Yes Patent is better, HaHa

But a Pattern would help trace out the wood to produce more quicker.

And much netter.

Wayne

Okay, so I had a gig with my floor tom-turned bass drum. Remember, one of the reasons I was downsizing was to lighten the load. Well, the bass player’s car broke down (a Mercedes!), so I had to pick him and his equipment up. Putting one of the PA speakers in the back if my pickup, I threw out my back.

I still had to drive to the gig, unload, set up, play two one-hour sets at our regular restaurant, pack up, load up, drive home, load out, drive him home, then drive my own broken butt home. Three days later, I am still semi-broken.

I have to admit, though, that playing that tom-bass was very unsatisfying. It worked, but sounded way too wimpy, even at our low volume level. Perhaps it would have sounded okay if we were a jazz combo, where the bass is used primarily to accent figures. But to provide a typical 60’s rock beat, it left much to be desired. Taking my WFL 12x22 doesn’t weigh much more, and it gives me a very satisfying thump.

Just thought I’d update y’all on my invention, which may never be used again. We’ll see...

Josh

Get well threw my back out yesterday cleaning up and pulling my kit out of moth balls so I can practice it’s the only one left my holly wood using it as super classic for now

Have you tried putting a HEAVY batter head on that floor tom conversion? That head and the Resonant head should be tensioned just a bit more than the wrinkled edges stage. That should produce a low-pitched thump if you use a hard (plastic or wood beater hitting a moleskin patch. It's been many years since I have used that type of head. But, I remember them being transparent blue either oil-filled or not.

I have a pinstripe on the batter, tuned to it’s lowest tension above “splat.” I put a stick-on bass drum patch in front of the beater (Falam slam, or something like that). I found it actually sounded better with a soft beater. I used the softest felt beater I had with two of my wife’s cast-off socks on it. Bonus - it has Woodstock from the Peanuts cartoon on it. The drum still sounds too small. No satisfying thump. More like “Pap.”

Again, the timbre is different than the toms, and it sounds like a bass drum in the context of the other drums, it just doesn’t have a presence that a rock bass drum needs to have.

I tried the Tama cocktail set a few months ago. Top quality, very impressive construction. Super portable. But the “bass drum” sounded like a cardboard box. The other drums actually sounded really good, although higher pitched than I would have preferred.

I just have to accept that I chose drums over harmonica or kazoo. Drums have more or less been the same size for many decades for a reason. I plan to bring a drum set to practice and perform with that represents the sounds that I grew up with and that the audience expects. I just yesterday ordered two hardware cases that are 28x10x10. Small by any standard. I will use soft cases as they are lighter. I have a rolly cart and will take as many trips as necessary as I strive to make each item as light as possible.

Good luck with your endeavors.