SIZE DOES NOT MATTER (IF IT SOUNDS GOOD)

I get a lot of comments about the size of my drum set.  Questions like "How long does it take to set all that up?" and "Don't you think this is getting a bit ridiculous?" are very common, and subtle statements inferring my "drum stuff" is taking up too much room in the house do not go unnoticed.  That is why I recently disassembled the whole collection, stored it away and brought out the Micro-Fortress.

The Micro-Fortress is one of those little down-sized drum sets made for young beginners.  Far from being just a toy, this kit has real wood shells, chrome rims and decent plastic heads.  It's no sturdy set of Tamas, but it's still a nice quality instrument consisting of a 16" bass drum, a 12" snare, 8 and 10" toms and a 13" floor tom.  It also has a working chain-drive hi-hat stand, a few junk cymbals and an appropriately-sized stool.

I paid over $300 for this kit when it was new, but when I thought about selling it, I noticed most sets of this type were going for about $80.  That's quite a loss, and one I was not willing to take for such a cool little kit. I decided instead to fix it up and treat it like my other drum sets, meaning add to it to make it super awesome!

So while The Fortress is enjoying a well-deserved break, The Micro-Fortress has taken center stage in the showroom.  After replacing the original heads with Remo "Black Dots," switching out the bass drum pedal for a DW and adding a few real cymbals and percussion items, now this miniature drum set is ready to go and really fun to play!

The Micro-Fortress functions exactly like a normal drum set, except everything is downsized.  The ride cymbal is only 15", the crash cymbals are 11, 12 and 13", and the hi-hats are 10" Ludwig "Low Boy Sock Hats," which I will have to explain in more detail in a later post.  I also have a 10" china cymbal along with a small set of Treeworks bar chimes, a tiny cowbell and a little piccolo jam block in the percussion department.  I also have a miniature bell tree which is not currently in the photo but is ready to be added.

However, the most important thing about a drum set is not its appearance but its sound.  Sure this little mini-kit looks really cool in pictures but how does the Micro-Fortress sound?  Well, I think it sounds pretty darn awesome:

That was somewhat hilarious.  The only restriction with this set is getting to the snare drum with my big ol' knee in the way.  Still, I can have hours of fun playing around on this awesome miniature version of The Fortress.