Hey, multi-kit guys and gals…

[Tubwompus]

Ok, so I‘ve deliberately amassed a rather diverse stash of kits, in terms of shell construction, here at Chez Wompus.

Quick thumbnail rundown (and there’s a reason for saying so)…
- Comprehensive shell bank of Sonor Delites (every size except 20” BD)
- 3 sets of Sonor Phonics
- Sonor S-Class Pro
- Sonor 3007
- ‘74 Ludwig shell bank (every double-headed size except 20” BD & FT)
- ‘64 Slingerland Krupa model w/ 22” BD
- ‘80’s Yamaha Recording Custom
- ‘72 Rogers
- ’70’s SSB Gretsch
- couple dozen or so additional assorted SD’s.
[ETA - couple notes. I don’t do concert toms or BD’s below 22”, save for a 20” SlingerLeedy that matches the Slingerland kit.]

SO…..

My own philosophy regarding all of my kits has always been to use the same heads on everything, tune each kit the same, and let the nature of the kits’ shells themselves be what creates the sonic differences from one kit to the next. And I LOVE the results of that approach, just letting those drums be those drums, all else being equal. But that’s the only way my own brain can resolve towards using a handful of kits.

My question is out of curiosity about how other guys’ minds work toward their own gear on a kit-by-kit basis.

Thought it‘d be fun to hear other folks’ personal thoughts.

 

[DanRH]

Pretty much the same. BUT, lately I've been venturing back from UV1's to clear Emps and I'm loving it. So, right now I'm either using UV1's, White Suede Emp's or clear Emp's.

 

[yetanotherdrummer]

I make it a point on my sets to use different heads, tunings, etc.

I have even gone so far as to use Remo batters and Evans resonant heads on my Ludwig classic maple set. And they sound good together.

 

[Tubwompus]

I make it a point on my sets to use different heads, tunings, etc.

I have even gone so far as to use Remo batters and Evans resonant heads on my Ludwig classic maple set. And they sound good together.

So what lead you to decide on those?
Did you have a sound in mind or was it an experiment?

 

[yetanotherdrummer]

So what lead you to decide on those?
Did you have a sound in mind or was it an experiment?

Just an experiment. I have been playing them that way for six months or more, and I am still happy with the sound. The Remos are emperors by the way.

 

[Tubwompus]

Pretty much the same. BUT, lately I've been venturing back from UV1's to clear Emps and I'm loving it. So, right now I'm either using UV1's, White Suede Emp's or clear Emp's.

What are you liking about them?
Are there particular kits where you’ll consistently keep one or the other on them?

 

[MustangMick]

4 sets at the moment

Tempus FG - 10,12,15ft,18ft,22x16 - Toms UV1/Clear G1 - Medium tuning for Rock gigs
Tempus FG - 12,15ft,18x14 - Aquarian TC / Clear G1 - Tuned higher for Jazz/Acoustic gigs
Yamaha 8000 - 12,16ft,22x16 - Aquarian TC / Aquarian TC - Tuned higher - Big band, Swampy Blues
Noonan Mahogany/Poplar - 10,14ft,18x14 Nesting - Aquarian TC / Aquarian TC - Medium tuning, general purpose small venues

If I was doing more loud gigs the big set would likely go back to G2 Clear batters
I dont see the point in having identical sized sets tuned the same.
Largest sounding bass drum is the Yamaha, but i also love fibreglass drums, very versatile.

Mick

 

[Rivot]

G

Ok, so I‘ve deliberately amassed a rather diverse stash of kits, in terms of shell construction, here at Chez Wompus.

Quick thumbnail rundown (and there’s a reason for saying so)…
- Comprehensive shell bank of Sonor Delites (every size except 20” BD)
- 3 sets of Sonor Phonics
- Sonor S-Class Pro
- Sonor 3007
- ‘74 Ludwig shell bank (every double-headed size except 20” BD & FT)
- ‘64 Slingerland Krupa model w/ 22” BD
- ‘80’s Yamaha Recording Custom
- ‘72 Rogers
- ’70’s SSB Gretsch
- couple dozen or so additional assorted SD’s.
[ETA - couple notes. I don’t do concert toms or BD’s below 22”, save for a 20” SlingerLeedy that matches the Slingerland kit.]

