I 'am just curious if this was just an eye catcher, or has it a different sound. So did he used different sizes for the Snare, Toms or Cymbals wich would effect the sound in a remarkable way ? Any (ear) witnesses around ?
Picture : Jazz Tour- Drum kit example
This was for the 'acoustic' part of the set for Dreamers Ball and '39....looks like he's using the same depth snare drum as on his full kit so the sound would be the same, but the stripped back set up was all that was needed for that part of the set, and it also enabled him to be closer to the rest of the band, and the audience.
From queenconcerts.com:
Jazz tour:
Main drum kit
Ludwig 26" x 14" bass-drum.
Ludwig 14" x 7.5" maple snare drum.
Ludwig 18" x 18" and 20" x 20" floor toms.
Ludwig 14" x 14", 13" x 13" and 12" x 12" rack toms.
Remo 16" and 14" rototoms [Get Down Make Love].
Paiste 12", 10", 8", 6" and 4" splash cymbals.
Paiste 18", 15" and 2 x 16" crash cymbals.
3 x Pollard Syndrum pads.
Zildjian 15" hi-hats.
Zildjian 22" and 15" crash cymbals.
Zildjian 22" ride cymbal.
Zyn 20" ride cymbal.
Ludwig Speed-King pedal.
Ludwig stands.
Premier sticks.
Bass-drum logo: NOTW robot [USA/Canada]
Bass-drum logo: Jazz cover [Europe]
Small drum kit [Dreamer's Ball, '39]
Gretsch 18" x 14" bass-drum.
Gretsch 14" x 5" snare drum.
Gretsch 12" x 8" rack tom.
Gretsch 14" x 14" and 16" x 14" floor toms.
Paiste 14" hi-hats.
Paiste 16" crash.
The sound is most certainly different with smaller drums, however not as much as you'd imagine, the snare is the core of the kit and that is basically the same snare, very slightly less depth, as is the kick drum, it will be a tighter sound, but a lot will be down to how the engineer mics it and processes it out front. Yo also tend to play smaller kits in a different way to big ones,Unless you are a drummer you may not even notice it sounds that different in a big venue, but you would on stage and to the band, having said that I reckon most of us drummer prefered the smaller kit (with bigger drums) on the last tour to the full kit up on stage. The new small toms sounded horrible in my opinion anyway.