![]() Often 22” in diameter with a 16” shell, bass drums are the biggest part of a typical drum set. Of course, every drum manufacturer has its own sizes, but we can get a general idea of how much space drums take up by looking at some more common drum sizes. All bets are off if you drive a Smart Car, but your Nissan Stanza or Dodge Dart will do the job. This type of set will almost certainly fit in the average sedan. Cymbals include two hi-hat cymbals, a crash, and a ride, and all the hardware that accompanies all this stuff. The typical five-piece set has a bass drum, a floor tom, two wing toms that mount on top of the bass, and a snare drum. Packing one of these into your car poses few problems because, by its nature, a cocktail set’s primary attribute is its compact footprint.īut most of us play kits between these two extremes. If you play a cocktail set, its extremely compact configuration means that you could conceivably hold it in your hands while you longboard to your gig. Because we’re talking about cars here, we’re going to leave out SUVs, vans, and pickups, but if your set is a big one, one of those options will be your best bet. ![]() In this case, we’re talking about a double bass setup and multiple toms, and you need a relatively large car to fit a set like this comfortably. If you play an extensive, Neil Peart-inspired set, you’ll have a more challenging time fitting the whole thing into your car. Soft-sided cases probably provide all the protection you need if you play around town, but if you’re flying to gigs, you really ought to have hard shells.īut if you’re putting your drums in your car for transportation to gigs, you may be in a playing situation where hard cases would be too much- too bulky for your vehicle and more protection than you need for hauling your drums three miles across town for a two-hour gig playing Big Band Swing. But if you play gigs regularly, you likely want at least some protection for your kit. Picking up something like the SKB 8 x 10 Tom Case (also on Amazon) keeps to the shape of each drum it encases, but does increase the profile size of each drum, so you’ll need more room in your car than if you just put the drums in there by themselves.Īnd what about going without cases? If you’re transporting your drums once a year up to school for a talent show, but the rest of the time, they stay in your home, cases are overkill for you. Hard cases provide more protection but take up more room when you pack your kit into the car. Since they hug the curves of your drums, you won’t lose much cargo space at all to the presence of the cases. Soft cases like Gator Cases’ Protechtor Series 5-piece Padded Drum Bag Set on Amazon are form-fitting and protect from cosmetic damage, but if something big falls on one of your drums, the padded nylon cases won’t do much to protect their contents. ![]() Do I need different cases for my situation?ĭepending on the type, drum cases might take up a lot of extra room in your car, or they may add only a couple of inches to the profile of each piece of your drum set.What kind of cases do I have or want or need?.If I have drum cases, what if I don’t use them?.If I don’t have drum cases, do I need them?.After all, by definition, the cases are bigger than the drums that fit inside them, so you have some decisions to make and things to consider. The presence of drum cases completely changes the calculus of fitting your drum set in your car. But this is a question with so many variables, so let’s work through our options. Of course, depending on your specific car and the drums you want to fit in there, maybe you can’t get it all in your vehicle. ![]() If you buy a vehicle with drum transportation in mind, your life will be a little easier. And we think, “Why did I pick the drums?”įitting a drum set in a car is necessary for most working drummers, and almost any vehicle can hold some semblance of a drum set. She’s not out of breath, and her hands don’t hurt from carrying her flute from the car. Nearly every drummer has watched a flute player walk up to a gig with her small instrument case. ![]()
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