you HAVE to go into a public area and play this thing, everyone’s reaction to some guy busting out a drumkit from a less-than-inconspicuous suitcase would be hilarious.
outstanding job. could totally sell this…I would get a orange home depot bucket to use for a drum throne, and you could store extra stuff in it for the gig…
I absolutely love this kit David! I use a Delsey PVC suitcase from the ... 70s (i think?!) and I've been told by quite a few sound techs that the like it's sound even better than a standard kick when mic'ed up. I use a boundary mic from behringer which is a knock-off shure beta 91a and the thing gives more punch than most kicks. I also use a metal beater (i think it's intend for metal drumming to give it a bunch of natural attack) but it sounds beast. I figured the metal beater would move the hard pvc shell around better that some soft style one but tbh I've never done a comparison. Anyway... i tend to use an actual kick drum when I am dealing with a sub-par PA (as in not enough sub-woofer to really give my suitcase some low end beef) but even when busking in the street with the suitcase and a small amp for my vocals and guitar it still packs a serious kick (pun intended heh).
He is indeed a genius mixing engineer, he plays really well (tbh, 90% of the sound comes from your hands), while this whole thing sounds surprisingly good :0)
@@oumarh.gassama8063, I agree, and I think you can make anything sound good once you understand the tone and dynamics of an object and you "feel" it with your hands. And he's so damn good at that!
Great as always! I think slightly bigger cymbals would add to the real-drum-feel. And if the leather/bass drum head ever rips apart, you can try using a real drum head.
Cutting the hole and inserting a half inch wooden ring to fit the drum head and some how find a way to tighten it down... Idk. I'm just tossing my 2 cents in
honestly i would play on that even outside of gigs, it sounds great, the toms have an impressive tone to them for being so small. with the bells and cymbal selection + the sound of the toms i feel like this would be perfect for samba music or something along those lines
A few others have suggested using bigger cymbals. Early in the video you mentioned that the case dimensions are 9" (D) x 16" (W) x 26" (L) so a 15" cymbal should fit inside. A 15" heavy bottom hi hat cymbal might sound good as a crash/ride.
Or even a cymbal larger than the suitcase that has been clipped or just has pieces missing due to damage, so that there's one way to shoehorn it into the 16 inch dimension.
Maybe live with having a cymbal outside the case - I had a jazz drummer show up for an audition and IIRC he didn't even have hi-hats, just a huge cymbal that stood in for everything metallic (and a very basic three drum kit). Although he was amazing we weren't a jazz band and really needed some chunky hi-hats to drive us along - but it's all down to style if the musicians are talented enough.
I thought the same at first, but then thought, if all your shells sound diminutive, and bells, etc. if the cymbals sound typical, life-sized(?) maybe it would make the rest not sound good, over take it all.
Your ability to separate the wood from the membrane has me thinking you have 50 suitcases and you posted that one in 50 times that you didn't break through..... or you have mad skills and an equal portion of luck. Very impressive!
Man, that's the best compact all-in-bag kits i've ever heard! You're genius as always, now planning to make something same to use for acoustic covers with friends, i think it's a nice fit for kinda "unplugged" sound. Love from belarus drummer)
I guess I am the odd guy out...I actually love taking down my drum set, hauling it to gigs and setting it up...I use my suitcase setup when I have to play in really tight spaces or really quiet gigs...a larger suitcase definitely helps all around. Mine is a bit too shallow.
It might change the sound and feel dramatically if you swapped out the beater for a pinky ball. That’s what I got on mine and it was a huge difference in the thump. Great build!
I'm moving and unfortunately cannot fit a drum kit where I'm moving and will need to downsize to the smallest kit possible if I wanna continue playing. I've been looking into all my options and this video gives me so much damn inspiration! I have so much random drum parts laying around that I was going to just give away to a local music store but now I may just try and use them to create something like this
Early on, I was thinking "boy, he's really lost all of his marbles this time!" But I have to admit, the finished product sounds much better than I had anticipated!
You can't add a comment without watching the entire rdavidr video... The ending is EPIC! 😘 I love your creativity! And it's a good thing you have all those pieces and parts! 🥁 🔥🥁 Definitely a success!
I also built one myself, it has 10" splashes as hihat and a 12" piccolo snare. Didn't fit in toms but i got blocks and a cowbell, and a 16" crash/ride. Brilliant for small gigs or just jamming in the park! Also hello from Finland!
It’s funny because when I clicked on this video the title was “I built a drum set out of a suitcase” and I put it in full screen, then after I watched it, he changed the title to “play this instead of a cajon
For anyone who wants an easier way to achieve similar (but not quite as awesome) results: Remo soundshapes for toms and snare. Your snare can be a soundshape with the snare wires taped across the top or use a DXP mini wavedrum. For hi-hats, you don't need a pedal. Instead, do this: get a heavy cymbal and tape a belly dancing belt to it - one with tiny 'bells' all over it. You'll realise pretty quickly that you have a perfectly functional hi-hat. You smash the edge when you want an open sound and tap it normally when you want a closed sound. Strap a shaker or seed pod to your foot for the complete experience. Kick - I really like the idea in this video but a simpler way is to use an old microphone and tap it with your foot. Or use a pedal, as in this video, and strap a mic to the inside of the suitcase, then soundproof the exposed side. I did this several years ago but it never occurred to me to make videos about my inventions. Anyway, one person in the world might find this useful. It's actually very easy and requires zero skill but like most things if you want it to sound perfect, it will take an entire workshop and hundreds of dollars in spare parts lying around. The choice is yours.
Glad to see this video; currently designing a 3D printed bass drum attachment for a suitcase kit (in the works) that can also be converted to a foam practice pad for the kick drum since I want one and don't want to pay $70 for one. Always inspired by these DIYs- just all around good vibe- thanks for making this
You have GOT to make a tutorial on you made that hihat stand. People have been trying and failing for years on RU-vid to make a successful tutorial on that. It seems only fitting that you, the diy tutorial drum guy should be the one.
8:28 Sorry that you base your self worth on how nice your things are. 10:57 The kit is and sounds absolutely sick, Ill take it if you dont want it lmao
I have literally all the parts to make this (except the suitcase, which I'm searching for now)! I even have some spare Traps Flat drums that sound surprisingly good for not having much of a shell! I think I'm going for it!
This little kit sounds great! It' has a vibe all it's own. The bass drum tone you got form cutting away the plywood sounds good. I think the people that don't like these types of small kits should just stick to playing a full size kit. But for a fun little kit to bust out for acoustic guitar or ukulele jam sessions it's great!
Okay, honestly, this sounds amazing, even though this video came out 7 months ago, and i didn't think to comment on it, this custom kit is fantastic. I would play on this thing for hours and not get bored, sound, 10/10, amazing set. Nice job, David!
I hope this kind of sound-space engineering and design takes off. This is brilliant, and meets all of the requirements for a low volume jam or even a small gig (real intimate coffee shop kind of vibes, ya know?) Has enough vibe, boogie and bob to get organic feedback from the other folks in your band and keeps a percussionist from being replaced by a dry-ass drum machine, out of decibel necessity. If some major drum manufacturers put some energy into an idea like this, this could change the small live show landscape.
this feels like it'd be a great street performance thing, you can even transfer it to different streets throughout the day, a good street performance always livens up a highstreet
So instead of paying $70 for a secondhand cajon (which I did), I should've spent several hundred dollars on the supplies and tools necessary to build a set from scratch using engineering skills I don't have.
🤣 that ending! LMAO! That was definitely ALOT of work you put into it, but it actually sounded amazing. I particularly like the cymbal combinations, nothing too flashy, but i could totally see this thing being used by a rock/metal band in a tiny coffee shop and this would definitely work! Again, amazing job dude! Wish i had one
This thing needs to be mass produced so that I an buy one ASAP!!! It’s compact, it sounds great and doesn’t lose any functionality of a standard 3 piece. Perhaps there could even be a slightly larger model in which a double bass pedal could fit.
the best drum content on youtube also, you should make some kind of folding throne that doubles as wheels/pop-up handle for the suitcase. or just make a camping chair style one that folds up really small, lol
