Small Floor Toms

[XNavyDrummer]

Have any of you used small floor toms (12" or 13" in diameter). If so, did it work for you in all of your gig situations? I've seen Joey Heredia use small floor toms and he sounded amazing.

Thanks.

[peter c]

I used a 13" for almost
my whole working career,
my kit a duplicate of Gadd's
set-up, way back when (10",
12", 13" and 14") - all fiber-
glass and with Hydraulics.

I dig small drums!

[img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ October 28, 2003 01:47 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>

[five eight]

For floor toms I use a 9x12 and an 11x14 tuned as deeply as I can get them. They work, but the 12" tom is murder to tune.

[buga]

I preffer smaller toms(fusion 8/10/12/14) myself and the floor tom to be suspended ofcourse!

For one I dig the feel of small toms with light sticks(Chambers Zildjian Sig/Erskine VF Sig), and my ergonomics seem to be crafted around that type of set-up and + they're easier to tune. I had a traditional 16X16 floor tom on my old kit, and I never really liked the sound or the positioning capabilities. I like a bounce to my toms, and the 14 definitely has it. I think it has more of an open sound compared to legs (although I haven't heard the new Pearl legs lately). Sounds bigger than it really is.

The type of music we play and the technique we've built around has a huge part on our "setups", maybe that's just me I guess [img]eek.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ October 28, 2003 08:47 PM: Message edited by: Bozzio ]</font>

[drumgod1]

I built my drum kit originally with 8x10 & 9x12 rack toms, and 13x13 and 14x14 floor toms. I liked the small sizes of the toms, but I just couldn't get the 14x14 to tune as low as I wanted it to. I then built a 16x16 and chopped the 13x13 down to 5.75x13 for a snare drum and love them both. The snare sounds great as a second to my main one on my kit, or as the main snare when I play top 40 stuff. You can see my kit at http://www.meyersdrums.com. Check out the media page to see pics and specs.

Mike

[drumgod1]

Whoops!!! I meant check the equipment page to see pics and specs! Sorry!

Mike

[Randy walker]

I have used 13"s as floor toms and they work just fine. Currently I use a 14". Most fo the time I used a 13" just because of space limitations, my HipGig kit has a 13" floor on legs, that kit is 10",13" and a 16" kic.

[ladanny]

I'm putting together a mini kit with left over drums and it's going to be 8", 13", 16" kick. Should be fun.

Danny

[Flamaque]

I use the 12" and 14" floor toms for the last 15 years. Five Eight is right, that 12 is a pain in the A$$ to tune. Once dialed in it sounds great.

[Randy walker]

I have never had problems tuning a 12", now getting a 13" to mesh with a kit mixed with a 12" and a 14" can be a bear since they are all too close in tuning range. Jeff Porcaro made it work well.
I think that's why many NY studio cats starting doing the 10"13" and 16" intervals.