Jazz drumming is a great way to express your musical creativity, but not everyone has the space for a full-sized drum kit. Fortunately, compact drum kits offer an excellent solution.
Compact kits are small, lightweight, and portable, making them perfect for practice, small gigs, or even recording sessions.
In this article, I’ll be comparing 4 popular compact drum kits: the Pearl Midtown, Tama Club-Jam, Ludwig Breakbeats and the Sonor AQ2 Safari. I have played on the each of these compact drum kits in various music clubs throughout Japan.
I’ll examine the features of each kit and share my recommendation at the end. Let’s get rolling!
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1. Pearl Midtown Compact Drum Kits
The Pearl Midtown compact drum kit has big sound. It’s got a 16×14-inch bass drum, 10×7-inch and 13×12-inch toms, and a 13×5.5-inch snare drum. The kit is made of 6-ply Poplar wood and comes in three different finishes.
One of the most significant advantages of the Pearl Midtown is its versatility. It can handle any genre of music, from Jazz to Rock, and everything in between. It also has a compact footprint, making it easy to transport to gigs or practice sessions.
I own the Pearl Midtown drum kit and it has paid for its low price many times over. I use it for clubs, concert halls and recording sessions. Sound and recording engineers are always amazed at how such a small kit can sound so good!
The overall sound of the kit is balanced and really blends well with whatever music you like to play. I also did a YouTube review of this kit and my compact hardware setup.
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2. Tama Club-Jam
The Tama Club-Jam compact drum kit is another one that packs a punch. It’s got a 16×15-inch bass drum, 10×7-inch and 12×7-inch toms, and a 13×5-inch snare drum. The kit is made of 7-ply Poplar and comes in three different finishes.
One of the unique things on the Tama Club-Jam is its adjustable tom mount. This lets you position the toms at different angles to match your body size and drumming flow. The kit also has a compact design, making it easy to transport.
This drum kit is great for beginning drummers and practice at home but I wouldn’t recommend it for gigs. I found that the toms and snare have a thin sound and the bass drum is a bit like a cannon. It’s hard to balance the huge sound of the kick drum with the thinner sounding toms and snare drum.
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3. Ludwig Breakbeats Compact Drum Kits
The Ludwig Breakbeats compact drum kit was designed in collaboration with Questlove, the drummer of The Roots. It’s got a 16×14-inch bass drum, 10×7-inch and 13×13-inch toms, and a 14×5-inch snare drum. The kit is made of 7-ply basswood and comes in four different finishes.
The Ludwig Breakbeats kit has a warm, punchy sound, and it’s perfect for drummers who want to play Funk, Hip-Hop, or R&B. The kit also has a compact design, making it easy to move around.
This is a great kit and one that I would feel comfortable gigging with in certain musical situations. The thinner snare drum at only 5 inches (even with the 14-inch diameter), doesn’t work well for Jazz drumming but I can definitely use it when I’m playing a Hip-Hop or funkier music.
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4. Sonor AQ2 Safari
The Sonor AQ2 Safari compact drum kit has professional sound and build. It’s got a 16×15-inch bass drum, 10×7-inch and 13×12-inch toms, and a 13×5.75-inch snare drum. The kit is made of 7-ply maple and comes in six different finishes.
The Sonor AQ2 Safari has a unique mounting system that lets you adjust the toms’ angle and height to fit your playing flow. It also has high-quality hardware and a warm, full-bodied sound.
Like the Tama Club-Jam, I found that the bass drum depth makes it much louder than the toms. The snare drum depth however, is really great. It gives you a nice fat sound for only a 13-inch drum.
Overall, this is a good drum kit for Jazz drumming and heavier funkier music as well. Just go easy on that bass drum.
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My Recommendation: Pearl Midtown
So after all is said and done, I recommend the Pearl Midtown as the best compact drum kit for most drummers. It has the perfect balance between sound quality, versatility, portability and price.
The Pearl Midtown has a compact design that makes it easy to transport, but it doesn’t sacrifice sound quality for portability. It’s made of high-quality materials and produces a full-bodied, rich sound that can handle any genre of music. It’s also perfect for beginners and professional drummers alike.
The Tama Club-Jam is my least favorite overall while the Ludwig Breakbeats and The Sonor AQ2 Safari compact drum kits are excellent choices if you’re looking to play Hip-Hop or Funk.
Conclusion
So, if you’re looking for a versatile, high-quality compact drum kit that won’t break the bank, the Pearl Midtown is the way to go in my opinion. It’s an excellent choice for Jazz drumming and perfect for beginning drummers, intermediate drummers, and professionals alike.
All of these kits make drumming fun. Whichever compact drum kit you choose, just be sure to get one that’ll always make you excited to sit down an play. Keep swinging my friend!
