Why Use a Stand for Tom?

[emagdnim56]

ive seen several professional drummers using stands for their toms, not the hardware that lets you mount it on the bass drum. I was just wondering why do that instead?

[Wavelength]

More setup possibilities.

[komodo]

simply for positioning as said,a lot of people prefer to have their snare in the middle of ther hi and mid tom instead of having them bothto the right of the snare,im one of these people :p

[RémiPDP/Sabian]

simply for positioning as said,a lot of people prefer to have their snare in the middle of ther hi and mid tom instead of having them bothto the right of the snare,im one of these people :p

He's right. I'm a punk rock drummer and I use tom stand for my kit because I'm more confortable to do fast fills when my toms is perfectly above me instead of strech up myself on the right and have more chance of mess it.

[Batera945]

its all about taste and personal preference. I like havin my toms suspended rather then on the BD. It gives you more room to move around.

[fourstringdrums]

I use one because I don't have a tom holder on my bass and I don't like hanging toms off cymbal stands. It makes it harder to adjust the tom and cymbal placement independently from each other. Also, I use flat base stands so it probably wouldn't hold the weight of a tom anyway. Even when I use my Catalina which has a tom holder I prefer to use a snare stand just because I prefer the way it looks, although this kit will be for rehearsals and what not so for the sake of having one less stand to take with me, I'll just fly it off the bass drum.

[sXeDanimalsXe]

Also most high end drum kits do not have mounts on the bass drum. "Virgin bass drums" are usually something you see on higher end kits. Also many high end kits use very thin shells and if the drum does not have re-enforcment rings the shell might not be able to handle the added weight. Drilling a bunch of holes in to the shell isn't a great idea if your looking for a lot of sustain in your drum.

[appledrummer]

Also most high end drum kits do not have mounts on the bass drum. "Virgin bass drums" are usually something you see on higher end kits. Also many high end kits use very thin shells and if the drum does not have re-enforcment rings the shell might not be able to handle the added weight. Drilling a bunch of holes in to the shell isn't a great idea if your looking for a lot of sustain in your drum.

Yamaha Recording Custom? ONe of the most high end bass drums. It has tom mount and a thick shell.

[AlexM]

I do because i think its sexy, and it allows me to get my rack tom into a more comfortable playing position

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

How can wood and metal be 'sexy'? More aesthetically pleasing, yes. Sexy, no.

[ULTIMATEDRUMMER]

well I just use it for positioning the drum were I want it basically as well.

[fourstringdrums]

How can wood and metal be 'sexy'? More aesthetically pleasing, yes. Sexy, no.

The internet should have showed you by now that people are into a lot of different things =D

[harryconway]

Yamaha Recording Custom? ONe of the most high end bass drums. It has tom mount and a thick shell.

Indeed, and as much as I liked my Yamaha RC and like Yamaha hardware, if I was ever to order a brand new kit, I'd special order it with a virgin kick.

[burnthehero]

I'm about to put my rack tom on a snare stand. In my opinion, it allows for the most flexibility because the tom is attached to neither the bass drum nor a cymbal stand.

[lochday]

How can wood and metal be 'sexy'? More aesthetically pleasing, yes. Sexy, no.

ditto! Sexy sounds strange when used to qualify drums. Drumsets are no misses to be elected every year (miss Gretsch of the year...) I'd rather use this word in a human context. Indeed, what is more aesthetically pleasing than a sexy drummer (male or female) sat behind a beautiful drumset? We all have our personal preference anyway resting on different viewpoints. Toms on a stand do not appeal to me aestheticaly, but it is just me. I don't find it practical either to have to carry additional hardware. As to attaching toms to the cymbal stands, well, not my cup of tea.

