The drummer is the most important musician of the band. A good drummer can make any band sound fine! So as a drummer, you need to really take care that you sound as good as you can. One of the many great things about drumming is that you don’t need the world’s most expensive drum set to sound as a world’s best drummer! Stagg offers you drum sets that are perfectly suited for any style of music you want to play.
Most drummers play a five piece drum set. That is a drum set with five drums. The cymbals are not counted! The two most important drums are the bass drum and the snare drum. The bass drum is the biggest drum of the set, usually with 20” of 22” drum heads (50 cm/55 cm). You play it with your foot, using a bass drum pedal. The snare drum usually has 14” drum heads. It is mounted on a stand between your knees. The very recognizable, snappy ‘crack’ sound of the snare drum comes from a set of wire snares that sits against the bottom head.
A five piece drum sets has two rack toms that are usually mounted on the bass drum. The third tom is the floor tom, with three legs. The toms are used to add colour to the basic rhythms that you play on the bass drum and snare drum.
Drum sizes are always given in inches. The diameter of the drum comes first. This is the same as the size of the drum head. The second figure refers to the depth of the drum. A deeper drum makes for a deeper sound.
Most five piece drum sets have a 20”x16” or a 22”x16” bass drum. Rock drummers usually go for the larger bass drum. If you play jazz, Latin, or fusion music, you may prefer the 20” drum.
The same goes for the toms. That’s why drum sets with a larger bass drum typically come with larger toms. A 22” bass drum with 12’ and 13” toms and a 16” floor tom, for example, and a 20” bass drum with 10” and 12” rack toms and a 14” floor tom.
Most snare drums are between 5.5” and 6.5” deep. Those drums can be used for any style of music. That’s another fun part of playing the drums. You can tune your snare drum really high for a very tight, funky sound, or you can tune it very low for a fat rock beat. Do you prefer a brighter snare drum sound? Then check out snare drums with a metal shell. Wooden drums sound a bit warmer.
You can tune all of your other drums to your liking too, of course. One tip: larger drums allow for lower pitches. It will take you a bit of time to learn how to makes your drums sound they way you want them too, but it’s a great way to get to know your instrument.
You can’t play the drums without hardware, the metal items that you use to mount your drums and cymbals. Tom holders for the rack toms, three legs for the floor tom, a special stand with a basket for your snare drum, and one or more longer stands for your cymbals. Additionally, you need a bass drum pedal that you clamp on the hoop of the bass drum. The hi-hat cymbals are mounted on a hi-hat stand that allows you to make the cymbals sound with your foot. Finally, you need a drum throne. All stands and your throne can be adjusted for height.
Many great musicians started playing at a really young age, and playing a real drumset is great fun for many kids. That’s why Stagg has three piece and five piece drumset in special junior sizes. A cymbal, a throne, a drum key and drum sticks are included, so your child can start playing right away!
