Smackpac Drums: Compact and Professional for any gig

When we see a super small drum kit with a 16-inch bass drum that even looks and sounds great we think this is it, the most compact of all. No, my friends, compact and portable live somewhere else: in a drum world called Smackpac.

If you are a professional drummer who plays a bunch of smaller to mid-sized gigs and needs a drum kit that can fit anywhere in your car, take a look at my overview of Smackpac drums.

Design and portability

Do not be fooled by the size of this drumkit! When packed the whole kit fits inside the cajon-ish bass drum, all of it, the hardware, and shells. This is possible due to the small size of the snare, tom, and floor tom (not mounted on the floor). Additionally making this all fit inside the main shell is the kick drum pedal which is located inside the kick drum itself. This feature makes this drum kit even more adjustable for small spaces.

Drummers find the Smackpac drum sound as professional as its bigger brothers with a much smaller footprint. This professional-grade drum set easily fits in any car’s trunk making it extremely portable. This is a must for those drummers who travel frequently to different typed venues never knowing what stage size to expect. Pubs, small clubs, limited hotel spaces, and rehearsal rooms are all places where this tiny drum set will fit perfectly without sacrificing quality. Let’s not forget how limited space at home can be an issue as well.

The smaller and lighter components make this drum set much easier and faster to set up than standard drum sets. This is very important for drummers with health issues like back problems and for those who are looking for a way to reduce lugging heavy equipment on a daily basis. Drummers who have to navigate through busy walking areas in big cities will benefit from the small size of the Samckpac.

Professional-sounding compact drums

The compact footprint of the Smackpac drums can fool you at first. When unpacked it looks like a beautifully crafted cajon on steroids. But once everything is set and you hear the sound, there is no cajon in the building. It sounds exactly like a professional drum kit should. It also looks like one, just smaller. Drummers are saying that the sound you get from the Smackpac is much more than you would expect from a set this size.

The professional sound comes from top-quality materials that these drums are made of. All the shells are made from birch plywood and the Modules are constructed from half-inch 9-ply Baltic birch plywood. All hardware parts are made of stainless steel or aircraft-grade aluminum.

Smackpac Features and Specifications

There are three drum-kit models that Smackpac offers:

1. SmackPac Pro: Drum set built around a classic Cajon
2. SmackPac DS1: Drum set with standard-looking bass drumhead, snare, tom, and floor tom
3. SmackPac DS2: Sam as DS1 with an additional tom

The best thing about all Smackpac sets is that it only takes a couple of minutes to set up everything. All the parts are cleverly nested inside the 16-inch bass drum. The 10” x 4” snare stands on the bass drum. The 10” x 5” and 8” x 4” (only on DS”) toms are mounted on stands that are integrated into the bass drum, as well as the floor 13” x 6” floor tom.

There are two custom-drive pedals for kick and hi-hat, each positioned on one side of the kick drum. The hi-hat stand is also integrated with the main bass drum shell and the hi-hat pedal. Stability for the bass drum is provided with two adjustable drum legs.

For cymbals, there are two “hideaway” stands that are also mounted on the main bass shell.

Where to buy Smackpac drums?

I checked all the major retailers and couldn’t find them anywhere. This isn’t a surprise since every drum set is custom-made. The Smackpac online shop states their delivery time is 6-8 weeks. All colors and custom finishes need to be determined when ordering.

Reverb.com is the only marketplace where I would look for Smackpac drums since they are a very niche product.

Conclusion

The Smackpac could easily be a dream come true for drummers who need a compact, lightweight, professional-sounding, and easy-to-set-up drum kit that is as portable as possible. Top-grade craftsmanship is visible in every component of the drum set. This drum kit is great for various music genres like jazz, soul, funk, and pop-rock.

Smackpac: quality without compromise for the modern drummer.