just made a chilling discovery

[NIMBY]

i never liked the sound of my 12" rack tom, always thought it sounded too dead.

my drum kit is not what you would call first class either, being a starter kit that i got from $500AU when i first started playing about 3 years ago - should have a new kit by next august if my job holds up!

i tried eeeeverything to try and get it sounding better, new heads, different heads, different tunings, different stands and now i know why none of them work.

the tom holder that slides inside the drum is somehow dampening the shell from the inside!
*insert gasping sound*

i first came across this today when trying once again to get a better sound out of the blasted thing. i put the drum in its holder on the bass drum and held the tom up with my hand from under it, and when i struck that drum, it actually resonated for once!
then came great disappointment when i took away my hand and let the tom holder do its job, the thing was still as dead as a door nail. i made sure nothing was touching the drum on the bottom or anywhere and struck it again, still the same disappointing thud.

soooo your all probably wondering why im still going on about this but i was just thought id share my little discovery with this forum and thought maybe someone else has this problem and has some kind of solution to it, i know it will never sound too fantastic but still, it be great if it actually resonated!

thanks for reading my little story...

[Big_Philly]

Would it help if you suspended the tom in a way that would minimize shell contact with the rod holding it up? So suspending it without letting the tom holder get into your drum?
If the rod is too long you could saw some of it off...

[NIMBY]

that would help alot, ive been trying to come up with a way to do this all afternoon, but so far i havent prevailed

[jayp]

You should try using a suspension mount for that tom and mount your tom off of a stand.

[fourstringdrums]

This is exactly why most drum manufacturers don't make tom mounts that go into the shell or drill directly to the shell any longer.

But even RIMS don't solve the problem entirely. Bob Gatzen has a video on youtube where he showed how even the positioning of the tom on the mounting arm can affect resonance.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_C4Jnl9PYKQ

[bodinski]

Just for grins, try tightening (or loosening) whatever bolts or screws attach the mount to the shell. You could also try some small washers or something in between the mount & the shell.
Luck! Bodinski

[konaboy]

I discovered this about a year and a half ago after 25 years of playing. I was messing with changing heads and my setup and noticed the further out on the mounting arm the tom got the more resonance my drums had, it totally opened up the sound and made me a believer in the Yamaha YESS and other mounting systems that keep the mounts from going into the shell. I have a yamaha kit from 1980 with the long mounting arms that go into the shell, I now have my toms moved as far out on those as I can which has actually made my setup a little nicer allowing me to get the kick a little further out like I wanted.

[NIMBY]

I discovered this about a year and a half ago after 25 years of playing. I was messing with changing heads and my setup and noticed the further out on the mounting arm the tom got the more resonance my drums had, it totally opened up the sound and made me a believer in the Yamaha YESS and other mounting systems that keep the mounts from going into the shell. I have a yamaha kit from 1980 with the long mounting arms that go into the shell, I now have my toms moved as far out on those as I can which has actually made my setup a little nicer allowing me to get the kick a little further out like I wanted.

ill have to give this a shot then, cheers for the advice