converting a tom to snare

suedesound · 13th January 2012

anyone done this before? just picked up an 80's tama kit for almost nothing. it came with 2 more toms than i would use and i'm considering turning the 14" rack to a snare. i have to measure it but it's pretty deep. i have some experience restoring drums but not what i'm trying to do here. do i need to cut into the bottom of the shell where the snare crosses or can i just install the hardware and put a snare side rim on it? anyone that's tried to do this before i would appreciate the help. thanks

biggator6 · 13th January 2012

You'll want to either cut a snare bed or use some kind of parallel strainer.

chrisso · 13th January 2012

I would think twice.
A converted tom to a snare is going to be practically worthless to sell on...... and with a plethora of great sounding and affordable snare drums, why do it?

suedesound · 14th January 2012

i'm thinking more along the lines of why not. i got a 5 peice kit plus snare (12", 13", 14" racks and 16" floor along with a 20" kick) for $125. i'm considering this my "junker" kit. i already have an early 60's slingerland kit that i restored and a couple of snares that i love (rogers and slingerland) plus the no-name one that came with the kit. just thought it would be a fun project and i pretty much never use more than one rack and one floor, on the off chance i want two racks i still have the 12 and 13.

even though i'm not a fan of anything deeper than 6.5" for snare i thought i would give it a shot. it's 9" deep. i had an 8" deep dw brass snare a long time ago but really didn't like it, i thought maybe a wood snare would maybe be better. if nothing else it can be a novelty drum and if i want to resell the kit i still have 3 toms with it. i'll probably spend more putting new heads on the kit than i paid for it so it's not a big deal.

suedesound · 14th January 2012

biggator6, thanks. i just got the same reply from another drummer friend of mine on fb.

13th January 2012	#1
suedesound Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2008 Location: san francisco Posts: 850 Thread Starter	converting a tom to snare anyone done this before? just picked up an 80's tama kit for almost nothing. it came with 2 more toms than i would use and i'm considering turning the 14" rack to a snare. i have to measure it but it's pretty deep. i have some experience restoring drums but not what i'm trying to do here. do i need to cut into the bottom of the shell where the snare crosses or can i just install the hardware and put a snare side rim on it? anyone that's tried to do this before i would appreciate the help. thanks

13th January 2012	#2
biggator6 Lives for gear Joined: May 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,979	You'll want to either cut a snare bed or use some kind of parallel strainer. __________________ "Seriously, there's a certain kind of creative inspiration that can come from exploring the outer limits of a musical instrument. Now days the limits are so vast that it can be difficult to set boundaries." --spargee

13th January 2012	#3
chrisso Gear Guru Joined: Oct 2002 Location: Oz Posts: 16,836	I would think twice. A converted tom to a snare is going to be practically worthless to sell on...... and with a plethora of great sounding and affordable snare drums, why do it? __________________ Chris Whitten

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14th January 2012	#4
suedesound Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2008 Location: san francisco Posts: 850 Thread Starter	i'm thinking more along the lines of why not. i got a 5 peice kit plus snare (12", 13", 14" racks and 16" floor along with a 20" kick) for $125. i'm considering this my "junker" kit. i already have an early 60's slingerland kit that i restored and a couple of snares that i love (rogers and slingerland) plus the no-name one that came with the kit. just thought it would be a fun project and i pretty much never use more than one rack and one floor, on the off chance i want two racks i still have the 12 and 13. even though i'm not a fan of anything deeper than 6.5" for snare i thought i would give it a shot. it's 9" deep. i had an 8" deep dw brass snare a long time ago but really didn't like it, i thought maybe a wood snare would maybe be better. if nothing else it can be a novelty drum and if i want to resell the kit i still have 3 toms with it. i'll probably spend more putting new heads on the kit than i paid for it so it's not a big deal.