Best Jazz Drum Kits: Bop Sizes and What Comes in the Box

Kit	Bass drum	Toms	Snare included?	Hardware included?	Shells
Gretsch Catalina Club CT1-J483	18x14	12x8, 14x14	No	No	7-ply mahogany
Yamaha Stage Custom Birch Bop	18x15	12x8, 14x13	No	No	6-ply birch
Sonor AQ2 Bop shell set WM	18x14	12x8, 14x13	Yes (14x6)	No	Maple
Pearl Midtown MT564	16x14	10x7, 13x12	Yes (13x5.5)	Yes (single-braced)	6-ply poplar

Gretsch Catalina Club CT1-J483: the classic 18-inch bop shell pack

The Gretsch Catalina Club CT1-J483 is the classic bop layout in this group. It’s a three-piece shell pack with an 18x14 bass drum, a 12x8 rack tom, and a 14x14 floor tom. Gretsch builds the shells from 7-ply mahogany with 30-degree bearing edges, and the toms mount on Gretsch’s Mini GTS system.

What you get: the three drums. What you don’t get: a snare, any hardware, or cymbals. If you already own a snare and stands, this is the most direct path to a classic bop setup. If you’re starting from zero, you’ll need to budget for a snare, a full hardware pack, and cymbals before you can play a note.

Mahogany is the headline here. Makers describe mahogany as warm; that’s maker language, not a listening test. The 18x14 bass drum is the classic jazz size, and the 14x14 floor tom is the deepest floor tom in this group.

This is the pick for a drummer who wants the classic bop configuration and already has, or is willing to buy, the supporting pieces. You’ll need a snare, hardware, and cymbals before this kit is playable.

Yamaha Stage Custom Birch Bop: birch shells, no snare

The Yamaha Stage Custom Birch Bop is the other shell pack in this group, and it takes a different approach to shell wood. Yamaha builds these from 100% birch, six plies thick. The sizes are close to the Gretsch: an 18x15 bass drum, a 12x8 rack tom, and a 14x13 floor tom. The bass drum is an inch deeper, which gives it a slightly different footprint.

Like the Gretsch, this is a shell pack only. No snare, no hardware, no cymbals. The birch shells are the headline here. Yamaha describes birch as focused, a different description from the warmth makers attach to mahogany. That’s a maker’s description, not a listening test, but it tells you what Yamaha designed the kit to do.

The 18x15 bass drum is a small departure from the classic 18x14. The extra inch of depth is small, but it’s worth knowing if you’re fitting the kit into a tight practice space or a small car. If you’re comparing these two shell packs, the practical difference comes down to shell wood and whether you prefer the Gretsch’s 14x14 floor tom or the Yamaha’s 14x13.

This is the pick for a drummer who wants birch shells and already owns, or plans to buy, a snare and hardware. Plan on a snare, hardware, and cymbals before this kit is playable.

Sonor AQ2 Bop: maple shells with a matching snare

The Sonor AQ2 Bop shell set WM splits the difference between a shell pack and a complete kit. You get the three bop drums (an 18x14 bass drum, a 12x8 rack tom, and a 14x13 floor tom) plus a 14x6 snare. The shells are maple, and the WM in the name stands for White Marine Pearl, the finish.

Including the snare changes the buying math. You still need hardware and cymbals, but you don’t have to shop for a snare separately. The snare is a 14x6, and it comes in the same box as the shells.

Maple is the third shell wood in this group, alongside the Gretsch’s mahogany and the Yamaha’s birch. The practical advantage here is the snare: it’s one less purchase, and it comes with the set.

This is the pick for a drummer who wants maple shells and doesn’t want to hunt for a snare. You’ll still need a hardware pack and cymbals, but the drum set itself is complete.

Pearl Midtown MT564: the 16-inch travel option

The Pearl Midtown MT564 is the most complete package in this group, and the most compact. Pearl shrinks the bass drum to 16x14, the rack tom to 10x7, and the floor tom to 13x12. The snare is a 13x5.5. The shells are 6-ply poplar, and Pearl includes single-braced hardware with the kit.

That hardware inclusion is the big difference. You get the snare and the hardware in the box. You still need cymbals, and Pearl offers a bag as an optional add-on, but this is the closest thing to a ready-to-play jazz kit in this group.

