Drum sets

Big Drum Sets?

Lets talk drum sets
Drum sets can come in many different configurations, drum sizes with or without hardware and or the cymbals. The most common drum sets are the 4 piece, the 5 or 6 piece, and the bigger 8 or 9 piece double bass drum sets.

4 piece drum sets
The classic 4 piece drum sets are considered to be the standard for most styles and applications. From live concerts to studio recording sessions they serve as the essential base for any drum setup. The most common set includes a 5 inch snare drum, 14 to 20 inch single bass drum, 14 to 16 inch floor tom and 8 to 13 inch rack tom. The classic 4 piece drum sets usually don't come with any hardware or cymbals and can cost from $500 up to $5000 and in some rare cases even more.

5 and 6 piece drum sets
A typical 5 piece drum set, consists of a 5-1/2 inch snare drum, 20 or 22 inch single bass drum, 12 inch and 13 inch rack toms and a 16 inch floor tom and come with a 14 inch Hi Hat, a crash cymbal, a ride cymbal along with the corresponding stands, kick drum pedal and in some rare cases even a drum throne. A 6 piece drum set is usually made by adding an 18 inch floor tom or a 10 inch rack tom to the 5 piece kit configuration.

8 and 9 piece big drum sets
An 8 piece drum set is usually based on the standard 5 piece drum kit with 2 additional rack toms and a second bass drum. The typical 8 piece drum set configuration includes a 5-1/2 inch snare drum, two 18 or 20 or 22 inch bass drums, one 16 inch floor tom and four rack toms (most common rack tom sizes are 10", 12", 13" and 14"), two bass drum pedals, one crash cymbal, one ride cymbal, a hi hat and the corresponding stands. 9 piece big drum sets usually come with two floor toms (16 inch and 18 inch) along with two bass drum pedals and two crash cymbals, a ride cymbal, a hi hat and the corresponding stands.

Some people also refer to the 8 and 9 piece drum sets as "double bass drum sets" or "big drum sets". Note that it is not necessary to have a big double bass drum set to play double bass rhythms, for instance double bass drum pedals can be used to play double bass rhythms on a single bass drum. Double bass and or big drum sets are most commonly used in Rock and Heavy Metal music, although sometimes they are also employed by Jazz and Fusion drummers, examples are Louis Bellson and Dave Weckl.

Even bigger, 10, 11 and 12 piece big drum sets
The 10 or 11 piece, and bigger drum sets are essentially the 8 piece drum sets with some additional rack and floor toms. Common configurations would be the 5 or 6 inch snare drum, two 20 to 22 inch bass drums, one or two floor toms (16 and 18 inches) and rack toms with sizes of 8, 9, 10, 11,12, 13 and 14 inches, two bass drum pedals, two or more crash cymbals, a ride cymbal, one or two hi hats and the corresponding cymbal stands.

Big drum sets? or Huge drum sets?
Theoretically a drum set is not limited to a certain amount of drums, and can consist as many drums, cymbals and percussion pieces as a drummer will need for a certain performance. A bright example of such a big setup would be the Terry Bozzio's drum sets, - they usually include more than 30 drums along with over 15 drum pedals, more than 30 cymbals and a lot of other percussive additions. - Now that's one hell of a big drum set!