Posted by slowpnw
on 1/14/2008, 8:49 am, in reply to "FAQ: 20" Floor tom of doom/Riolo kit"
131.35.138.10
This thread may look as if I am talking to myself. But it has turned into a quasi-blog for ordering/building a Keller shelled kit. This will save you and Mr. Riolo some time and effort. My DIY Keller kit thread had about 10,000 looks at it before I stopped posting. . I hoped to reach new people that could build, want to build, but haven’t done so. The benefits should be obvious. For the price of an intermediate imported kit with soft Asian wood, you can get real high end hard maple shells. And the other thing you are accomplishing is that you support the North American economy and keep money at home.
Ordering: The simple way for you to assemble an order would be to use a spreadsheet like excel, and make a simple itemized checklist of parts you need. Basically, it would be the noun, item number, and quantity required. Do not send this list as an order! Use it like a check sheet to fill out the order form here, and to keep track of the items you have ordered. It will help you keep things organized and ensure that you get what you need.
Drumheads:
These shells are just as warm and project just as well as anything from any major company. I found that they work well with a variety of drumheads. My favorite reso, is the evans genera resonant glass. Keep the 45 degree bearing edge, they are much more versatile. If you want the old school mellow, achieve it with drumheads, don’t lock yourself into a corner with a mellow-only sounding kit that won’t project if you need it to.
For a batter head, what sounds good on a Sonor sq2 or a Tama star classic maple sounds good on these shells. I was surprised at how good pinstripes worked. Remo power stroke 3 work pretty well. The Aquarian response 2 are even a little thicker sounding. For more focus, but gobs of depth and warmth, I highly recommend the Evans coated ec-1 heads. They provide nice fat and punchy tonality.
I have never been much of a 1-ply guy until the ec-1's. I have never seen a case other than the ec-1 & remo ps/3, that a single ply doesn't rob a drum kit of it's low end potential. This is especially true for toms over 12” in diameter. The Ec-1’s are in a class by themselves. They produce 2-ply low end, but respond like a 1 ply.
Kick: A ps/3 isn't bad, but again, it's not optimum for low end. Evans emad, and eq3 seem to be just the ticket. Aquarian superkick gives a nice low thump, but like tom heads, Aquarians feel less responsive to me. It’s as if they absorb more effort than other heads, thus limiting attack and potential projection. Incidentally, I wrote to Evans and asked if they had any plans for an ec1/ec2 kick head. I know those would work, the coated ec-1 sounds glorious on an 18” floor tom. I use an evans pillow as well, just to absorb some of the high frequency artifacts. It doesn’t even need to touch the batter head to do this.
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