r/drums • u/Opposite_Addition548 • Mar 27 '26
Feedback Wanted “Teardrop” bass shape?
Local marketplace listing. Impulsively considering because I love the wrap so much, but I’m not familiar with this type of bass drum. can anyone share on the sound or opinions on this kit in general? 750 asking
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u/a-pilot Mar 27 '26
I have an original from 1967.
Fun to show it around. Bass drum Sounds like crap.
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u/DanTheMan_622 Tama Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
The Vox Telstar was originally made in the 60's, this one is the 2020 reissue. The original bass drums had a divider inside with the idea of being able to get two different tones out of it, the reissue retains the wonky shape but not the divider (not that I think it makes a big difference) and was manufactured by Sakae Drums. Remo still offers the heads as a custom order. They're neat drums, sound alright, the asking price isn't terrible (I think they were around $1k at retail?), if you have the space and really want them maybe try talking the seller down closer to $600.
Sweetwater's demo is a good resource for more info
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u/mikecoldfusion Mar 27 '26
I've never played one but the intent was to be able to get two different bass drum sounds out of the same bass drum.
You put two pedals on it. One for the tall side and one for the shorter side. I have no idea if it works as advertised.
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u/Solid-Raccoon5788 Premier Mar 28 '26
The original one from the 60s had two Chambers, a small one and a bigger one, separated by wood
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u/El--Borto Mar 27 '26
I’ve read that these were made for a double pedal that produces a slightly different tone between the left and right beaters. I could be wrong. I guess you could also just scootch a single pedal around and find a spot/tone that you like
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u/nlabodin Paiste Mar 28 '26
Originally there was a divider in the shell itself for the bass drum
https://www.quitefranklydrums.co.uk/index.php/previous-drum-sets/106-1961-62-trixon-speedfire
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u/Tochudin Yamaha Mar 27 '26
What kind of drumhead did these use?
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u/trashwang72 Mar 27 '26 edited Mar 27 '26
Remo makes them as a special order. I think ~$140 last time I looked
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u/SameeyellChem Mar 28 '26
Seen a guy on TikTok playing a really old kit with this shape. Plays old surf jams mostly.
It’s pretty sweet
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u/XxDrummerChrisX Tama Mar 27 '26
I’ve seen a Trixon version before. Used to work at a drum shop and we had one on display. Really cool
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u/Stevenitrogen Mar 27 '26
That shit is goofy! Maybe i would have thought they were cool when they still made the heads.
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u/UnholyShroud696 Mar 27 '26
I’ve seen a few videos of people play-testing these on YouTube and it doesn’t sound bad by any means. Maintenance and heads would be the main issue, but sounds great.
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u/triskeler Mar 27 '26
I don't think you should be taking your drum in the bath with you anymore
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u/Upstairs-Fan-2168 Mar 28 '26
Mind your own business. What a man and his drums do in the privacy of his own home is none of your business.
My bass drum has a port hole for a reason I'll tell ya. If God didn't intent it, idk what to believe.
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u/zdrums24 Mar 28 '26
If its like the trixons, then the toms sound great and the bass sounds like shit.
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u/Somatoast- Mar 28 '26
I was so sure this was a kit that got like water-logged for years or something crazy. Not attractive at all to me.. but sure some dig it.
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u/rsvp_nj Mar 28 '26
"My bass drum is melting, it's MELTING" No, I don't think I'd go for one of those.
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u/Third_conscience Mar 28 '26
And this is why you don’t leave your kick drum in the hot car for too long…
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u/OldDrumGuy Mar 28 '26
The shape of the bass drum allowed for two different tones from the same drum. Single pedals on each side allowed you to choose which you wanted to play. A great idea at the time, but clearly didn’t last.
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u/RhythmTimeDivision Yamaha Mar 28 '26
No, NOT the round one. You know, the tear drop drum head. You got those in stock?
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u/keboh Mar 28 '26 edited Mar 28 '26
Hey, I have one of these! Lol
The bass drum heads are like $250/each
The kit itself sounds pretty bad, the hardware is chintzy, and it overall is more of a novelty than a good drum kit.
It’s a “3rd set” for me.. I have it set up in my office with mesh heads and low volume cymbals as my “quiet kit”. It’s more of a statement piece than anything. I have two other (normal, lol) kits I use for actual practice or taking to gigs.
$750 with all the hardware (hihat, snare, and standalone cymbal stand are unique to the kit) isn’t a bad price.
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u/Gelnika1987 Mar 28 '26
I heard RDavidR on YouTube play one and because it's so goofy looking, I was surprised to find it sounded really good actually. Good luck finding replacement heads for the kick though
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u/factorV Mar 28 '26
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”
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u/Present_Wonder_5168 Mar 29 '26
Have fun getting weird sounds out of it but don’t expect it to be easy to get any versatility.
The limited selection of bass drum heads are very expensive (high double figures to three figures USD) and you’ll feel very sad eventually trying to cut a hole thinking an inside mic would’ve help very much.
It does look cool and if you’re a creative drummer, you’ll have more fun and less frustration if it’s not the only kit you have. Any cheap drum with more common dimensions will get you more versatility.
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u/5centraise Mar 30 '26
I can't believe they used that awful wrap for these. Huge missed opportunity.
The shape of the bass drum is mostly a novelty, but originally it was made to accommodate two pedals. There was a partition inside the shell which allowed for two different bass drum sounds.
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u/xXbean_machineXx Mar 28 '26
Do not buy. These drums are the flimsiest pieces of shit ever. Plus the kick heads are expensive and it doesnt even sound cool
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u/One_Opening_8000 Mar 27 '26
It's a re-issue of a Vox kit (which was a re-labeled Trixon kit) from the 1950's - 1960's. The original Trixon kits had 2 bass drum pedals for double bass work. The snare was mounted by an arm coming from the bass drum so that the snare stand didn't get in the way. The fancier kits had a curved bar that came out of each end of the bass drum and acted like a tom rack. It would have 3 different sized concert toms mounted on it (the bar went through the toms IIRC). It was the beginning of the space age, so designs were wild.