SO…..

My own philosophy regarding all of my kits has always been to use the same heads on everything, tune each kit the same, and let the nature of the kits’ shells themselves be what creates the sonic differences from one kit to the next. And I LOVE the results of that approach, just letting those drums be those drums, all else being equal. But that’s the only way my own brain can resolve towards using a handful of kits.

My question is out of curiosity about how other guys’ minds work toward their own gear on a kit-by-kit basis.

Thought it‘d be fun to hear other folks’ personal thoughts.g

Ge

Ok, so I‘ve deliberately amassed a rather diverse stash of kits, in terms of shell construction, here at Chez Wompus.

Quick thumbnail rundown (and there’s a reason for saying so)…
- Comprehensive shell bank of Sonor Delites (every size except 20” BD)
- 3 sets of Sonor Phonics
- Sonor S-Class Pro
- Sonor 3007
- ‘74 Ludwig shell bank (every double-headed size except 20” BD & FT)
- ‘64 Slingerland Krupa model w/ 22” BD
- ‘80’s Yamaha Recording Custom
- ‘72 Rogers
- ’70’s SSB Gretsch
- couple dozen or so additional assorted SD’s.
[ETA - couple notes. I don’t do concert toms or BD’s below 22”, save for a 20” SlingerLeedy that matches the Slingerland kit.]

SO…..

My own philosophy regarding all of my kits has always been to use the same heads on everything, tune each kit the same, and let the nature of the kits’ shells themselves be what creates the sonic differences from one kit to the next. And I LOVE the results of that approach, just letting those drums be those drums, all else being equal. But that’s the only way my own brain can resolve towards using a handful of kits.

My question is out of curiosity about how other guys’ minds work toward their own gear on a kit-by-kit basis.

Thought it‘d be fun to hear other folks’ personal thoughts.

Gèez mate hope ya got the room to store that lot.

 

[paul z]

4 sets at the moment

Tempus FG - 10,12,15ft,18ft,22x16 - Toms UV1/Clear G1 - Medium tuning for Rock gigs
Tempus FG - 12,15ft,18x14 - Aquarian TC / Clear G1 - Tuned higher for Jazz/Acoustic gigs
Yamaha 8000 - 12,16ft,22x16 - Aquarian TC / Aquarian TC - Tuned higher - Big band, Swampy Blues
Noonan Mahogany/Poplar - 10,14ft,18x14 Nesting - Aquarian TC / Aquarian TC - Medium tuning, general purpose small venues

If I was doing more loud gigs the big set would likely go back to G2 Clear batters
I dont see the point in having identical sized sets tuned the same.
Largest sounding bass drum is the Yamaha, but i also love fibreglass drums, very versatile.

Mick

Sweet!

Ever since Ash Soan presented his "signature" Snare from Noonan I've been lusting over trying one of his drums but that hasn't happened yet. One day. I'd love to see you Noonan kit. Did you already make a post about them somewhere here?

 

[Tubwompus]

G

Ge

Gèez mate hope ya got the room to store that lot.

Between the forest-like stacks of drum cases, guitar cases, and amps in road cases, it’s….uh…..y’know…

 

[paul z]

Ok, so I‘ve deliberately amassed a rather diverse stash of kits, in terms of shell construction, here at Chez Wompus.

