How to build a 28" bass drum

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Kasey

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ok, so i've made a few posts on this topic, about the massive drumset I'm building. I decided I'm almost definetly going to have to build the 28" bass drum myself, since shipping alone will cost an arm and a leg on ebay, that is if i can find any on ebay for a decent price, and there arent going to be any locally.
So - to the questions of how to go about this. How many plys should i get? I'm pretty sure i want thinner wood, maybe 6 or 8 plys? I was told that this will give it a bit more resonance with a bit warmer low end, as opposed to more attack.. so yea that sounds good to me. I just dont know how thin i should go, since of course i dont want to over do it.

Also, how will the depth of the drum effect the sound? Sorry i'm not really a drummer, parse, just a musician with an idea for a drumset, so i dont know too much about drums.
anything else i should look out for?
 
Kasey said:
ok, so i've made a few posts on this topic, about the massive drumset I'm building. I decided I'm almost definetly going to have to build the 28" bass drum myself, since shipping alone will cost an arm and a leg on ebay, that is if i can find any on ebay for a decent price, and there arent going to be any locally.
So - to the questions of how to go about this. How many plys should i get? I'm pretty sure i want thinner wood, maybe 6 or 8 plys? I was told that this will give it a bit more resonance with a bit warmer low end, as opposed to more attack.. so yea that sounds good to me. I just dont know how thin i should go, since of course i dont want to over do it.

Also, how will the depth of the drum effect the sound? Sorry i'm not really a drummer, parse, just a musician with an idea for a drumset, so i dont know too much about drums.
anything else i should look out for?
Click to expand...

Not on a kick drum that size you don't want 6 or 8 plies.

A 6-ply kick drum that size basically sounds like a basketball being bounced, including that "whine" kind of air ringing sound afterward. How do I know? Because I've got a 6 ply 28" Kick drum, and it is not as good as the 10-plys. Now, I'm sure if you put enough dampening material in it, you'll get rid of that sound - but too me, too much muffling material defeats the purpose of the big drum.

I would say 10 plies minimum.

When I go to build my next set, I intend to go with a pair of 20-ply kicks.

Also, you don't want less than 12 lugs per head. any less than that, and you won't really be able to tune it, and the bass drum hoops will be kind of "buckled" looking...like they are going out of round.



Tim
 
thank you guys. what about the depth of the drum? What would the difference in sound be betewwn 10" deep and 24" deep?
 
10" is way too shallow. I'd go with 14" or 16". IMHO, 14" speaks fast and has a nice tone. 16" and 18" will sound deeper, and may require a harder hit to project.
 
I would prepare your self for a lot of questions if you do a 28. I have one on my drum and I only took it out live like twice and all I got was questions, it was kind of nice. I actually found mine in the trash and fixed it up. I absoulutly love the sound of it, just my .02 cents.
 
You gotta go 10 ply on a drum that big. Other wise you would def want to use re-rings to give it some structure. Sound quality aside, the drum would collapse in itself.

Keller maple shells are what most drum manufacturers use, so that is the way to go. Prepare yourself for some major frustration in lug layout, spurs, tom mounts etc. You also need to think about bearing edges. There are many different angles to think about. If you are thinking huge Bonham sound, then you will want a rounded edge. If you want more attack, then you'd want sharper.

Precision Drum Co will cut edges and drill for you and they carry Keller shells. It will save you some time and possible frustration. But, I will tell you from experience if you build a drum yourself, there is nothing more satisfying than sitting behind the kit when you're done and hearing it sound exactly like you wanted.

Good luck.
 
geoff75 said:
You gotta go 10 ply on a drum that big. Other wise you would def want to use re-rings to give it some structure. Sound quality aside, the drum would collapse in itself.

Keller maple shells are what most drum manufacturers use, so that is the way to go. Prepare yourself for some major frustration in lug layout, spurs, tom mounts etc. You also need to think about bearing edges. There are many different angles to think about. If you are thinking huge Bonham sound, then you will want a rounded edge. If you want more attack, then you'd want sharper.

Precision Drum Co will cut edges and drill for you and they carry Keller shells. It will save you some time and possible frustration. But, I will tell you from experience if you build a drum yourself, there is nothing more satisfying than sitting behind the kit when you're done and hearing it sound exactly like you wanted.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

not that im saying your wrong - i have no idea what im talking about with this stuff, i've never done this before - but most of the concert bass drum i have seen are 8 ply - is there a reason that wouldnt work in this situation?
 
Kasey said:
not that im saying your wrong - i have no idea what im talking about with this stuff, i've never done this before - but most of the concert bass drum i have seen are 8 ply - is there a reason that wouldnt work in this situation?
Click to expand...

Probably because concert bass drums are mounted on a stand and played with a mallet. They don't get much abuse. A drumset bass drum, on the other hand, sits on the ground, is held in place by spurs, and has a pedal attached to it (and often, a tom mount).

I've seen tom mounts on thin bass drum shells that swerve from side to side because the shell is so thin, it moves with the mount.
 
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