Today I came across and interesting thread about why modern drummers are shrinking their drum set and cymbals.

It seems that there is a common trend these days to reduce the number of drums and cymbals on the drum set. This is particularly interesting given that during the 70′s and particularly 80′s, many rockstar drummers had massive drum sets that sometimes seemed a little over the top. This trend was seen especially among heavy metal and hard rock drummers such as Van Halen, Neil Peart, and Simon Phillips and I suppose even Phil Collins from Genesis was up there.

Phil Collins (In The Air Tonight) “Gorilla Drummer” Cadbury Dairy Milk Advert.

A few differing opinions were put forward on this topic.

It was argued that adding at least one more tom tom and floor tom and a few more cymbals would surely provide extra versatility than a smaller, simpler drum set.

Others believed that by having a smaller kit it is much easier to carry around to gigs etc. Not to mention that a smaller set wouldn’t take as much room in a house or garage compared to a large drum set.

As a drummer myself, I have believed both arguments to be true. When I started playing I thought that if I had more drums to hit, it would sound better – especially looking up to drummers such as Jose Pasillas II from Incubus. Jose still remains my favorite drummer, but over the years of playing gigs and being responsible for lugging my own gear around town, my initial thoughts began to be persuaded by the practicality of having a large drum set and cymbals.

Ultimately, I think the smaller the drum set and the fewer cymbals you have, the better you are forced to play. Plus, it’s certainly a cheaper alternative.

So think about it. By having a smaller drum set you could actually become a better drummer.

What do you think?

Feel free to leave a comment and I will respond to any questions you may have.
Cheers,

Greg Beazley

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