whats better: Bass drum mounting or stand mounting?

Riot

Junior Member
Just looking for opinions,
whats the pros and cons of toms that are mounted on the bass drum compared to toms mounted from the cymbal stands? (and visa versa)

ive never played toms mounted from a stand, but they seem to be quite popular these days
 
There is no correct answer for this.

The reasoning for the stand mounted toms is this.
You need two cymbal stands anyway so why not use them to hold toms as well as cymbals.
Plus, virgin bass drums are in style currently.

I prefer bass mounted toms. I am comfortable with the bass mounted tom/s so there is no problem.
I also don't care for the tom holders mounted to thick heavy cymbal stands with large tubes and legs on each side of the bass drum.
If I am using only one rack tom, I like to mount my ride to my bass drum using a cymbal arm placed in the second tom holder on my Pearl kit.
On My Tama Jazz kit, I use a vintage style shell mounted cymbal holder for my ride.
If I play my kits with two rack toms I move the ride over on a floor stand.
I like to use thin light weight cymbal stands. I think that they look better and they weigh and cost less than heavy stands.

I leave my bass drum mounted tom stand all set up with a splash cymbal holder mounted to it.
I simply slide it into the bass drum, install my tom/s and cymbals on it, and it is already adjusted and I am ready to play.
The memory locks insure that it is set to the way that I like it.

If you don't like your toms directly in front of you, or you like to angle your bass drum, then the cymbal stand mounted toms are for you.
It allows you to put the toms in different places.

As far as virgin bass drum sound is concerned, I simple can't tell that much difference for it to matter to me.

Try different set ups until you find what you like.

Notice how neat and clean a kit looks with just a few thin stands instead of heavy bulky ones.
 

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I like my small mounted on its own stand these days. I just don't like to stress out my bass drum with the weight. I know it can handle the weight, but also on a gig, if I break a bass drum head, it's just a matter of me pulling the bass drum out to change it, and not having to take anything off of the bass drum. The bass drum seems a little more resonant as well, but I think it's negligible depending on how you muffle down your drum.

I suppose if I'm in the habit of changing out for a new kit every other year (or less - and I am) I suppose it shouldn't matter if I stress out the bass drum. I'll have a new one anyway!
 
The only reason I don't mount my toms on the bass drum is for positioning. I think whether or not you have something mounted on it means nothing to what the audience hears.

I don't mount my toms on my bass drum, I mount my ride and a crash on it, with a post sunk well into the drum... and it projects just fine.
 
Bass drum mounting easier, stand mounting more versatile, chose which one more suits your (current) need.

If you have a bass drum mount, you don't have to use it, you can use stands.

Best to have both IMO.
 
I like having my mounted toms directly in front of me. I dont think they would be set up in a consistent position, gig after gig, mounted on cymbal stands. They're a lot of guys on here that do it and I'm sure it works just fine for them.
Bob, I've never seen anybody attach a ride to the bass drum spur holder before. That is great and one less thing to drag out of the car I imagine :) Is that a 18" bass drum?
Maybe I'm the only one here, but I just dont like racks. I think they take away the beauty of the drums. I know they're very functional, but they just look dated to me. I think its interesting that someone likes the look of a virgin bass drum, yet has a rack in front of it. But, to each his own.
How boring it would be if we all liked the same thing right?
 
Less stress on the bass drum without and more versatility on a stand. I use a rack which for me is the ultimate.
 
Just looking for opinions,
whats the pros and cons of toms that are mounted on the bass drum compared to toms mounted from the cymbal stands? (and visa versa)

ive never played toms mounted from a stand, but they seem to be quite popular these days
In my opinion there are no aural pros and cons. It's just a matter of what best enables you to position your drums and cymbals as you like combined with aesthetic issues.

Personally, I do not like drums mounted off of cymbal stands. I typically do not even like additional cymbals mounted off of cymbal stands. I own a couple of those clamp with boom arm deals and almost never use them--it seems like I can never get things positioned just the way I like them when I use those. The other cymbals get in the way, I can't get them angled right for me, the right height for me, etc. I prefer a combination of simple straight cymbal stands and simple boom stands--"simple" meaning "without giant, pyramid-shaped tripod bases, tubes like baseball bats, etc."--just something with a relatively flat base and relatively thin construction. To me, having those monster legs on every stand just makes it harder to position everything.

For my toms, I like Tama-style tom mounts on either a separate stand or a bass drum mount. I don't care about virgin bass drums--I always buy them with, or so they can accept, tom mounts (and I also buy them with cymbal mounts if I can find that, too). Sometimes I use the bass drum tom mount, sometimes I use a dedicated tom stand (same thing with ride cymbals on bass drum mounts versus separate stands). It depends on exactly what I'm setting up. I like having maximum options, and I don't like setting up the same all the time.
 
I use a stand to mount toms to get the positioning I like so they're centered above the snare drum. It's not about disliking putting anything on the bass drum, just putting things where they feel comfortable.

But, if I'm only using one mounted tom and want to simplify things I'll go ahead and put the tom on the bass drum and drop the stand.
 
I prefer my toms on stands and not on the bass. I always used to hear the "ringing" and extra sounds when they were mounted plus the extra tom movement is eliminated.

To me, I like my cymbal stand tom mounts. I keep them in the SAME position all the time and do NOT remove the mounts.....sooooo......when I set them up they are always in the same spot. I don't change the tom mount or the cymbal position when breaking down......I only bring up the legs. I can always adjust the cymbal as needed before the gig.
 
