Compact drum kits

[franzbassist 675]

Looking for recommendations.  My 15 yo son is gigging regularly with my band now, and we just don't have the space to fit all my stuff, 2 PA subs and a full size kit in the car!

Am aware of the Pearl Midtown and Ludwig Breakbeats, but what else is out there?

Cheers

Gareth

 

[ped 6,256]

There’s something called a flatkit or something, I remember a friend had one and it was pretty funky. 

Here we go:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.gear4music.com/amp/Drums-and-Percussion/DISC-Arbiter-Flats-Lite-Drum-Kit-Rack-Mount/6OE?source=images

[EBS_freak 4,117]

If you get a compact kit, pay very close attention to the hoop on the bass drum. Theres two designs - the hoop with an indent - and a hoop without. Make sure your son test drives the kit out, paying close attention to what his happening to the the throw and the feedback that he is getting through the bass drum pedal. The placement of the pedal on a small kick drum, changes the geometry of the kick beater compared to a standard kit... most drummers find the kits with the indent in the hoop more natural.

I'm all for small kits, they are quieter and when miced up and put through the PA, they can be made to sound as big as you like. Good choice! Have a search for be bop kits. That's where I suspect you are at.

 

Anyway, back to the kick beater... The above highlights the fact - you can see that the angles between kits are open to wide variances. Do not buy blind! Get your son to really try them out - concentrating on the kick and how it feels. Hope this helps.

[franzbassist 675]

Thanks both.  He plays a Midtown kit at school so that has set the benchmark.  

[bertbass 174]

Our drummer recently got a set of these, https://www.drumshack.co.uk/traps-a400-nc-acoustic-drum-kit/p/10?option=27017&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw6a1gZb22wIV1JTVCh3R4AQ3EAQYASABEgJiTPD_BwE  and they are brilliant!!!  Light, loud if you want them to be and so easy to transport.  They are amazing!!!

 

A couple of videos.

Well worth considering.

[SubsonicSimpleton 133]

edit: I noticed just after posting this that Sakae have recently ceased trading, so even though some UK retailers have stock at reduced prices, warranty cover and long term parts availability might be an issue.

The Sakae PacD might be worth looking at - looks like the manufacturers put a bit more effort into the bass drum mounting solution.

 

Edited June 28, 2018 by SubsonicSimpleton

[franzbassist 675]

Ended up going with a Pearl EX785/C kit with 18x14 bass 

Edited April 4, 2020 by franzbassist

[razze06 31]

In an attempt to reduce my band's footprint and volume without losing the drive and presence of drums, we bought one of these: https://www.gear4music.com/Drums-and-Percussion/WHD-Portable-Busker-Shell-Kit/2Z2D

Of course it needs hi hat and a cymbal and a stool and a kick drum pedal, but the main component folds onto itself, and everything now fits in a backpack and a large cymbal bag instead of several bags.

The sound is pretty good, especially once you've swapped out the stock skins with your (or our drummer's) favourite ones.

Of course, Pearl's offer would be good too:

https://www.gear4music.com/Drums-and-Percussion/Pearl-Compact-Traveler-Shell-Pack/1WTH

[Jakester 269]

Back in my freelance writer days, I did a review of a Dixon kit which was great for this sort of thing:

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/drums/dixon-jet-set-plus-630362

[Lucky Luck 0]

Razze06 do you know how the WHD portable busker stands against the Pearl Compact traveler un terms of sound quality? I am thinking about buying one of these but haven't seen ANY review on the WHD one, there's loads on the Pearl but it's doubel the price for what seems to be the same thing...

Thanks!

[Mykesbass 976]

One of the originators of the small kit was Sonor. I remember them being popular with Jazz drummers when I was a kid (and sounding great). No idea how good their current mini offering (the Martini) is, but probably worth considering with their history.

[Jakester 269]

8 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

One of the originators of the small kit was Sonor. I remember them being popular with Jazz drummers when I was a kid (and sounding great). No idea how good their current mini offering (the Martini) is, but probably worth considering with their history.

They popularised the modern interpretation with their Jungle Kit, but compact kits have been around for years - the driving force behind smaller bass drums was the New York jazz scene so they could be carted from venue to venue in a cab - impractical with the 26”+ bass drums from the swing era!

[Mykesbass 976]

20 minutes ago, Jakester said:

but compact kits have been around for years 

So have I 

[meterman 356]

6 hours ago, Mykesbass said:

One of the originators of the small kit was Sonor. I remember them being popular with Jazz drummers when I was a kid (and sounding great). No idea how good their current mini offering (the Martini) is, but probably worth considering with their history.

The Sonor Martini kits are pretty wicked little drums 👍 With the right heads and tuning they sound great. I really wanted one but couldn’t afford it, so I made my own budget version out of some 1980s Pearl toms. The weeny 15” kick drum shouldn’t work but it does.

It records ok but I’d still love a Sonor kit.

 

[razze06 31]

On 17/01/2021 at 15:10, Lucky Luck said:

Razze06 do you know how the WHD portable busker stands against the Pearl Compact traveler un terms of sound quality? I am thinking about buying one of these but haven't seen ANY review on the WHD one, there's loads on the Pearl but it's doubel the price for what seems to be the same thing...

Thanks!

We only used the WHD kit for one gig, and it worked perfectly well for that. Our drummer replaced the kick drum head with a better quality one, and he said that that made a lot of difference. Of course the volume and depth of sound of a kick drum with no shell will always be lower, but it is totally adequate for small gigs. The entire kit fits in a large backpack cymbal carrier and a small gym bag, and the stability is probably better than the pearl's.

At the time of buying it was the drummer who insisted we bought the cheaper WHD kit, as he thought the setup looked more stable, and the quality of the drumsheads was probably what made the pearl kit more expensive. As he was going to change them anyway, he recommended we bought that one from Gear4Music. I think he was right

[Lucky Luck 0]

6 hours ago, razze06 said:

We only used the WHD kit for one gig, and it worked perfectly well for that. Our drummer replaced the kick drum head with a better quality one, and he said that that made a lot of difference. Of course the volume and depth of sound of a kick drum with no shell will always be lower, but it is totally adequate for small gigs. The entire kit fits in a large backpack cymbal carrier and a small gym bag, and the stability is probably better than the pearl's.

At the time of buying it was the drummer who insisted we bought the cheaper WHD kit, as he thought the setup looked more stable, and the quality of the drumsheads was probably what made the pearl kit more expensive. As he was going to change them anyway, he recommended we bought that one from Gear4Music. I think he was right

Many thanks for your reply!! Funnily enough I do live in Edinburgh as well, so we cannot rule out a WHD drum battle at Meadows haha

I have also read that the heads of the Pearl kit are a bit rubbish and people reccomend changing them as well, so I really canot see a point on buying that for double price other than lack of information about the WHD. I can imagine the sound and volume won't be great either as it is so compact and without reso heads, but well that is the point for small gigs jams etc.

Anyway, thanks a lot!!

[ordep 253]

love my Sonor Jungle kit, can hold its own on gigs. Incoming house move might force me to sell it tho 😞