Help with drum racks please

Hi everyone.

I need some help with information regarding drum racks. I am in the process of getting a new Mapex Saturn kit with 8,10,12 rack toms and 14,16 floor toms. The floor toms I don't want mounted to a rack. Just the three rack toms and my cymbals. And possibly my rototoms if i can pull it off.

My question is, should I just get a front bar rack, or should I have one with the full three sides that you can buy from a shop?

Along with that, a friend of mine is selling his old drum rack. He says it has 7/8 rods on it for mounting the drums. The problem is, I dont know a lot of the technical qualities of racks. I know the Saturn's are mounted on L-Rods. So would his drum rack not work for me or would I just need to buy parts to modify it?

I hope I didn't make this too confusing and any help would be wonderful. Thank you!

SteveUnqueen said:

Hi everyone.

I need some help with information regarding drum racks. I am in the process of getting a new Mapex Saturn kit with 8,10,12 rack toms and 14,16 floor toms. The floor toms I don't want mounted to a rack. Just the three rack toms and my cymbals. And possibly my rototoms if i can pull it off.

My question is, should I just get a front bar rack, or should I have one with the full three sides that you can buy from a shop?

Along with that, a friend of mine is selling his old drum rack. He says it has 7/8 rods on it for mounting the drums. The problem is, I dont know a lot of the technical qualities of racks. I know the Saturn's are mounted on L-Rods. So would his drum rack not work for me or would I just need to buy parts to modify it?

I hope I didn't make this too confusing and any help would be wonderful. Thank you!

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Just get (you only need) the front bar rack, no need for the side rack if you're not mounting FT's.

Don't know what he means exactly by 7/8" rods, if you can get the make of the rack that'd help. Rack clamps are adjustable on the drum/gear side.

It depends on the amount of cymbals you have on your sides and if you want them in stands or also in a rack. Also consider if you're planning to expand your cymbal selection.

I agree with the "expandability" of the racks, buy what you think you need, and you can add on later.

Yeah, 7/8" booms are standard (I got mine from Gibraltar to go into my Pearl ICON rack).

I recommend Pearl ICON, because of the square tubing. I've had ZERO issues with it, since I started moving it around. When it is set up, solid as an oak. NOTHING moves.

I just went through a very tough (actually a 2 decade long) internal debate of whether to get a rack. I'm pissed it took me this long. If you have any other questions regarding the rack, please let us know. I got a lot of help from some of the members here.

harryconway said:

By 7/8 rods, I'll assume his rack clamps take 7/8" tubes. Some clamps are adjustable, others, not. Guess it would help if you mentioned what brand rack and clamps your friend has.​

On to front vs sides. Most racks are expandable. So you can start out with just the front, and add on as you need. Or not.​

Basic rack forms. Round tube (most brands). Square tube (Pearl). Hex tube (Yamaha). I currently have 2 Yamaha hex racks (old design). They'll last me the rest of my life. Before that, I had a Pearl DR-100, with square tube. I gigged with that, for about 10 years. Never let me down. Gibraltar has a huge assortment of rack parts. And they make all the adapters to hang different brands onto their racks. http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/?fa=category&cid=31 Their site's worth looking at, if only to get a visual of what you might want to do. They buy whatever brand you feel looks right, to you.​

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Fantastic post. One thing about tom mounting is that the mounts that come with your kit probably won't be compatible with the rack, as they're designed (usually) to clamp on to vertical pipes rather than horizontals. I know Mapex uses the weird vertical hex posts for their tom mounts, so you'd have to look online for some of those on the end of a vertical tube. I'm sure Mapex or Gibraltar make some.

porter said:

Fantastic post. One thing about tom mounting is that the mounts that come with your kit probably won't be compatible with the rack, as they're designed (usually) to clamp on to vertical pipes rather than horizontals. I know Mapex uses the weird vertical hex posts for their tom mounts, so you'd have to look online for some of those on the end of a vertical tube. I'm sure Mapex or Gibraltar make some.

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A good majority of the tom mounts out there are 7/8" tubing, most quality racks come with clamps that are adjustable on the drum/gear side, the side of the clamp that mounts to the rack itself usually being fixed diameter.

In the pic below is a rack design that incorporates the ability to mount two cymbal boom arm's (7/8") in the existing rack down tubes. Assuming you already have some existing cymbal stands this type of rack is really attractive. Setting up and placing a couple of cymbal stands to your right is a lot easier than position another section of rack w/cymbals attached in the same place IMO, but then yes, if you do play a ton of cymbals a side rack section might be a consideration.

Les Ismore said:

A good majority of the tom mounts out there are 7/8" tubing, most quality racks come with clamps that are adjustable on the drum/gear side, the side of the clamp that mounts to the rack itself usually being fixed diameter.

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Oh, yeah, I don't mean the large tube- I mean the actual, 8-12mm rod that the tom bracket goes on. Mapex's are IIRC the same dimensions as the Yamaha rods, but theirs mount vertically, as opposed to the horizontal nature of Yamaha's.

Personally racks work for me so i'm a fan. Kit size and quantity of cymbals are important considerations, 1 up 1-2 down kits with crash/ride/hats don't really feel the benefit from a rack other than achieving a more techy/modern look. Players of the bigger rig with more than a basic cymbal configuration have the advantages of a more concise and accurate setup, a smaller footprint as all the arms/booms are attached to the rack so no stands strewn everywhere, and i think a much better 'look' to your whole kit.
I use a 3 sided Pearl Icon rack with my 8" tom on the left side rack arm along with a ride, Two crashes and a china - 10, 12, 13 toms on the front bar with Two splashes and Two crashes and have my floor toms traditionally on the floor - ride, china, crash and my 2nd hats mounted on the section to my right where my floor toms are.
With your 8,10,12,14,16 configuration a rack would make good sense and allow you the perfect flexible setup on a solid foundation.
The clamps available are the standard PCX100 for booms and tom holders of any standard drum manufacturers size and the PCL100 which sits on top of the upright tube legs for attaching a disappearing cymbal arm or tom holder.
Another plus point for the Icon is square tubing so your clamp and whatever is clamped to it wont slip or spin, Gibraltar achieve this on their racks with anti rotation collars to prevent slippage on their tube style systems which is also perfectly functional, the rest is simply aesthetic and personal choice.

Hope this helps.

I have a Saturn kit and use it mounted on a Pearl icon rack. I use only 2 of the 3 sides- simply don't need the other side, with a mixture of PCL-100 tube top mounts and PCX-100 rack clamps (there are also PCX-200's which have a ratcheted mount which allows a bit more flexibility- i have a couple of those but don't use them currently), which fit the original Mapex tom holders just fine. I have 3 rack toms, 3 crashes, a ride, a splash and a china as well as my little electric cooling fan attached to the rack with no difficulty. It also has room for 2 mic booms for the rare occassions that i use overheads.If you search my user name in the forums there are pics of my rack mounted kit so you can see for yourself. Personally, I wouldn't go past the Icon rack- it has the added advantage of having a smaller overall footprint than mu kit with stands, which is really useful when you play tighter venues.

A rack was a must for me do to my footprint!!! The clamps get a little pricy after a while though. Especially when you have to buy as many as I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAYy1pd8CPI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUCWimhSD_Y7w9cU0z4rZarQ

Oh, actually, that's right- the Mapex tom stand clamps are a combination of horizontal multi-clamp and a TH684. The TH684 will fit in most clamps just fine, and you can just put the horizontal multi-clamp into storage. No additional purchasing needed.

I have saturns and an icon rack too. Click the link in my sig.

If you go the icon rack just get the front bar.. No point having the side bits unless your kit is ridiculous.