Quick thumbnail rundown (and there’s a reason for saying so)…
- Comprehensive shell bank of Sonor Delites (every size except 20” BD)
- 3 sets of Sonor Phonics
- Sonor S-Class Pro
- Sonor 3007
- ‘74 Ludwig shell bank (every double-headed size except 20” BD & FT)
- ‘64 Slingerland Krupa model w/ 22” BD
- ‘80’s Yamaha Recording Custom
- ‘72 Rogers
- ’70’s SSB Gretsch
- couple dozen or so additional assorted SD’s.
[ETA - couple notes. I don’t do concert toms or BD’s below 22”, save for a 20” SlingerLeedy that matches the Slingerland kit.]

SO…..

My own philosophy regarding all of my kits has always been to use the same heads on everything, tune each kit the same, and let the nature of the kits’ shells themselves be what creates the sonic differences from one kit to the next. And I LOVE the results of that approach, just letting those drums be those drums, all else being equal. But that’s the only way my own brain can resolve towards using a handful of kits.

My question is out of curiosity about how other guys’ minds work toward their own gear on a kit-by-kit basis.

Thought it‘d be fun to hear other folks’ personal thoughts.

Nice collection!

Home base for me is coated ambassadors top and bottom with some muffling applied later on, powerstroke 3 clear on bass drum batter and a powerstroke 3 coated or fyberskin on reso with a 5" hole in the center on larger drums and off center and smaller on smaller drums. Nowadays I prefer molton for muffling the bass drum. I have most of it tuned rather low but the older I get the higher my tuning gets.
From there I venture into specific directions as needed. Muffling and or different heads like evans if I want a dryer snare sound g1 or to the extrem the genera dry. As of late I favour the Aquarian Force I over the powerstroke 3 essentially the same head. Two ply clears if I need more attack on toms. But I always start from home base if I'm getting to know a kit and want to learn what it can do for me. Some drums favour different heads as well.

Currently in rotation for gigs:
Gretsch Brooklyn Micro with an Acrolite - home base heads with muffling a la dave grohl and a sennheiser e602 installed in the bass drum to help with low end. Doesn't really work without a small PA system with a woofer for what I'm going for. Smaller venues, tight spaces that require or have a PA.
Yamaha Cub Custom 22, 12, 14, 14 Snare - home base open with snare weights added to snare and toms a needed in the room. For acoustic situations and big band.
Sonor Designer 22, 12, (14), 16 Acrolite but varies - home base but with a powerstroke 3 on the floor tom batter. Larger Venues/Stages.
USA Custom 22, 12, 16 Acrolite - emperor coated batter on toms and snare with some muffling and coated diplomats as resos on toms set up for bigger venues and PA systems very dry. This is for a specific pop band.
Suitcase Bass Drum (built by myself) with a hammered Supraphoinc 5" - powerstroke 3, roots eq full version on the snare, minimal setup for a specific acoustic cover band I play with regularly. But I've used the bass drum on different occasions with added toms etc. when it fits the mood.

At home 2 kits set up at a time one bop one more pop rock:
Various Sonor SQ2 - home base
Sonor Hilite Nussbaum - Pinstripes
Vintage Amati 20, 12, 16 - Aquarian Vintage
USA Custom bop - home base but tuned higher no muffling no hole in the bassdrum
USA Custom 22, 12, 14, 16 - black dots on toms
Tama Star Bubinga - home base but the 16" tom has the Benny Greb setup with cotton inside and a very loose coated emperor and sounds more like a bass drum.

There are some others but this is what I use mainly. Lord I have too many drums and need help. Not sure this is the right place to find help for this specific problem.
Bottom line is that I like to have at least one kit setup to what feels like my sound and then have options to record or to fit into situations that call for it. When there are multiple drums of one species they get different treatment. So if there are 3 Gretsch USA Custom kits around one is home base and the others are wildly different as I see no point in having 3 kits do the exact same.

 

[Seb77]

Setting various kits up the same way is good for finding out about their sound character. If you like your drums set up a certain way for all kinds of gigs, you can choose different characters. I myself like different tunings/setups for a variety of styles/gigs.
Took me quite some time to figure out what sounds I liked and which drums/heads to use to get them. At the moment I use maple or maple-blend shells with die-cast hoops, one smaller set that sounds more open with coated heads for jazz, and a set of larger, rounder sounding sizes for rock/pop with clear heads. I have a whole set of birch drums on the shelf that I used to use for everything, but I realized they always sound a bit cold/hard for the music I play at the moment.

