Drums

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Hey guys & girls (if present)! I just joined the site and didn't find anywhere to say hello, so I'll say hello here because this is an interesting subject. Hello!
I have an early seventies Premiere kit that I bought used in 2004. They have 3-ply shells and originally, the toms were mounted on the bass drum but the toms were pretty much untunable after all those years of stress being placed in one small area of the shells. So I got some Optimounts and now those toms sing like you wouldn't believe. I mount the 13" on a tom arm clamped to cymbal stand along with a roland pad and the 14" is on a tom arm clamped to the original tom mount which is placed in the original hole for it but is upside down so that only what is needed protrudes to the outside of the bass drum. Inside, I clip my bass drum mic to the tom holder.
I still get a little too much vibration from the bass drum into the tom but it's tolerable even in the stufio. I just don't like to dampen my drums that much (especially after spending all that money to liberate them) .

I agree this is a very interesting topic... my 2 cents.

Personally I prefer and use a rack system. I believe it was mentioned before that with a bass drum mount you have weight on the shell on the bass drum which in the long term warps the shell distorting the tone. I agree with that and have this to add. The hardware that comes along with a bass drum mounting system takes away from the tone. If you look at any drum you have basically two components that determine the tone - the shell and the skin. When you mount hardware directly on the skin it alters it and creates an impure sound. Granted impure is a relative term. I have heard many bass drum mounted sets that have excellent sound quality.

What I appreciate about the rack system is the versatility as well as the stability. I am still finding my perfect setup and I have had the kit for 10 years. The one thing I must say about this sort of setup is it is more cumbersome when it comes to logistics and it does take up more space. This has been a pain for me as a gigging drummer but at this point it is a labor of love.

Good luck out there!

I bought into the suspended toms when I first experienced them.

But I first experienced them when I was... let's say I was once completely
saturated, mind-body-and-soul, when I first started playing.

However, a friend of mine, also a drummer, bought a set of Sonors
(around 1988) with a virgin bass drum and I perceived more sustain and
body with his suspended toms, as opposed to my non-suspended
bass-drum-mounted Premier APK Royale toms. This may have actually
been due to better quality of material than anything else I imagine.

I was reading all about suspension toms in Modern Drummer magazine
in the 80's, so I would like to think I was fairly impressionable as a
teenager about drums and philosophies pertaining to drums.

However, before I got sold on the suspension systems, I was first more
into, or rather, against any drum company that had tom mounts
penetrate the shell. That made no sense to me.

I still have my Premiers, but now I also have a 6pc. 2007 Pearl VLX set
on a rack, 10", 12" and a 14" on top. The rack certainly allows for a
great deal more freedom of positioning, practically limitless positions. For
me, that's fine.

how come i can't respond to a email with out joining the 20$ club per month. rip off!!

For Recording, I'd recommend Rack Mounted toms. This will keep the individual Drums better isolated when tracking large mic counts. I've used both, and I prefer Rack mounting, not only for the isolation, but also because you can usually set the position of your mounts on the rack and forget about it. They'll always be in the same place no matter what, so you can have consistent setups.

I began mounting toms in snare baskets years ago. There is just a sonic difference between toms which float and those which are attached to hardware by their shells. Floating shells resonate more, attached shells choke. If you like a more deadened, fat tone from your toms, the right choices can give you what you want by mounting on traditional hardware. If you want toms which sing as much as possible, you have to float them somehow.

Because I am poor, I still use at least part of the basic Rogers 4 piece I bought in 1969. My Dynasonic snare was completed in June of 1964 and the 20" bass drum, 12" ride tom and 14" floor tom are from about the same time. The tom is bass drum mounted and it is still a sweet sounding small kit. A few years later I traded for a 24" Rogers bass drum and another 12" ride tom and a 13" tom, both bass drum mounted. That is the set-up I use now. 14" Dynasonic snare, 12" and 13" bass mounted ride toms and 14" floor tom, along with a cheap, off brand 16" floor tom. Both of the bass drums are still round and I constantly get complements from other drummers on how good my antique kit sounds. It still looks good to, thanks to being in cases all those times between set ups.

All that being said, I am looking at doing a rack set-up, not because my drums sound bad, because they don't, but because the built in hardware is going south after 45 years. I also have concerns about the new mounting hardware and what it might do to my kit. What I have just about arrived at is just getting a newer kit and rackmounting that, and keeping my antiques to record with.

Without the toms and mounting hardware on the bass drum the shells will vibrate more and let the drum have a bit more resonance. this is the same for SOME tom mounts as well!

Suspended toms all the way. Undrilled kicks, too.

Without the toms and mounting hardware on the bass drum the shells will vibrate more and let the drum have a bit more resonance. this is the same for SOME tom mounts as well!

That's fine, however what do most, if not all, rock drummers do to their kicks? That's right, they dampen them. Kick-mounted or stand-mounted, it's gonna sound the same when the band plays anyway.

Without the toms and mounting hardware on the bass drum the shells will vibrate more and let the drum have a bit more resonance. this is the same for SOME tom mounts as well!

That's fine, however what do most, if not all, rock drummers do to their kicks? That's right, they dampen them. Kick-mounted or stand-mounted, it's gonna sound the same when the band plays anyway.

You are right, however there is less stress from the weight of the toms and that will prolong the life of the bass drum "not that I will live 500 years to see the differance" but it is just kind of a peace of mind thang.

I don't care where they are as long as STEVE-O is playing them behind me
[img][img]http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm74/sanshouheil/NKF041.jpg[/img][/img]

eeewwwww he plays with no pants on!

eeewwwww he plays with no pants on!

LOL


Steve is a big fellow and very hot natured.

We played a few weeks ago with it in the teens.
Steve came in wearing log pants ( most always in shorts like in the photo ) We had a big laugh with him about that.