I sold my 14" RT. I hated the sound and it was in my ride cymbal's way.

B

My issue with really dialing in the intervals is that sometimes pulls a particular drum (in this case the 14") into a different timbre. When tuning using LPP, all the drums fall into a very similar tone quality. Since I would be raising the pitch of the 14" to spread out the intervals, that means the drum head has increased tension which by default makes it a harder surface. That completely changes the tone of drum and that is where my problem comes in. My 10", 12" and 16" are huge, wet and resonant regardless of the kit. All the kits do have their own personal characteristics, but the results are always very pleasing. The 14" becomes a bit more brittle in nature and tends towards a "bangy" (is that a word??) tone quality which is exactly what you get when you begin to raise the pitch of a batter head too far. I realize I am splitting hairs here and drummers always tell me they like the sound of the drums and ask for tuning tips and advise. I am just perplexed as to why the 14" seems to be such an odd character.

To your point of pitch matched drums, I'll have to take a look at what the "pitches" are on that DW kit.

> but the results are always very pleasing.

Hey man, in the end, that's all that matters.

> drummers always tell me they like the sound of the drums and ask for tuning tips and advise.

As long as you're getting compliments from the working drummers that use the kits... you're doing GREAT! Maybe you are 'splitting hairs' here a little, but it only shows that you care about what you do. Nothing wrong with that. We need more of it in the world.

> I am just perplexed as to why the 14" seems to be such an odd character.

You think 'maybe' it's just a *clinker? (*Bad drum to tune to begin with. 'Built-in' problem.) Lord knows there are more than a few lemons out there!

> To your point of pitch matched drums, I'll have to take a look at what the "pitches" are on that DW kit.

Other than for your own information, it doesn't matter in terms of the other kits. The DW is what it is, all your kits are different. The pitches of the component drums of the DW set only applies to that one kit.

John

[QUOTE=Purdie Shuffle;211523]

[COLOR="Cyan"]You think 'maybe' it's just a *clinker? (*Bad drum to tune to begin with. 'Built-in' problem.) Lord knows there are more than a few lemons out there![/COLOR]

Except that what I am saying is that the problem extends to a DW kit, two Spaun kits, a Pearl kit and a Slingy orphan set that has the option of both a 10x14 and a 14x14. Odds of it being a clinker are pretty slim. I will say I had a few Evans G2 coated heads that were a little suspect this last weekend. Not sure that had anything to do with my 14's but I had a 16 and a pair of 10's that had trouble producing a tone at the pitch I would generally use for that particular drum. That is another subject altogether. :-)

[COLOR="Cyan"]Other than for your own information, it doesn't matter in terms of the other kits. The DW is what it is, all your kits are different. The pitches of the component drums of the DW set only applies to that one kit.[/COLOR]

That is certainly true and I don't know that I have ever placed that much credence in the specific pitches as noted by DW. I am sure that shell produced that particular note when struck at the factory. Was that before or after all the hardware was applied? I generally like to bring the drums up to their sweet spot and leave it at that with some minor tweaks. Just separating a 14" from a 16" seems to be the problem for me and it seems to occur on every kit I have at my disposal. So strange.

OK, so back to those Camco bearing edges... Jump For Joy

Once had a 14x14 Rogers never could get it to fit tone wise into my spread well a friend had a 14x16 rogers FT and i tried it and my goodness what a difference 2 inches makes I often wonder why most drum companies never made 14 inch ft's 16 inches deep they match the rest of the kit better and they are freekin cannons i wish i had one for my ludwig kit...

> my goodness what a difference 2 inches makes...

Exactly what my wife said to me last night! You're a psychic! lol :p

John

I just picked up a 22-10-12-14-16 Yamaha Maple Absolute. I'll be interested to see what happens with it when I get a chance to work with it. Those are the most rentabke sizes so that is where I start with new kits. We shall see.

As to depths, it would make sense to me to have shallower floor toms IF we are trying to maintain a particular tone quality from drum to drum. When drum companies started developing "squared" toms (10x10, 12x12) they had a good idea but it didn't occur to them that most of us are not 7' tall.

> it didn't occur to them that most of us are not 7' tall.

... and why the 'Power-tom' era was so short-lived! Not ergonomic at all. It looked cool, but try and play em! I'm a strict traditionalist when it comes to set-up. I like the drums to sit under my hands so I don't have to reach, or make big-moves, in order to hit a drum.

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/sbp5.jpg[/IMG]

John

I absolutely agree: ergonomics is critical. Everything should fall easily under the hands. I always thought Keith Moon's kits (and the recent tribute kit) really looked cool, but how do you play that? Telescoping sticks?

Nice photo by the way.

> Nice photo by the way.

Yeah, I like the lighting in that one. That's a sky-view of my 12", 16", 22" w/COB Super (pre-serial) Sky Blue Pearl Hollywood Luddies. (The other 12" is in a hard case in storage. I like playing the 1-up, 1-down set-up.) I currently have the 50's Gretsch round badge kit set-up in that spot, but I purely love my Luddies. Took me awhile, but I finally have a set of brass I can take all the way to the grave without changing. On the right is a 21" Istanbul Sultan ride. Great stick, dark, just a bit of trash in the sound and the wash sits under the stick just right. Not overpowering where you can't hear the sticking pattern. Next to it on the right, over the floor tom, is an 18" Istanbul Sultan crash. Dark, explosive, quick cut-out, low pitched. On the left, over the rack tom is a 60's 16" A. Zildjian crash. This one is bright, explosive and higher pitched than the Sultan. Great contrast and progression between the three. I like having the bright crash over the hi-rack tom and the dark crash over the floor tom. The cymbals compliment each drum perfectly. Low, dark, heavy sounds on my right, brighter, higher pitched sounds on my left. When I need either, or, I know right where to go. I saved the best for last... my 14" Mehmet Jazz hi-hats. They are (bar none) the best sounding set of hats I ever heard or owned. Perfect in every way. You gotta hear em when I let the air out of them. A 'chic' that is to die for.

Over the years I've managed to get my ideal set-up for playing dialed in to a T. I'm comfortable, and very 'at home', with the set-up in the photo. When I have to play back-line stuff, the first thing I do is wrangle it into the set-up you see in the photo. Then... I can play!

Obsessive compulsive some of it, I'm sure. Hey, at least I'm not washing my hands 67 times a day. It could be worse! The Band

John