 

[Luddite]

I’m all over the map with the exception of bass drum heads—-Evans EQ3. Everything else is a mashup of various brands and models—-Evans, Remo, Attack, Aquarian and coated Ludwig Weathermasters, mostly coated. UV1’s, Vintage Emperors over coated Ambassadors, Performance II’s, Clear EC2’s over EC2 reso’s, etc. Whatever sounds best at the time.

 

[MustangMick]

Sweet!

Ever since Ash Soan presented his "signature" Snare from Noonan I've been lusting over trying one of his drums but that hasn't happened yet. One day. I'd love to see you Noonan kit. Did you already make a post about them somewhere here?

Hi Paul, here you go. Also have a 16x9 matching bass drum for really small gigs.

NDD - Noonan Mahogany/Poplar Nesting drumset

New Drums Day (or Noonan Drums Day...) 10"x8", 14"x12 FT, 18"x14" BD (Nesting BD and FT) 6ply Mahogany/Poplar shells (No re-rings) - Love the finish :cool: 1.6mm Tom hoops Maple BD Hoops - WMP inlay Yamaha Tom mount and Pearl Masters FT Hardware Full sounding despite the smaller sizes, light...

www.drumforum.org

Cheers
Mick

 

[thejohnlec]

Man, auditioning head combinations can be such an expensive venture that it’s tempting to just go with what you know.

I have 3 kits and 22 snare drums in regular rotation. For the snares, I’ve settled on Evans 300 snare side on all of them, Power Center Reverse Dots on the woods and the Ludwig Supras, and coated G2 on the rest of the metal snares.

My birch Yamahas have clear EC2 on the toms. The maple Pearls and 3-ply vintage Slingerlands have clear G2 on top. I keep a set of coated Ambassadors for the Slingerland toms as well. Clear Ambassador on all the bottoms.

All the kicks have EMADS with solid one-ply resos. Everything seems to work well for a variety of applications.

 

[Tubwompus]

Setting various kits up the same way is good for finding out about their sound character. If you like your drums set up a certain way for all kinds of gigs, you can choose different characters. I myself like different tunings/setups for a variety of styles/gigs.
Took me quite some time to figure out what sounds I liked and which drums/heads to use to get them. At the moment I use maple or maple-blend shells with die-cast hoops, one smaller set that sounds more open with coated heads for jazz, and a set of larger, rounder sounding sizes for rock/pop with clear heads. I have a whole set of birch drums on the shelf that I used to use for everything, but I realized they always sound a bit cold/hard for the music I play at the moment.

Looks like you and I are of a somewhat similar mindset, other than where tunings are concerned. No matter which of my kits is in front of me, the toms and snare will have coated smooth-white Emperors and coated Ambassadors on the toms’ bottoms. Toms’ top heads will be tuned overall to the lower side of medium with the bottom heads pitched higher to a specific degree than the tops.

Bass drums all have one of a couple different SuperKicks and all have Regulators in front, all wide open, otherwise. The only BD exceptions are the ‘74 Ludwig 24 and 26 which have coated smooth-white Emperors in front. I give those 2 front heads a special little treatment and then each gets a single felt strip. (Those Ludwigs are my “Bonham-esque” drums specifically, thus their dissimilar setups in relation to the rest.) But even with the same heads and tunings, the Fullerton Rogers 22, for example, sounds decidedly more “70’s-ish” compared to, say, the Recording Custom 22 that’s set up and tuned identically.

And as you eloquently put it, their individual characters really are beneficial when you’re tailoring a drum sound to a given project, in the same way that some guitar tracks may need a Les Paul Special with P-90’s to sit in a given mix better than a Les Paul with humbuckers coming out of the same amp.

