to mount or not to mount (rack tom)??

yammieoaks

Senior Member
i just got an Oak Custom kit and am wondering if it's going to make a huge difference whether or not i mount the 12" rack tom off the kick (using the included mounting hardware) OR mount it on a snare stand?

i listened to both the tom and kick with the tom mounted off the kick AND alone off the snare stand, and couldn't tell any sonic difference.

what do you prefer and which could be best for my drums??
 
technically using the tom mount on the bass will kill some resonance, but most people cant hear any difference. i play with my 10" tom off the kick because i like to have it a little further away and i like the look.
 
technically using the tom mount on the bass will kill some resonance, but most people cant hear any difference. i play with my 10" tom off the kick because i like to have it a little further away and i like the look.

Fist fights have broken out here on the topic of stand vs. bass mounting.

I've actually heard some kits that have more resonance with bass-mounted toms, because of vibrational cross-talk between the toms and bass.

I like suspending toms - including floor tom - just because I think it looks better and I don't like bolting a bunch of hardware to my drums. Drums are for music and stands are for supporting.
 
Fist fights have broken out here on the topic of stand vs. bass mounting.
Fistfights, knifefights, gunfights, yes. A 12" rack, buy itself, will not "hinder" your kick like a 12/13 combo.....or a 13/14. More weight, more torque on the kick shell. I, personally, like using a snare stand, or flying the drum off a tom or cymbal stand. There are some cats who like the crosstalk, the sympathetic vibrations, a "unity" of the kick and the racks, or the kick and the rack and the ride. Like the creaking of a ship, or a house.....might annoy one person, yet another finds comfort in the sounds. Really, there is nothing written in stone saying either is wrong/right/harmful/good/bad. Set up one way one day. Change it the next.
 
My Gretsch came with the GTS setup to hang the rack tom off a cymbal stand. I tried it, but didn't like the way the tom bounced around. And I worried about it tipping over onto the kick and scratching the beautiful wood finish! (It's a virgin kick, so I'm not able to test it mounted on the kick.) Then I tried a snare stand, and I personally could not hear a difference in sound.

So I prefer using a stand. I am able to position the tom perfectly where I like it, close in to the kick and a little bit low. (Oh, that's another reason to use a stand. If you have a larger kick, mounting the toms on it makes them a little too high for comfort, imo.)

Plus, it just really looks cool to me!
 
A tom mount is a better way to go than a snare stand. Any drum that is placed into a snare stand with the three snare arms clamping the drum will be noticeably less resonant than a tom hanging from a tom stand or mounted on a kick drum.
 
A tom mount is a better way to go than a snare stand. Any drum that is placed into a snare stand with the three snare arms clamping the drum will be noticeably less resonant than a tom hanging from a tom stand or mounted on a kick drum.

For a snare stand to noticeably affect the sound of a drum - including a snare drum - you'd have to crank it excessively tight. The snare is the heart of the drums set and it seems to do well in a snare stand - why not a tom?
 
I actually prefer the look of a clean bass drum for on thing. I also prefer the added ability to position exactly where I want the toms when they are on a stand. I always have just not liked the thought of all that weight on my bass drum as well. I am sure either way is fine but just my personal preference.

On the con side, you do have to lug around and extra 1/2 of a stand with you.
 
How about mounting the tomholder on a cymbal stand with a clamp, and put the 12" tom on there.
 
For a snare stand to noticeably affect the sound of a drum - including a snare drum - you'd have to crank it excessively tight. The snare is the heart of the drums set and it seems to do well in a snare stand - why not a tom?

Even having a tom just gently rest in a snare stand (not being clamped at all by the basket), I've noticed a lack of resonance in my 10", 12" and 14" toms. It must be the weight of the shell on the resonant hoop that causes the diminished sustain. You can probably get away with it with a snare because drummers typically tune their snares to not sustain as long as toms. Also, a snare isn't as deep as a tom, so there's less weight put on the snare head rim. Just my thoughts/experience...
 
I noticed a difference too, which is why I put my 12" back on the Optimount after having it sitting on a snare stand the first week. It's louder and sings longer.

The snare isn't expected to resonate as long as other drums, which is why it's not an issue.
 
