Acoustic Drum Sizes

Acoustic drum set sizes

For many years now, going back into the 80′s, the standard size of an acoustic drum set included a 22 or 24″ kick drum, with 2 toms mounted on top, one being a 12″, one being 13″, with a 16″ floor tom and a 14″ snare. Now a days, These sizes vary from kit to kit, however the above is still one of the standards. Another includes the “pocket” kit, which is usually a 20″ kick drum, with a mounted tom around 12″ with a 14 and 16″ floor tom and a 13 or 14″ snare. The depth of the toms are usually much shorter on a pocket set, creating more tone.

Standard Vintage Drums

Another variation of acoustic drum set sizes, would be the actual number of drums included in a setup. Most standard sets are still a 5 piece, however kits can be purchased, and then years later you can order add on drums, so the options are nearly endless. Unless you’re Terry Bozzio, however, you’ll probably stop with less than 10 (more than this, is going to start getting hairy to set up, tear down, and find the right p

lacement for your stands, unless you’re using a rack). The addition of octobans or deccabons, as well as timbales will throw that number through the roof pretty quick, however take up less room on the drum riser due to multiple drums per stand. (up to 4 octobans can fit on one stand)

A lot of people will argue about how many drums a person really needs(usually guitarists , and that some people like to hide behind their drum sets, however, I’ve played

on smaller sets, and quite honestly, it bores me sometimes. Playing cover songs with one project, I use a much larger set (14 pc I’ll post pictures on a “my drumset” page), while in another project, I use a simple 5 or 6 piece set. The acoustic sounds you can get out of a larger drum set are a lot wider when you have more drums. The range of high tones to low tones are filled and more complete and musical patterns can start to develop by the drummer.

Larger Drum Set Played By Mike Portnoy

In any case, acoustic drums are still around for their durability and

lack of electronics to break down, as well as the distinct sound they make while in certain rooms (you know the rooms where the acoustics are just perfect and everything has natural reverb?), and the way they appear on a big stage (who wants a tiny looking set of thin rubber pads up on a big stage?). Acoustic drums will be around for a very long time, and will continue to vary in size, shapes, and design, due to the personal preference of each and every drummer in the world!