Vive le’ difference!!!!!

 

[BennyK]

I build my kits around the bass drum and the snare . I use three different bass's and four different snare drums .

I own maybe sixteen different toms , each one with its own voice and preferred tuning and head combo .

My matching kits are 22-13-16 1975 (?) Slingerland three ply and Pearl fiberglass . The only bass drums I use are Slingy , Premier Resonator ( 22 ) and a Milestone 20 " . Each one uses Aquarian SK 1 batters . The Premier is single headed , the other two double, non ported .

The toms and snares are all over the map , brand wise - Rogers Mapex Yamaha Pearl Sonor TAMA . No Ludwigs , I'm sorry to say but the Slingerland are identical to 70's B/O .

 

[shuffle]

2-Boomtheory kits
Ludwig Birch and a Ludwig Neusonics
Gretsch Renown
All with the same heads but all shells and edges are different
The Booms have complete round over edges
Luddies have 45° edges with slight outer roundover
Gretsch is 30° with slight round overs..
Heads Coated or CL Emps.
I dig them all for different sonic reasons.
I guess I do the same as Tub does and have for many years.

 

[gbow]

I set up kits for different purposes, so they are completely different.

But this is due to doing session work on a wide range of styles. I specifically have 3 set ups for studio. But have other kits as well with various set ups. For the studio I have the following.

One is a Pearl masters kit that I use for more metal type sounds, short with fast decay times. This requires double ply thick heads that don't ring much. Some times tape or other controls are also used. These things are pretty dead.

The next one is a Ludwig kit set up for that really open Bonham sound. It has a 24" kick, 14, 16, 18 toms all with single ply open tunings for that "big boomy sound."

Then I have a N&C Horizon kit that is used the most as it's the sound I prefer on my own music and many other styles. It currently has Aquarian Super-2s on the toms. It generally is a pretty open sound, but not ringy. More of that general controlled open sound that is very popular across many styles of music. They can be tuned/configured for more open or less open depending on the requirements. The N&C kit is so versatile you can get it to sound just about any way you want.

gabo

 

[1988fxlr]

I have four full kits that each have different heads and tunings from each other to suit the build of the individual kits, and some of the kits I have extra head sets I’ll swap to change things up.

North 6/6/8/8/10/10/12/12/14/14/22/22- evans hydraulics all around. These drums are very loud and are all single headed, so the very thick heads keep them a little more manageable for home use and the ultra fat focused tone keeps me from losing my mind trying to keep 10 toms perfectly tuned of stray overtones. Tunings range from fairly high to fairly low to get good separation with the duplicate sizes so the heavy heads also help keep the response of disparately tuned drums pretty even

Ludwig 9 ply 14/16/18/26-
Coated vintage emperor over coated ambassadors at the moment, coated black dot ps3 batter on bass with coated ambassador weight dfd resonant side. These drums have very sharp edges and are very lively in big sizes so they can use the extra warmth from heavier coated heads without giving up much response

Ludwig 3 ply 13/16/18/22-
Aquarian texture coated over ludwig coated medium on the 13, coated vintage ambassadors over ludwig coated medium on the floor toms, coated emperor batter with smooth white Ludwig reso on bass. These drums are warm, focused, and kind of quiet so the relatively lighter heads keep them a little more responsive while emphasizing what they are best at- warm, slightly thuddy, mid tunings.

Rogers 12/14/20-
Coated ambassador over coated evans reso 7 with renaissance powerstroke bass batter and smooth ambassador reso. Generally tuned a little higher than any of the rest. The light heads and higher tunings give the small size the ability to be similar in volume to the bigger drums and the smaller sizes and good sharp edges means stray overtones are minimal so theres no need for heavy heads. Plus little sizes and few drums means I don’t care too much about durability as replacements don’t sting too bad.

After writing that novel, I suppose I could have just said I pick heads to emphasize the different characters of the kits and left it at that