For a snare stand to noticeably affect the sound of a drum - including a snare drum - you'd have to crank it excessively tight. The snare is the heart of the drums set and it seems to do well in a snare stand - why not a tom?

Even having a tom just gently rest in a snare stand (not being clamped at all by the basket), I've noticed a lack of resonance in my 10", 12" and 14" toms. It must be the weight of the shell on the resonant hoop that causes the diminished sustain. You can probably get away with it with a snare because drummers typically tune their snares to not sustain as long as toms. Also, a snare isn't as deep as a tom, so there's less weight put on the snare head rim. Just my thoughts/experience...

hey DMC, we (you) should make a tom stand that works like a snare stand with a RIMS suspension on the bottom t-rods. just like the RIMS floor tom mount w/ legs but with a stand instead of legs. something like this would be a great compromise-- the resonance of a hanging mount with the positioning freedom of a stand. the floor tom RIMS has three mounting points for the legs, while the snare stand has three clamps... perfect.

to have a stand that could be used on a 10" or 12" the three arms of the snare stand should be adjustable in length so the angle will line up with the RIMS. it actually would not work that much like a traditional snare stand, more like a student concert stand, with the sliding adjustable arms. i feel confident i could mount my 10" tom (and another 12" tom) like this with a 10" floor RIMS mount (would also need a 12"), snare stand, floor tom legs, welder, some nuts and bolts, and some various scrap hardware.

seems like you could place the tom on the small "legs" (cross-cut bar most likely cut from spare floor tom legs) stemming from the snare stand arms, then the arms of the stand would be tightened in the right position.
 
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Are you talking about tom resonance or bass drum resonance? I can't speak for the difference in tom resonance but if you are worried about bass drum resonance you may hear some difference but as was said in another post, buy a virgin bass for resonance and then stuff a big pillow in it. Same as a tom killing the resonance.
 
Are you talking about tom resonance or bass drum resonance? I can't speak for the difference in tom resonance but if you are worried about bass drum resonance you may hear some difference but as was said in another post, buy a virgin bass for resonance and then stuff a big pillow in it. Same as a tom killing the resonance.

the original question is asking about the bass drum. it got a little off target when someone brought up snare-stand-mounting toms...

having toms on the bass cant be healthy for the shell... does anyone know if that will (over time) bend the bass shell?
 
hey DMC, we (you) should make a tom stand that works like a snare stand with a RIMS suspension on the bottom t-rods. just like the RIMS floor tom mount w/ legs but with a stand instead of legs. something like this would be a great compromise-- the resonance of a hanging mount with the positioning freedom of a stand. the floor tom RIMS has three mounting points for the legs, while the snare stand has three clamps... perfect.

to have a stand that could be used on a 10" or 12" the three arms of the snare stand should be adjustable in length so the angle will line up with the RIMS. it actually would not work that much like a traditional snare stand, more like a student concert stand, with the sliding adjustable arms. i feel confident i could mount my 10" tom (and another 12" tom) like this with a 10" floor RIMS mount (would also need a 12"), snare stand, floor tom legs, welder, some nuts and bolts, and some various scrap hardware.

seems like you could place the tom on the small "legs" (cross-cut bar most likely cut from spare floor tom legs) stemming from the snare stand arms, then the arms of the stand would be tightened in the right position.

Good idea, but Gauger Percussion already has something like this called the Dyna-Mount. It is mainly for floor toms to hold their legs.
 
the original question is asking about the bass drum. it got a little off target when someone brought up snare-stand-mounting toms...

having toms on the bass cant be healthy for the shell... does anyone know if that will (over time) bend the bass shell?

So you'd think, but they've been doing this since the modern drum set evolved in the 1930s. Plywood is pretty tough stuff.
 
i just got an Oak Custom kit and am wondering if it's going to make a huge difference whether or not i mount the 12" rack tom off the kick (using the included mounting hardware) OR mount it on a snare stand?

i listened to both the tom and kick with the tom mounted off the kick AND alone off the snare stand, and couldn't tell any sonic difference.

what do you prefer and which could be best for my drums??
If there is no discerning difference in tone then I suspect the mount off the kick will be lighter and pack up faster, so there's your answer.
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