[Cymbalrider]

Well I like mounting stuff on the bass drum really. It's a whole lot less stuff to carry around. I miss the old style where everything was basically coming out of the bass drum. Cymbal arms, tom mounts, cowbell holders, mufflers, even legs that retracted... So much easier than carrying stands around. I'm not too much of a believer in virgin drums being the ultimate solution. I don't think there's going to be a sacrifice in sound just from a tom mount. Now perhaps the big post things that go 3/4 of the way into the drum perhaps but not rail mounts and such. My tom post is isolated in that it sits on the top.. no hole in the shell but it still acts as a tom post. My only issues with bass mounted posts is that you can't put the ride tom any further to the sides. You can only really tilt it around and it sits right in front of you. Look at where the old rail mounts placed the tom further around the curve of the bass and not right on top. Snare stand mounting does the same thing. By the way, what happened to cymbal arms on basses. People think they aren't cool anymore? They were extremely useful since now you have to carry all this fancy stuff just to put the cymbal in the same place. Also you couldn't really mount a tom on top of a 26" bass and be able to use it. You need it further down the side. I vote we bring back rail mounts, you could still have the isolated system on the toms too. So much simpler than the whole post thing with swivel balls or whatnot.

[AlexM]

Relax guys! Lol. I just think it looks better that way. Sexy was just an exaggerated way to say that... Geeze :-)

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Only having a bit of fun, Alex.

[lochday]

I was just trying to be funny like Mediocrefunkybeat, and a bit playful, not mischievous. Sorry I didn't succeed. This is due to my English not being my native language and not always accurate, or... sexy enough LOL

[drumbandit]

I have my tom on a seperate stand for a wider range of movement. But also one of Bob Gatzen's drum tuning/sound videos explains that the extra weight of the tom on the bass drum does actually change the sound. He demomsrates it as well. Although I can't actually find the video.

Tom

[aydee]

I have my tom on a seperate stand for a wider range of movement. But also one of Bob Gatzen's drum tuning/sound videos explains that the extra weight of the tom on the bass drum does actually change the sound. He demomsrates it as well. Although I can't actually find the video.

Tom

Don't understand why, but it is true. I recently moved my 12" and 10" off the 22"x16" Bass drum mount on to a rack and all three drums sound different ( better, more resonance )

[aydee]

I was just trying to be funny like Mediocrefunkybeat, and a bit playful, not mischievous. Sorry I didn't succeed. This is due to my English not being my native language and not always accurate, or... sexy enough LOL Bon Jour, Lochday! I'm trying to find out more about a french drummer called Damien Schmitt. Any info would be appreciated. Merci !

[stevedrum]

My kit is like that. I use a tom holder because neither the bass drum nor the toms are holed and so a stand is needed.

[lochday]

Bon Jour, Lochday! I'm trying to find out more about a french drummer called Damien Schmitt. Any info would be appreciated. Merci !

You can see him play on You tube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeJ4fpUY38o&mode=related&search=
There are other videos of him, too.
Sorry I don't have more info about him. I know he is currently the drummer of Yannick Noa (the ex tennis champion and singer) and he also plays with a lot of other famous artists (Mc laughlin, janic Top, etc.)
Dunno what he would say about toms attached to the BD or on a stand, but the answer might appear soon in the famous French drum magazine called "Batteur Magazine"which will interview him again before the end of 2007. I'll send you a private message when I read it to give you more information if you want to, unless you can read French..

[serpicojam]

Any of you find that your tom tom has less resonance when you mount it on a snare stand?

Over years I've gone from 5-piece (12 & 13 mounted on the bass drum) to a four-piece (12 or 13 mounted on the bass drum). When I went to a four-piece kit I tried mounting the tom on a snare stand -- but I was so used to a bouncing tom (bouncing with every note played on the bass drum, bouncing when struck) that the feel and sound of the tom mounted on a snare stand was too funky. It didn't give, and it didn't resonate, at least as I was used to it.

Perhaps it's just the change in feel. Otherwise, I'm totally in agreement with the added setup possibilities and appearance of the tom mounted on a snare stand.

[Deathmetalconga]

Also most high end drum kits do not have mounts on the bass drum. "Virgin bass drums" are usually something you see on higher end kits. Also many high end kits use very thin shells and if the drum does not have re-enforcment rings the shell might not be able to handle the added weight. Drilling a bunch of holes in to the shell isn't a great idea if your looking for a lot of sustain in your drum.

