The present invention relates to a drum system.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 3543622 suggests a compact, easy-to-carry drum set. This drum set is configured such that a tom, a snare drum, and the like can be stowed inside a bass drum, which is split into two shell segments. In this configuration, to secure the space for stowing the tom and the snare drum inside the bass drum, it is necessary to increase the diameter and the depth of the bass drum. Furthermore, during a performance, the tom, the snare drum, and the like are attached to the outer circumferential surface of the bass drum via attachment fixtures. At this time, since the bass drum is set to face sideways, a sufficient space is required to accommodate the drum set. Therefore, the drum set disclosed in this document is not suited for performances held in small spaces, such as in a bar and on a street.
On the other hand, a cocktail drum system has been suggested that is suited for performances in such small spaces. A cocktail drum has a long-bodied shell and a pair of drumheads attached to the upper and lower open ends of the shell. Similarly to a floor tom, the cocktail drum is set to face vertically during use. A player strikes the lower drumhead with a pedal and strikes the upper drumhead with sticks. That is to say, the player strikes the upper drumhead in a manner similar to a tom and a snare drum and strikes the lower drumhead in a manner similar to a bass drum. The cocktail drum is tuned by adjusting the tension of each of the upper and lower drumheads by rotation of a plurality of lug bolts arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the shell.
However, in the case of a cocktail drum, a drumhead of a tom or a snare drum and a drumhead of a bass drum are attached to a single shell. In this configuration, tuning for one drumhead is easily influenced by tuning for the other drumhead via the shell. This leads to, for example, interference between the sound of the upper drumhead and the sound of the lower drumhead. For this reason, each drumhead can be tuned only within a small range. As a result, the cocktail drum cannot be tuned sufficiently, and the sound made by striking each drumhead is not able to resonate sufficiently.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds