playing without reso

No. Your sticks will explode!
Of course you can, but not many people nowadays do that. Any reason you want to do that?
 
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Single-headed 'concert toms' were very popular in the late-'60s & '70s, and are making a slight comeback. The sound can be dry, but with the right head and miking, sounds full and rich, without the tuning woes of 2 heads.

I have 2 sets of concert toms, and am looking at a third set early next year.

Bermuda
 
Actually, Phil Collins and Eric Carr (of his time in KISS) used concert toms througout the 80s too. John Panazzo of Styx had holes in his bottom heads when he was on the road before he passed away. Stick a mic in it and you're done (if you like that kind of sound....).

Since I'm pushing for black dots to be standard, maybe concert toms should be on that list too! Who needs resonance?
 
Just make sure you remember where you put that extra hoop and set of tension rods!

True!

Plus, some lugs will rattle if they aren't under tension - my Mapex kit did. In either case, you can cut out the reso head to within a half inch or so of the shell and achieve the sound of a concert tom while keeping track of your hoop and rods.

FWIW, I used to really love the sound of concert toms with a black dot head and a folded up square of paper towel taped on. The squares got larger as the toms got bigger, to keep the resonance and sustain similar. Sounded killer for that era (70's and 80's). I'm not sure I could live without the sustain of a reso head these days, but concert toms have their place.
 
If you value your drums at all, No..... you shouldnt. You will damage bearing edges and reduce value, as well as shorten the life of your kit. It would be best to invest the time and energy it takes and learn how to tune.
 
Does anyone remember those little aluminum brackets you could put over the bearing edge so you could put your hoop on without a head? I had them on my kick, never tried them on toms. The product worked great but have NO idea what they were called or if they are still made.
 
Does anyone remember those little aluminum brackets you could put over the bearing edge so you could put your hoop on without a head? I had them on my kick, never tried them on toms. The product worked great but have NO idea what they were called or if they are still made.

I remember those! Actually, Ludwig had them in the '80 catalog and it was only available for bass drums at the time. Slingerland's concert toms came with a metal edge ring already installed and that worked (I had a Slingerland kit with single-headed toms in 1979). I think people just figured it was easier to cut a hole in the front head on the bass drum, and as John Panazzo of Styx did, he cut a hole in his toms bottom heads.
 
I played without resonant heads on my toms for a few years. If youre going to do it, I would reccomend using the Evans hydralic glass heads. I was actually able to get a semi decent sound that way. Since then, Ive actually learned to tune the reso's.
 
I played without resonant heads on my toms for a few years. If youre going to do it, I would reccomend using the Evans hydralic glass heads. I was actually able to get a semi decent sound that way. Since then, Ive actually learned to tune the reso's.

Agreed! The thinner film will resonate less and can help to cut down on unwanted sustain while still allowing the drum to sound full-bodied.
 
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