floor vs. rack tom

[azrae1l]

i'm getting ready for my next major drum purchase in the next few months. question being: given the same drum shell size, shell construction, same heads, same tuning, mapex saturn kit so iss mounts on floor tom legs and tom mount so same amount of holes drilled in each shell, would there be much if any sound difference between a floor tom and a rack tom?

I would say there has to be some difference since the hanging drum does not transfer to the floor via 3 legs. I have a 15 piece Saturn and I hang everything off of the rack. The only exception is that the 18 is up on two mounts fastened to the rack. I hang for three reasons. I like my big toms high and on a pretty good angle. I find the legs won't get them where I want them. I also feel like the drum is allowed to vibrate more freely without all the extra hardware and legs to the ground. It also frees up the floor between the big drums and myself. No legs to fight with.

[azrae1l]

i'm actually planning on doing the same thing with mounting everything on a rack come january but i wasn't sure about the floor toms if hanging them would change their sound or not. not that it matters really, just means i'll have to mess with heads and tuning a little. just nice to know what to expect.

i actually dig your kit, seen pictures of it numerous times on here. mines getting close to yours in size, the next batch will be 12 pieces. except mines trans cherry with chrome hardware and an all chromed rack.

[Soupy]

I would say there has to be some difference since the hanging drum does not transfer to the floor via 3 legs.

But it's also quite common for people to have problems with rack toms that sound great in the owner's lap, but get choked once the get put on the tom arm. And lots of manufacturers have special suspension brackets/legs/feet for floor toms. So I don't think there is a cut and dry answer for either mounting method being superior.

And either way, we're only talking about a difference in resonance of the drums. In every other way, (tone, tunability, etc) the drums should sound identical.

I'd say let the practical reasons make the decision. Suspended can make sense with a large rack, but otherwise, why carry extra stands for drums that can come with their own feet.

[KarlCrafton]

True (for choking) on other drums, but Mapex has a pretty good mount on the toms/floor toms.
The one on the Meridian is nice too.
Of all the tom mounts available, I do like Mapex's version the best.
DW is second.

I put my tom on a snare stand, but, if I used 2 or more rack toms, I'd just have a small mount ON the drum.
Any difference in resonance can be tweaked while the drum is on the stand.
RIMS came about when several companies went to resonance killing 1" tubes in the drums.
Sonor even had really heavy tube supports in their toms for quite a while.

Tama, (pre-Modular) Ludwig, Slingerland and Yamaha drums never had any tone, or resonance problems, and always sounded great with the bracket right on the drum.

This kit I'm sure sounds just fine with the mounts on the toms....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ludwig-Class...item3cb97c6008

:-)

Originally Posted by KarlCrafton

This kit I'm sure sounds just fine with the mounts on the toms....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ludwig-Class...item3cb97c6008

:-)

What a shame to put all those unnecessary holes in those nice drums. Think I will stick to my mounts. They just make way too much sense. :)

[tard]

After i found the matching 8" tom for my kit i moved everything over 1 spot to make room for it and i put a world max 3 leg basket on my 16 and moved it to the floor, the world max was alot cheaper than the "RIMS" 3 leg basket plus it matched my older "RIMS" mounts as it is chrome and the new "RIMS" are alloy and look different than the older ones. As for the sound, it didnt seem to change any as far as i can tell because using the basket allows it to be isolated the same as the hanging mount and it attaches the same way just on the bottom instead of at the top with nothing actually attached to the drum itself.