The 15-inch floor tom – it’s a thing. While having breakfast with drummer friends, the topic of the 15” floor tom came up and I shared me opinion which follows… The 15” floor tom is my all-time favorite size floor tom – the 14” is too small, the 16” is too big – the 15” is JUST right, giving a nice tone spread with a 12”, for instance. Also, Aquarian, Remo, and Evans all make 15” drumheads of all varieties. Heads are easy to come by at quality drum shops. So, again, my opinion is that the 15” drum is more versatile and easier to tune, high or low for pretty much any type of music you may be playing.
When managing the drum department at Milano Music in Mesa, AZ, we had a famous fusion drummer do a clinic. I had a set of my TJS Custom Drums with a 15” floor tom, and he said, “what are these?” Chris DeLisa, Sabian cymbal rep and host of the clinic, stated, these are Tom’s drums and I have a set myself. The fusion drummer sat down to play them. He stopped at the floor tom… and said “15?” I said, yes, it is. To which he replied, a 15 is the “best voice” for a floor tom. I agreed (and loved the “best voice” comment!) So, just my thoughts and musings, to get a good tone spread and have the versatility everyone looks for in a kit, give a 15” floor tom a try. After all, it’s all about the drums…coming up for the next time, drum wraps – stay tuned! TJS