The 16-inch bass drum is the compact bop size. It’s easier to carry and fits in tighter spaces, which is why Pearl positions the Midtown as a travel kit. The tradeoff is the smaller floor tom and snare. Smaller drums generally give you less low end than an 18-inch bass drum kit, but you gain portability. If you’re playing small rooms, taking public transit to gigs, or practicing in a tight space, that tradeoff usually works in your favor.

This is the pick for a drummer who wants the most complete package and values portability. If you’re comparing it to the other three, the question is whether you’d rather have the 18-inch bass drum sound or the 16-inch convenience. Our compact drum kits guide covers more options in this size range.

Bop sizes: why 18-inch (or 16-inch) bass drums

A bop kit is named after bebop, and the term now means a small jazz kit that’s usually tuned high. The classic bop bass drum is 18 inches in diameter. That’s smaller than the bass drums on most rock kits, and the difference matters.

A smaller bass drum tunes up more easily and responds faster. When you’re playing jazz, the bass drum is often more of a punctuation instrument than a steady pulse. You’re feathering it lightly under the ride cymbal pattern. An 18-inch drum gives you that quick, controlled response without the boom of a larger rock drum.

The 16-inch bass drum on the Pearl Midtown is a further step toward portability. It’s not the classic bop size, but it’s become common for travel kits and small-room setups. The tradeoff is less low-end presence, which matters less in a small club or practice room than it does on a big stage.

The rack tom and floor tom sizes follow the same logic. A 12-inch rack tom and a 14-inch floor tom are the standard bop pairing. The Pearl’s 10x7 and 13x12 are the compact versions. Both work for jazz; the choice is about how much low end you want from the floor tom and how much space you have.

What you still need to buy

Every kit in this group needs cymbals. None of them include a ride cymbal, hi-hats, or a crash, and jazz drumming leans heavily on the ride and hi-hat. That’s not an oversight. Cymbals are personal, and most drummers prefer to choose their own rather than accept whatever a kit bundles in.

Here’s what each kit still needs:

• Gretsch Catalina Club CT1-J483: snare, hardware pack, cymbals, throne
• Yamaha Stage Custom Birch Bop: snare, hardware pack, cymbals, throne
• Sonor AQ2 Bop: hardware pack, cymbals, throne
• Pearl Midtown MT564: cymbals, throne

A hardware pack typically includes a hi-hat stand, two cymbal stands, a snare stand, and a bass drum pedal. Some also include a throne, but many don’t, so check before you buy. Our drum hardware packs guide covers the main options.

If you’re buying the Gretsch or Yamaha shell pack, you’ll also need a snare. Our best snare drums guide can help you pick one.

The throne is easy to overlook, but it’s not optional. You can’t play a kit without something to sit on, and an uncomfortable throne makes long practice sessions harder. If you’re buying a shell pack, add a throne to your list from the start.

Heads, tuning and cymbals carry the jazz sound

The shells are only part of the equation. A jazz kit’s sound comes just as much from the heads, the tuning, and the cymbals. If you buy a bop kit and put heavy rock heads on it, you’ll fight the drums every time you try to get a jazz sound.

Jazz drummers typically use coated heads and tune the drums higher than rock players would. The coated surface gives brushes something to grip, and the higher tuning gives the toms the singing, melodic quality that jazz calls for. This is general practice, not a rule. Plenty of jazz drummers experiment with different heads and tunings.

The cymbals matter even more. The ride cymbal is the timekeeper in jazz, and the hi-hat is the other half of the pulse. Your ride and hi-hat carry as much of your jazz sound as the shells do. Our ride cymbal guide and hi-hat guide cover the options that suit jazz playing.

Brushes are the other essential. A lot of jazz is played with brushes, not sticks, and they need a coated head to produce their characteristic swish. Our drum brushes guide covers the main types and what to look for.

How we chose

We compared four bop-sized kits from Gretsch, Yamaha, Sonor, and Pearl using the manufacturers’ official product pages and current Amazon listings, checked in November 2026. We focused on exact drum sizes, shell construction, and what each box actually includes, because that’s the information that changes what you’ll spend and what you can play when the kit arrives.

We did not test these kits hands-on, and we haven’t listened to them in person. Any description of how a shell wood sounds is attributed to the manufacturer, not to our own testing. Prices are omitted because they change and vary by retailer; the product cards show current pricing.

The four kits were chosen to cover the main bop configurations: two 18-inch shell packs with different woods, one 18-inch kit with a snare, and one 16-inch complete kit with hardware. That spread gives you a clear comparison of what you get at each level of completeness.