Fist fights will break out when people start discussing if and to what extent bass-mounting the toms affects the sound of the drums. To me, bolting 20 or more pounds of hardware to the top of the drum cannot but help make a difference, but let's just assume it makes no difference in the sound at all. I just don't like drilling any more holes in the bass drum than absolutely necessary and I don't like bolting additional hardware to my drums. A drum is a drum and a stand is a stand and you should never confuse the two.

[fourstringdrums]

An important thing to remember that when you mount a tom on a snare stand, you can't tighten the basket, just like with a snare. You have to have it loose in the basket or else you will lose resonance for sure and choke the sound of the drum.

[criz p. critter]

Three reasons I use a snare stand:
1) Feels a lot more sturdy to me than hanging the tom off a cymbal stand. I was always worried the stand would tip and let the tom scratch the top of the kick.
2) Position: I like how the tom now sits lower and to the left, instead of higher and more over the kick (I've got a 24" kick). Feels a lot easier to play on, now.
3) It looks flippin' SEXY. No... wait a sec... I mean cool. It looks flippin' COOL.

And like fourstringdrums sez about resonance, as long as you don't crank the basket tight, it'll still sound great.

[The Ploughman]

All this talk of mounting and sexy.

My Ayotte kit has a virgin bass, the 12" tom is mounted on a DW Tom Cymbal Combo Stand. One of the Rogers sets has a virgin bass, and that 12 is mounted on a cymbal stand via a Mapex clamp. Everything else is Rogers swivomatic with a single tom holder mounted on the bass drum.

[Les Ismore]

Toms mounted on the bass drum is a preference thing, sure you get more tone, but how many people use dampening devices, especially in the bass drum? Advantages- Bass drum more stable, drum's resonate as one unit/instument, easier set-up/tear-down.

High-end kits make more money for the builder, they can charge more for less (no mount, less plys), marketing = $$$$ Sound, like finish is all preference too.

The biggest advantage mounting on stands/racks is greater placement ability. This is a big plus if your over 6' tall.

Sexy? It has its place when describing a drum's lug's/hardware which are what differentiate drums appearances, since they're all round cylinders and can all have the same finish.

Below as an example I would consider the Premier- 'Sexy'. The Ludwigs- 'Handsome'. The DW- 'Gay', well... maybe gay is too strong a word, especially for the over $3000 bunch, we'll use 'Butch' instead.

[Jeff Almeyda]

[QUOTE=Les Ismore;391073

Below as an example I would consider the Premier- 'Sexy'. The Ludwigs- 'Handsome'. The DW- 'Gay', well... maybe gay is too strong a word, especially for the over $3000 bunch, we'll use 'Butch' instead.[/QUOTE]


That cracked me up. I never thought of it before but the DW does look a little gay. (And I play DW!!)

[drumr0]

I hope you mean "gay" as in "happy!!" LOL! This is from another DW owner. :)

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Virgin, mount, sexy, gay, hung??? Masters and Johnson will have to write another chapter in their human sexuality book. My Gretsch came with a virgin bass and I hung my three toms from cymbal stands. I can put them almost where I want and not have to move the bass drum. My Taye set had a double tom mount with a center spot for a cymbal and it got a bit crowded. As for the sound, I'm not sure.

[markiet1966]

It really depends what you are comfortable with, I was using a prototype Yamaha bass drum without a mount earlier this year and found that I prefer to have my toms mounted on the bass drum. The problem I had was that I had the toms mounted on cymbal stands which dictated where I had my cymbals.

For me I much prefer them on the bass drum, there is definitely some truth in the resonance argument but the difference is not huge. The main thing is to go with what you are comfortable with and not what you think you should do because other people do it that way.

Mark

[brianthedrummer]

Holes in drums reduce thier sound and resonence quality. Tom mounts such as RIMMS and the ones found on PDP kits (I have found) put pressure in the tension rods and affect tuning. Regardless, any tom sitting on a bass drum has wieght, and changes the bass drum sound.

Bob Gatzen coverd this is his video "Drum Tuning".