Rack Tom on a Snare stand - What I did to make it work

wsabol

Gold Member
I've been using Yamaha's SS-740A medium weight snare stand for my rack tom for a while now, and I've always had that choked resonance problem that almost everyone experiences with toms on snare stands.

I also have another Yamaha snare stand that I use for my practice pad. Its Yamaha's lightweight snare stand. It's smaller, it doesn't go as high, and the basket is only big enough for a 12" drum. I've never thought about using it for anything else because its pretty flimsy compared to the medium weight stand.

Well, about a week ago I decided to experiment with the smaller stand... WOW. Major improvement. Hardly any loss of resonance at all! The smaller basket lays completely flat to reach around the 12" drum, while the larger basket is very angled. This not only puts less pressure around the hoop, it removes all the contact forces acting in the plane of the drumhead allowing the shell/hoop to resonate freely. The forces perpendicular to drumhead (i.e. contact between the rim and the rubber) are common with both stands, yet have no noticable affect when the drum is properly fitted in the smaller basket. Therefore there most be little on no motion/vibration along that axis.

I did some investigating, and there are two screws on a each stand that allows you to free the basket from the stand. So I switched the baskets :) These screws are pointed out in the picture. So now I have the 12" basket on the medium weight stand. I've got full rack tom resonance on a sturdy stand at a comfortable height. I'm am so happy.

If you are having issues with your rack tom, I would recommend finding a basket that isn't oversized so that you can lay the arms flat, parallel to the drumhead, and still have the drum fit nicely on the rubber tabs at the end of the arms. This Yamaha snare stand retrofit was ultra easy; it took no longer than 5 minutes to make switch the baskets... you just need to get both stands. They are both $50 from musiciansfriend last time I checked.
 

Attachments

  • SAM_0460.JPG
    SAM_0460.JPG
    131 KB · Views: 2,722
  • SAM_0461.JPG
    SAM_0461.JPG
    131.8 KB · Views: 1,753
  • SAM_0462.JPG
    SAM_0462.JPG
    148.4 KB · Views: 780
That's the magic of rubber snare basket tips. Plastic ones choke it to hell and back. (I rigged up my own using a bit of bubble wrap and some electrical tape on a some plastic tips, but I'm not totally sure if it works- didn't hear much difference in my snare.
 
Both of those stands actually have rubber tips and rubber feet. I'm making the point that the wide the angle of the basket, the less it'll suck resonance. A flat basket, like in my case, is ideal for any rack tom on a snare stand.

I also tried adding cushioning to the rubber tips. Bubble wrap, rubber foam, etc.. none of it helped.
 
Back
Top