Should I Cut My Toms in Half?

[Talldog]

I'm a 4 piece drum kit guy. Give me a bass, snare, rack tom, and floor tom, and I've got what I want as far as drums go.

My plan was to purchase two inexpensive rack toms (which I've done), cut them in half, and use the four halves for each of the four drums (bass, snare, rack, and floor).

The other day, I ran across an 80's era Simmons kick pad someone was getting rid of "for parts," because they couldn't get it working (my guess is it just needs a new piezo/wiring). Anyway, I've always thought those big, hex shaped kicks looked tough, so I bought it and I plan on refurbishing it and using it as my kick.

Now though, my tom plan doesn't make as much sense. It seems I have three options:

1) Go ahead and cut both toms in half (and use for 1 snare, 1 rack, and 1 floor), which would leave me with an extra half a tom that I don't have any place to mount.

2) Cut one of the toms in half (and use for 1 rack and 1 snare). Cut down the other tom from 10 inches in depth to 5 inches, remount the bottom head and hardware, and use it for the snare.

3) Don't cut either tom and mount them full size as 1 rack tom and 1 floor tom. This would require me to acquire one more drum to use as the snare (probably a piccolo snare or another tom I would cut down in height; this would add about $30 to the total cost of the kit).

I know this is all about looks, as each of these options would be just as functional. I guess I'm looking for which would be more visually impressive/cool/hip/what-ever.

So, under these circumstances, which would you go for?

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

I would just leave them as is and get the piccolo snare. $30 is well worth the cash to save a lot of time and work. Oh...don't forget to document and post some pics of the Simmons rebuild(and the rest of the build of course) when you tackle it.

[Talldog]

I would just leave them as is and get the piccolo snare. $30 is well worth the cash to save a lot of time and work. Oh...don't forget to document and post some pics of the Simmons rebuild(and the rest of the build of course) when you tackle it.

You know what they say, time and work is no object when you're DIY (in fact, it's part of the point).

I'm actually excited about rebuilding the Simmons kick, even though it threw a money wrench into my plans.

[Sicko]

Visually impressive would be full toms
Although, when i do my kit I'm going to cut the toms.... going to do a six piece acoustic shell diy + my factory roland rubber pads.
Anyways if you do cut em it never hurts to have an extra tom/pad to assign some kind of cool sound to like an extra snare, sound effect, cowbell or even just a backup pad.


Edit........LOL I type too slow

[Talldog]

Visually impressive would be full toms
Although, when i do my kit I'm going to cut the toms.... going to do a six piece acoustic shell diy + my factory roland rubber pads.
Anyways if you do cut em it never hurts to have an extra tom/pad to assign some kind of cool sound to like an extra snare, sound effect, cowbell or even just a backup pad.


Edit........LOL I type too slow

I would probably use the extra port to add a cymbal pad. Some people like to have a lot of tom sounds, I like to have a lot of cymbal sounds (from tiny splashes to giant chinas).

[griff]

I'd cut toms for only a few reasons: To save space, to save money or for looks. Full size drums save effort, and again you might prefer the look. For a four piece kit, cut toms might look a bit too sparse and lightweight for me. But then you have the Simmons kick, so sparse and lightweight could be quite appropriate.

[Talldog]

I'd cut toms for only a few reasons: To save space, to save money or for looks. Full size drums save effort, and again you might prefer the look. For a four piece kit, cut toms might look a bit too sparse and lightweight for me. But then you have the Simmons kick, so sparse and lightweight could be quite appropriate.

The Simmons kick does have a thin look.

I suppose I could also reduce the height of both toms also.

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

The Simmons kick does have a thin look.

I suppose I could also reduce the height of both toms also.

I still say leave them. If you are going to cut anything off them...might as well split them in half so you can add a tom or 2 later. Just shaving them a bit is a waste of pad potential for a future build IMHO.

Also....The Simmons, even though thin, has a look of it's own and IMO thinner toms won't match it anyway. It will always stand alone.

Also later on if you want to camouflage the shape of it.....you can set it inside a lager traditional kick shell and the kit will look like a "A" kit.

