They're made for showin', not for blowin'. Try a Remo Pinstripe on it, it really brings out the bottom end,...oh wait...nevermind.

Gary

thanks for your insightful response??????????????

Dan

From what I have read and from the pictures I have seen, the Speedfire's bass drum was just a problematic design -sonically speaking. I think that, because of its asymmetrical shape, the Speedfire's bass drum precludes vibrational waves from travelling in any kind of "uniform" way -thus, the difficulty in tuning. I think the idea behind the design was to be able to produce two distinct tones with one drum...but the physics behind the way "pleasing" tones are produced on drums probably wasn't really taken into consideration. As long as you got two tones, that was good enough! heh heh

I don't think I have ever read any "glowing" reviews of Trixon's Speedfire drums -other than the fact they look so dang cool! So, like sabshga mentioned, the value in their drums is more visual than it is aural. They seem to be extremely rare drums -especially a complete kit in good shape. Don't be discouraged if you can't get the sound from them. Just keep experimenting! You are already in a better position to solve the problem than most people since you actually have one of these rare birds to experiment with!

As far as collectible drums, the Speedfire is very collection-worthy -more as a form of retro-"modern" art than as a working drummer's instrument of choice.

I would love to see some pictures!

Sorry, I try to be succinct. O-lugs is our resident prose master. I have a Telstar kit and all the heads are round (batters bigger than resonants) and the sound is in the range of acceptable but not awsome. The snare is pretty nice though. I think you can acquire these kits at lower prices than some of the really fine US drum sets and the rarity value should make for great appreciation as the years go by (especially if your kit is complete and the wrap is in great shape). I would only use the Telstar kit for a a gig where the drums were miked and they could be eq'd into submission. The guy that sold me the kit pointed me to some of his recordings on MySpace and he used no close miking to go for the vintage recording vibe for the band's Surfer Rock retro sound. I felt the drum sound suffered because of it and would have had a chance if close miking was employed. A kit that really projects can sound exceptional using only room miking.

That stated, I'm sure someone will probably come up with an opposing view on these drums, but this is in my experience.

Hence my "for showing not for blowing" comment.

Gary

http://www.trixondrums.de/

I met these guys at the Chicago Drum Show this year. Very affable guys, and pre-emminent experts on Trixon Drums. I talked with them for a while, as Trixon were always very interesting to me. According to Martin, the Speedfire bass drum, was never a great sounding drum. However, these would be the guys who could probably give you TONS of information on the Speedfire.

Ed

I have a Trixon Speedfire bass drum for sale. No heads, hooprs or tension rods but shell in good condition. $600

I LOVE the looks of the conical Trixon drums. They are one of my absolute favorite vintage kits. If I had the ability, I would own one. It has nothing to do with sound ('cause I don't have a clue what they sound like). I just love those kits. Those conical drums give me the goosebumps in a major way. Love Love Love...

Me too! I want the "cone" set In Blue Aligator, that conical look was right out of Forbidden Planet or the Jetson's.

Regards

DonS

These guys http://www.daldossdrums.it/ have tempted me. The hardware is what has kept me away. There's just something about old vintage Trixon hardware that makes it so much better looking than these.