Bass drum mounting easier, stand mounting more versatile, chose which one more suits your (current) need.

If you have a bass drum mount, you don't have to use it, you can use stands.

Best to have both IMO.

Sometimes stand mounting is easier. I have my rack tom on a snare stand. There is nothing easier than putting the drum into it. No hardware on the bass drum to retract, extend or adjust.
 
In my opinion there are no aural pros and cons. It's just a matter of what best enables you to position your drums and cymbals as you like combined with aesthetic issues.

Personally, I do not like drums mounted off of cymbal stands. I typically do not even like additional cymbals mounted off of cymbal stands. I own a couple of those clamp with boom arm deals and almost never use them--it seems like I can never get things positioned just the way I like them when I use those. The other cymbals get in the way, I can't get them angled right for me, the right height for me, etc. I prefer a combination of simple straight cymbal stands and simple boom stands--"simple" meaning "without giant, pyramid-shaped tripod bases, tubes like baseball bats, etc."--just something with a relatively flat base and relatively thin construction. To me, having those monster legs on every stand just makes it harder to position everything.

For my toms, I like Tama-style tom mounts on either a separate stand or a bass drum mount. I don't care about virgin bass drums--I always buy them with, or so they can accept, tom mounts (and I also buy them with cymbal mounts if I can find that, too). Sometimes I use the bass drum tom mount, sometimes I use a dedicated tom stand (same thing with ride cymbals on bass drum mounts versus separate stands). It depends on exactly what I'm setting up. I like having maximum options, and I don't like setting up the same all the time.

I take the opposite approach, as I do not like a forest of stands around the set. I typically have two stands and load each one with a couple of toms, three cymbals and some percussion items. I even removed the legs from the hihat stand and one leg from a cymbal stand and I clamp the two together, further conserving the footprint. These are big, heavy DW9000 series stands, but my approach is to have fewer, bigger stands instead of more, smaller ones.

It takes some tinkering to get the setup right but I like to do this kind of thing. Modern stands, with memory locks, etc., make it quick and easy to set them back up exactly. I use gauger RIMS mounts, which eliminates cross-talk between drums and the rest of the stand.
 
Bob, I've never seen anybody attach a ride to the bass drum spur holder before. That is great and one less thing to drag out of the car I imagine :) Is that a 18" bass drum?
The cymbal holder doesn't attach to a spur holder. Gibraltar makes that cymbal holder that I installed. It is based on vintage bass drum mounted cymbal holders.
Yes, that is a 14x18 inch bass drum. That is a Tama StageStar beginners kit that is quality made for either a beginner of a pro to use for small gigs. I bought those shells used for under $200. It is a five piece kit but I don't use the 8x10 tom much.
I love that kit! I gig with it all the time. It sounds great! It is my favorite kit out of the three that I own.
 
Oh yeah, I see now. At first, I thought it went thru your bass spur mount. So it just sticks on the side of your BD?
 
I have tried a number of different configurations with toms and a splash mounted to the kick, to off set toms 2-up, 1-down or 1-up, 1-down. My current set-up of off the kick 1-up, 2-down is my favorite so far. I'm getting pretty used to it too. Not hitting rims near as much as I was when I first made the switch. I believe my kick drum has more resonance without all of the weight on it.

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Personally, i like stand mounted toms, for two reasons;

1. I personally like the aesthetic looks of a virgin bass drum, it just looks more professional to me.
2. I find that when the toms are mounted on the bass drum, the holes, or hole, in the bass drum are very deep, or far away from you. personally, being 6'4, i play with my bass drum far away from my throne to have room for my gigantic legs, so quite often, especially with older/lower level tom mounting models (an example being Pearls basic mounting systems) the toms simply don't reach where i want them to. When the toms are attached to the bass drum they are just that... attached to the bass drum, you have that holding you back. I just find you have more freedom when the toms and bass drum are two separate entities.

But on the other hand, as there always is, bass drum clamped drums are often the cheaper option, toms can weigh stands down, weighted stands are expensive, plus extra clamps can be pricey etc. But its up to you! thats whats good about the drums, its completely up to you!
 
[I I have my rack tom on a snare stand. There is nothing easier than putting the drum into it. No hardware on the bass drum to retract, extend or adjust.[/I]

Snare stand is heavier than most bass drum tom mounts and takes up more room in a hardware bag.

Unless you have an omni type tilter on your snare stand, there's no side to side adjustment and even so with or without its limited... toms on a snare stands won't angle far w/o tipping the stand over.

You can't get the drum mounted over the kick with a snare stand either.

I'd much rather carry a clamp and a small tom mont than another snare stand in a hardware bag.

In the rare instance one has a small(er) drum on it and plays a small angle, a snare stand could be easier to set-up.
 

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I sort of happened upon my mounting stratagem. I am currently playing a franken-kit with the rack tom and bass drum from different manufacturers, and as such, mounting from the bass drum became more difficult.

BUT...even though I was forced into it, I find mounting my rack tom on a snare stand much more convenient. It's probably true that it is more raw weight in your bag, but when the tom is its own individual entity I have a much easier time placing it.

Same with my whole kit now that I think about it. Everything has an individual stand (or legs).
 
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In terms of sound. Mounting your toms off of your bass drum helps the resonance of the Bass drum, I f you have enough boom stands its probably better to go one step further have the tom on its own stand without being attached to a cymbal stand too I think! But i'm not too sure how that specific point effect the drum sonically... I guess its just down to personal preference
 
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