Measuring your drums properly is required before you can buy new heads for your drums. This is how you’ll know what diameter of heads to buy, which will help your drums sound their best.
This might seem like a weird article to come across - how hard can it be to measure a drum, or its heads? For the most part, you’re right - it’s pretty straight ahead, but there are a couple confusing factors. Still, you’re golden for finding the best heads in town if you’ve got common sense, a tape measure, and a little help from Occam's Razor.
When you’re done reading, you will be familiar with:
- How Are Drums Measured
- A Step-By-Step Guide to Measuring a Drum
- Is There an Easier Way?
- An Alternative Method (a Step-by-Step Guide)
- Why it Matters
- FAQ
How are Drums Measured?
To get the right size of heads, we need to know exactly what we’re measuring - and that is the diameter of the drum, focusing on the bearing edge. This refers to the pointed edge of the drum’s shell on which the heads will sit.
Drum sizes are always measured in inches as whole numbers. The same goes for drum heads - neither the drums themselves or their heads come in sizes like “13.5 inches.” In fact, most drums come in even-number sizes - such as 10”, 12”, 14”, and so on. However, odd-number drum sizes are still somewhat common.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Measuring a Drum
To get the most precise measurement possible, you’ll want to remove both the drum heads and the hoops of the drum (the hoops are the metal circles holding the heads in place).
- Loosen all of the tension rods holding the hoops onto the drum, and then remove the hoops.
- Place a tape measure along the center of the drum shell, going from one lug to the opposite side of the drum - this will get you the diameter of the drum, in order to find out what size of drum heads to get.
- Make sure to measure from bearing edge to bearing edge.
- To get the depth of the drum, measure from the top bearing edge of the drum to the bottom bearing edge (on the resonant head side), making sure to keep the tape measure straight.
When measuring the diameter of the drum from the bearing edges, you might end up with a measurement slightly under a whole inch (for instance, 11⅞”). In instances like this, round up, as heads will be slightly bigger than the drum in order to sit on the bearing edge comfortably. Usually, though, it will end up as a whole inch.
Is There An Easier Way?
You can measure the same way without removing the hoops, although this will add slightly more distance on the tape measure than measuring from the bearing edge (this could be up to half an inch). Finding this distance and rounding down to the closest whole inch works. I’ve been playing drums for a lifetime, and never needed to remove the hoops to measure my drums, nor have I ever had problems with drum head sizing.
An Alternative Method (a Step-by-Step Guide)
The tape measure method is the go-to for anyone trying to keep it simple. But, you can employ a creative alternative if you fear your drums have expanded or changed shape over time (this is more common on vintage kits). You’ll need to dust off your geometry skills for this one.
- Take a string long enough to wrap around your drum, and do just that (wrap it around the drum you want to measure).
- Use a marker to draw a line where the string overlaps with itself - or, you can even cut the string at this point.
- Measure the length of the string from the edge to its overlapping point (or the other end, if you decided to cut the string at the overlapping point).
- This is the circumference of the drum, and we need to find the diameter - from geometry, we know that 𝝅d=c, meaning that “pi” multiplied by the diameter equals the circumference. So take your measurement, and divide it by pi (3.14). This gives you the diameter of your drum.
Why It Matters
Knowing the sizes of your drums is essential for replacing your drum heads. However, it’s also good to know what sizes your drums are for other reasons. This helps you keep track of what you like about a 14” vs 18” floor tom, or an 18” vs 26” kick drum. The more sizes you play, and the more you keep track of these sizes, the more you can customize your gear to fit your style!
FAQ
Does the Depth of the Drum Matter?
For drum heads - no. But it’s good to know the depth of the drum (especially before buying) as it will affect the sound. Shallower drums tend to have more attack, clarity, and articulation, while deeper drums have a boomier, heavier sound.
What if standard heads don’t seem to fit my Vintage Drums?
You might want to check out Remo’s “Classic Fit” series, as they have an extra .13” added for “out-of-round” drums, as well as vintage drums that may have expanded over time.
What about Triangular Drums?
Triangular drums, or any other strange shapes, require their own stock heads made by the drum manufacturer; they typically can’t be replaced, so the measurement is not important.
