The Whitney drums certainly have a distinct look to them. I've heard that the cocktail drum is fairly reasonable price wise - under $400. Kinda wish I'd looked into this before I ordered the parts to build a drum...
Hi,
I've had the hots for this kit for a while. May someday end up with one or similar.
You can also get it with wood rims.
Check the price though, i don't know where you got $400.
Got Whitney's price list; here is a clip from it. The drums are indeed mostly less than $400. Of course, that's without any extras, like pedal or mounting arms.
"Cocktail Drums: Prices include tom legs and are for any depth drum up to 24"
Diameter
12" and 13" $350.00
14" $365.00
15" and 16" $380.00
18? $405.00
Cocktail extras:
Wood hoops $45.00 (15"-18" $55)
Opening top head for nesting $80.00
Sidekick pedal from DW $165.00"
Sounds like a pretty good deal, not having heard them of course.
Cool,
Those prices sound reasonable to me.
I think this is for a kick/tom combo. I like the wood rims and nesting options.
Add a snare, cymbal hardware, pedal-it starts to add up.
If you email J.T. he will try and find someone in your area that has one of his
sets for you to check out.
He has some unique things about his drums that would be dfifficult to attempt
for a homemade job.
let us know if you end up with these.
You aren't kidding about the costs going up. Especially with all the options that Mr. Whitney offers. Plus all the stuff that cocktail drum players like to add to their kits. But these players and their associates are flat out creative! If you look at other musicians I'd bet you don't find as high a percentage anywhere of people who write and perform their own material.
Anyway-I'll be looking hard at options. Being the cheapskate I am, I'll be doing everything I can to pay less! And learning to actually play...more fun.