1968 Ludwig Hollywood in Burgundy SparkleComment
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You could use a double kick pedal set up in left handed config and just use one pedal....this would let you move the KD to a more "remote" location - it would look a bit weird though.
Or you could get a smaller acoustic KD (18" or 20"?)....
Or you could just use your e-KD with the acoustic kit
OR.....you could just go all e- (what sacrilege I hear you say.....give up playing a-s?)
You probably don't want to hear this option, but it's probably easier to go to a more conventional setup - it doesn't take long to get used to it and it means you can walk in to any studio and use whatever kit is on hand a lot more comfortably (assuming you're right handed).Comment
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The a-set is my gigging and band practice set and the e-kit is for "at home" practice. So I would like to get them as similar as possible. And your absolutely right...I love the fact that my e-kit is so compact. I can just flow alot better on my E's as opposed to my A's. My hands seem to hit one another when I try to play with a little speed on my A's. Your suggestions combined with a little more practice...I should be all set. LOLIt's not a matter of luck...it's just a matter of time.Comment
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I eliminated my set to 4 pc. no second tom. I hate toms hanging from the bass drum and love having the ride close to me. In my e-kit I'm using the extra tom as an snare-effect on the left side of the HH.
Try hanging the toms from the same stand on one side. or try the Bonham set-up. tom1-ride-tom2-floor tom.A-kit:
E-kit:[B]Comment
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There are no hard and fast rules about drum placement, it really is "whatever works". I've been going through the same hoops in the last couple of weeks, having recently acquired my first e-set. I've been playing my acoustic for decades (no exaggeration), and have them dialed in where I want them. I tweak them occasionally, but I have them in a nice playable arrangement. I have photos from the 70's and photos from 2 months ago that show the mounted toms in nearly identical positions.
Having said all this, be willing to tweak and adjust until the placement suits you. The following worked for me, might be helpful for you. I've placed my drums in what I would describe as an arc. The reach to the #1 tom is very similar to the reach to the #2 tom. They're set so that they face me pretty well without me having to twist or lean much. The heads are square to me as I sit on the throne and tilted so that the stick is coming down onto them pretty flat as well. The 1st link below is a CAD drawing of my set from the drivers view, you can see the number 2 tom is higher and twisted toward me on the throne, all I do is turn a little bit toward it and its flat relative to me. The 2nd link is a photo of the set from the front, hopefully showing what I mean as well. The 3rd image is viewed from above
I don't know that the drum position has anything to do with you hitting stick against stick, but you want to be able to move freely over all of your drums, hope this helps.
LyleLast edited by slyone; 09-23-08, 09:35 AM.and the jukebox plays..... !! (the Nails - Home of the Brave )
E-set : TDW-20, 2 up & 2 down, VH-12, 6 cymbals (5 CY14, 1 CY15), 2 Pintech Dingbats all on a Gibraltar rack, thru a Simmons DA200S
VExpressions Gigging Kits & Top 50 Drummers #1
A-set : 1968 Ludwig Hollywood in Burgundy SparkleComment
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Very cool. Thanks for the ideas. I'll just have to sit behind my kit and do some tweaking 'till I'm 100% comfortable. P.S. Those C.A.D. drawings are kick ass.It's not a matter of luck...it's just a matter of time.Comment
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and the jukebox plays..... !! (the Nails - Home of the Brave )
E-set : TDW-20, 2 up & 2 down, VH-12, 6 cymbals (5 CY14, 1 CY15), 2 Pintech Dingbats all on a Gibraltar rack, thru a Simmons DA200S
VExpressions Gigging Kits & Top 50 Drummers #1
A-set : 1968 Ludwig Hollywood in Burgundy SparkleComment
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I'm glad to see I'm not alone when it comes to modeling everything.lol.
With Solid Works, I can't help myself.
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Last edited by slyone; 09-25-08, 03:17 PM.and the jukebox plays..... !! (the Nails - Home of the Brave )
E-set : TDW-20, 2 up & 2 down, VH-12, 6 cymbals (5 CY14, 1 CY15), 2 Pintech Dingbats all on a Gibraltar rack, thru a Simmons DA200S
VExpressions Gigging Kits & Top 50 Drummers #1
A-set : 1968 Ludwig Hollywood in Burgundy SparkleComment
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What I did was turn my bass mounded toms upside down. And play on what was the resonate head. The mounts are closer to one head then the other and by rotating the toms they extend in a little and are closer to me then the bass drum and feels more like the vdrums. Of course this only works if you like your toms at a steep angle. Mine are about 135 degrees from ground. If you like your toms flatter, mounting the acoustics this way will make them to high.TD-6v, (3x)CY-8, (4x)PD-8's (2x)PD-6's (1x)PD-80R (1)KD-8 http://www.cstoliker.com/Drums/Comment
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My 2 kits are VERY similar. I've also got much bigger toms for the floor (14 & 16") on my acoustic kit so even at their closest where I'm comfortable with my right leg they're still a bit farther than my TD-20. Even if I spaced my E-Kit where my acoustic was I'd still have that extra space between the toms by a few inches, as opposed to the acoustics where you don't have any space between (at least I don't) my floor toms so I have the extra hitting room/surface area on them.
But going back and forth is pretty simple, I just played on the acoustics last night for band practice after blowing my speaker in my K3000FX (AHHHHH!!!) and havn't really played on that much for about a week and I played acutally a little better on that then my E's, lol. I'll have to take pics of both my kits and my room setup soon, as they're both super nice and I'm blessed to have such an 'elegant' if you will room setup.Comment
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