Hello-I am the drummer for The Turbosonics-a surf band from Pittsburgh. I am new to this forum and would like to express my opinion on what the ideal surf drum set consists of. I currently own three Pearl Export full size kits and a Ludwig Accent-and have been using them for over a decade. They're not the most expensive drums out there-but they have served me well.After years of humping gear, making multiple trips to the car for drums, stands, etc. I became tired of busting my butt every time we played a show somewhere. So I began to examine the possibility of using a jazz/bop type kit for ease of transport. Last year I purchased a Pearl Roadshow 4 piece jazz set in Bronze Metallic, and put on Evans G2 heads with dampening rings. The sizes are 18x12 bass,10x7 tom,14x10 floor tom, and 13x5 snare. They are not conventional sizes for surf by any means, but everyone loves the way they sound-and they can be brought into a club with only three bags. I liked the jazz kit idea so much that this year I bought a Ludwig Breakbeats By Questlove set in Azure Blue Sparkle. Again, they were a huge hit with the Turbosonics and the fans-and the three bag system worked with this kit as well. On both kits,the ride cymbal gets mounted on the bass drum, and I use one crash on a straight stand. It saves space and weight-and is basically all I need to get the surf beat going. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks for reading.
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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »
Jazz/Bop Kits For Surf Drumming
Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71 
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 05:38 AM
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Joined: Mar 15, 2011 Posts: 8528 Back in Piitsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I grew up. 
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 07:21 AM
Welcome to sg101, Timmy! Very glad you're here. I heard the show at The Asylum. The Breakbeats kit sounded great, live and in the room. I don't know if it was the smaller sizes, but each drum had enough bottom to do their properly job, but it was the "brighter than I'm used to hearing" overtones that really stood out in a good way. The video doesn't have enough bass drum in the audio, or the bass guitar either, but the room did. I hope I get to hear the kit unmic'd soon. It was a terrific show! —This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got. Last edited: Jul 26, 2017 07:30:20 |
Joined: Jul 31, 2012 Posts: 4053 Nashville, TN. 
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 11:47 AM
FWIW, a Sonor Bop kit is on our last two releases. One a full length and the other an EP. Our drummer has much better kits at home, one even mic'd up and ready to record but his sounds are a little too pristine at his home studio for my tastes. Cheers, http://www.facebook.com/CrazyAcesMusic |
Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 3786 tn
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 11:57 AM
If it sounds good and feels good to you, do it. —http://www.satanspilgrims.com |
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 05:35 PM
Noel wrote:
Thanks Noel-see ya soon. |
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 05:36 PM
spskins wrote:
Thanks for the response-been a fan of yours for years. |
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 05:37 PM
CrazyAces wrote:
Thanks for your response-always nice to hear from a fellow surf musician. |
Joined: May 29, 2007 Posts: 225 Central CT, USA
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Posted on Jul 26 2017 08:52 PM
I sometimes configure my floor tom as a kick drum to create a bop-sized kit for smaller venues played with "The Aquatudes". Video here was recorded at a charity dinner inside very large room, - an old carousel. (See moving lights reflected in the windows behind us.) All glass and concrete. 18" kick, 12" and 16" tom toms. 14" birch snare. No drum mics. *Dick B. Last edited: Jul 26, 2017 20:57:02 |
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 27 2017 08:07 AM
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Joined: Jul 14, 2008 Posts: 92 Chandler, AZ |
Posted on Jul 27 2017 10:19 AM
I bought the same blue sparkle Breakbeats kit just to have a small kit to keep in the house to beat on. One thing I didn't like was the 14" snare that came with it. The rest of the kit is tiny, yet it has a full sized snare. I remedied this with a Pearl M-80 10x4 snare that mounts onto the hi-hat stand. I never really intended to play out with it, but I have used it a couple of times at small venue/no stage gigs. It's a ton of fun to play on! —Scott |
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 27 2017 01:29 PM
drumsdick wrote:
That's a beautiful set. |
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 27 2017 01:30 PM
ScottyBravo wrote:
I never thought of using a small snare-might try it!!! Last edited: Jul 28, 2017 15:35:52 |
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 27 2017 01:31 PM
Never thought of using a small snare-might try it!! |
Joined: Mar 27, 2014 Posts: 24 Oakland
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Posted on Jul 27 2017 06:04 PM
My Drummer uses a standup "cocktail" drumset with an upswinging kick pedal hitting the bottom of a floor tom. —"We spent the last 50 years mired in the 1960s, let's spend the next 50 years mired in NOW!" - Principle Skinner Last edited: Jul 28, 2017 15:35:05 |
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Joined: Mar 27, 2014 Posts: 24 Oakland
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Posted on Jul 27 2017 06:07 PM
https://www.facebook.com/123DinnerParty/videos/1535742216447522/ That's the video there^^ Sorry I'm new at this! Also a friend has a kit called the "Remo Legero" that's an ultra portable nesting drumset. Sounds pretty good and packs up way smaller than the ludwig breakbeats due to the nesting. —"We spent the last 50 years mired in the 1960s, let's spend the next 50 years mired in NOW!" - Principle Skinner |
Joined: Apr 01, 2007 Posts: 347 Sea Country, CA, USA
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Posted on Jul 28 2017 02:32 PM
Timely topic... Wasn't searching for a kit like this, but a few weeks ago we were sailing (garage sale-ing) and I picked up these for $30. Thirty! 18x14 bass, 12x8 rack tom, 14x14 floor tom
Looking forward to playing them in the near future! —
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Joined: May 14, 2007 Posts: 1753
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Posted on Jul 28 2017 03:32 PM
surfbeatnik wrote:
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Joined: Jul 25, 2017 Posts: 71
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Posted on Jul 28 2017 08:30 PM
surfbeatnik wrote:
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Joined: Sep 07, 2006 Posts: 1506 Redlands, CA
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Posted on Jul 28 2017 11:17 PM
TimmyTurbo wrote:
I gotta tell ya. You can REALLY make those skins sing! Last edited: Jul 28, 2017 23:19:11 |
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Joined: Apr 01, 2007 Posts: 347 Sea Country, CA, USA
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Posted on Jul 29 2017 02:56 PM
I just set these recently acquired drums up in the family room for the first time, and added my '67 Ludwig Supraphonic snare, DW hi-hat and cymbal mount, plus vintage Zildjian cymbals....and voila!...I am now a convert to the ways of the 18" Bass Drum! Super compact, look cool and sound awesome!
Last edited: Jul 31, 2017 00:10:05 |
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