Just my 2 cents.

[hairmetal-81]

I'd say cut the toms, for a more 'electronic' look!

Have you acquired a SDSV-era kick with 'riot shield' playing-surface, or one of the later rubber-models?

[everson]

I would too say - cut them!

[mbejackson]

I'd keep them all full size. ..."time and work is no object when you're DIY (in fact, it's part of the point)." Very good point but putting a trigger in a full size drum is so easy you'll be playing in no time, instead of trying to make a sawed-in-half drum look good. JMO. In the end it's probably cheaper too when you consider the additional mount hardware for the other half of the drums etc. I'm not a big fan of the e-drum look, in case you couldn't tell.

[wildbill]

This thread is pointless without pics (and more info) - ha ha.

What kind of toms are you working with?
How big are they now?
If you cut them, will you have extra mounts for them?
What would be the starting and ending sizes for them?
If cut, are you going to re-wrap them, or go with some other finish?
Are you going to want bottom heads/rims for them, and do the measuring and drilling required?
Would you like to be able to still use them as acoustic toms - if so, will you have bottom bearing edges cut? And so on......

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

This thread is pointless without pics (and more info) - ha ha.

What kind of toms are you working with?
How big are they now?
If you cut them, will you have extra mounts for them?
What would be the starting and ending sizes for them?
If cut, are you going to re-wrap them, or go with some other finish?
Are you going to want bottom heads/rims for them, and do the measuring and drilling required?
Would you like to be able to still use them as acoustic toms - if so, will you have bottom bearing edges cut? And so on......

He's just wanted some opinions on which style(shallow or deep) of tom would look better with the old shallow retro-Simmons Hex Kick he just bought based on his 3 options in the OP.

I'm a 4 piece drum kit guy. Give me a bass, snare, rack tom, and floor tom, and I've got what I want as far as drums go.

My plan was to purchase two inexpensive rack toms (which I've done), cut them in half, and use the four halves for each of the four drums (bass, snare, rack, and floor).

The other day, I ran across an 80's era Simmons kick pad someone was getting rid of "for parts," because they couldn't get it working (my guess is it just needs a new piezo/wiring). Anyway, I've always thought those big, hex shaped kicks looked tough, so I bought it and I plan on refurbishing it and using it as my kick.

Now though, my tom plan doesn't make as much sense. It seems I have three options:

1) Go ahead and cut both toms in half (and use for 1 snare, 1 rack, and 1 floor), which would leave me with an extra half a tom that I don't have any place to mount.

2) Cut one of the toms in half (and use for 1 rack and 1 snare). Cut down the other tom from 10 inches in depth to 5 inches, remount the bottom head and hardware, and use it for the snare.

3) Don't cut either tom and mount them full size as 1 rack tom and 1 floor tom. This would require me to acquire one more drum to use as the snare (probably a piccolo snare or another tom I would cut down in height; this would add about $30 to the total cost of the kit).

I know this is all about looks, as each of these options would be just as functional. I guess I'm looking for which would be more visually impressive/cool/hip/what-ever.

So, under these circumstances, which would you go for?

[wildbill]

He's just wanted some opinions on which style(shallow or deep) of tom would look better with the old shallow retro-Simmons Hex Kick he just bought based on his 3 options in the OP.

Yes, I can read his post - but it doesn't answer the questions I asked in mine.



If it's simply a matter of what would look best, I'd go with this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmons...rum_company%29


If that's not an option, it would be helpful to see the toms he plans on working with.

[fulrmr(Daniel)]

Yes, I can read his post - but it doesn't answer the questions I asked in mine.



If it's simply a matter of what would look best, I'd go with this:

If that's not an option, it would be helpful to see the toms he plans on working with.

Yeah...maybe. But it could be just as simple as of what looks better with a thin Hex kick.....deep fullsize toms or thin ones.(a proportional thing) Especially if you really don't know what wrap and all that until you figure out if you will cut the toms or not first.

Some folks are like we are,(or at least...like I am) with a full plan before we start. Some just go with the flow and let the creative process develop as the build progresses and as they run across parts and pieces.