Cocktail drum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cocktail drums are a type of portable drum kit which combines bass drum and snare drum sounds in a single drum.
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[edit] History
Cocktail drums were first put into production in the 1940s with the Carlton combo kit, consisting of a a vertical 20 inch bass drum, a snare drum, cymbal and other assorted percussion.
Eventually the companies Slingerland, Ludwig-Musser and Gretsch began producing cocktail drums that are more similar to what is used today. The typical drum consisted of a floor tom that was 14 inches in diameter and 24 to 26 inches tall, with both top and bottom drumheads (head being the skin or film stretched across the drum that is struck to create the sound). The bottom head was struck via a foot-pedal-operated beater and tuned to achieve a bass drum sound. The top head was struck with sticks. The top head is also fitted with a snare underneath to achieve a snare drum sound. The drum's height would normally require the musician to play it standing upright with one foot operating the pedal and one foot bearing the weight of the musician's body (as opposed to a trap set that is played sitting down). This made the drum quite easy to move from place to place, as opposed to moving a snare drum, stand for the snare drum, stool and bass drum for a trap set. However the tradeoff for this ease of transportation is the practice and balance required to play the instrument that is unnecessary when playing a trap set.
[edit] Modern use
Today the cocktail drum is used in a similar fashion by some drummers. Some more modern cocktail drums are fitted with a baffle. The baffle is of a non-resonant material to prevent the bottom head's vibration from interacting with and "buzzing" the snare, which creates a sound much closer to that of two separate drums.
Other drummers use a small snare that is clamped or mounted in some fashion to the cocktail drum, instead of the top head of the main cocktail drum. This leaves the top head free to be used as a tom with the snares removed. The clamp provides the musician with a secure place for the snare drum without the added inconvenience of using a snare drum stand. Using two separate drums in this manner makes both drums easier to tune and provides much more consistent sound.
Holders for cymbals, tom drums, cowbells and other various percussion instruments can be mounted to the cocktail drum depending on the musicians' needs. This makes the instrument very personal and few cocktail drums today are alike.
[edit] Notable players
- Drummer Steve Jordan plays his own Steve Jordan cocktail set professionally.
- Peter Erskine also plays the Yamaha Club Jordan cocktail drum.
- Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats plays a bass drum/snare drum set standing up in the traditional "cocktail" manner.
- John Mettam of Cocktail Angst plays a vintage cocktail drum.
- Bernie Dresel of the Brian Setzer Orchestra plays a DW brand cocktail drum during a trio set (guitar, bass and drums) at most concerts.
[edit] Current manufacturers
Today there are very few cocktail drums in production. The most common of these are the Club Jordan cocktail drum manufactured by Yamaha and the Manhattan manufactured by Peace Drums. While the Manhattan cocktail set is slightly different in configuration, the Club Jordan drumset is available in the traditional single drum and multiple drum configuration (with side snare) described above.
Slingerland also manufactured an "Expresso" cocktail drumset for a short period of time. It was a multiple drum configuration with a shorter main drum. Some may argue that it was not a true cocktail set because the drums were not tall enough to be played standing up. Regardless of this, it was still marketed as a cocktail drum set due to the vertical bass drum.
Another route some drummers take is custom-built cocktail drums. This carries many advantages over manufactured drums. The most obvious advantage is the wide variety of options available: number and size of drums, as well as finishes, hardware and features can all be tailored to the drummer creating a completely original and personal setup.
Another advantage is price: sometimes the price can be higher for a custom set, but in most cases the price of a custom cocktail drum set is lower. This is especially true is if the drums are built at home instead of at a drum shop. Both the do-it-yourself and professionally built drums can yield excellent instruments.
