What do people think are the negatives for a hanging tom? I don't get it.
I think most people's gripe is just, to adjust the position of either the drum or the cymbal on the same stand, there's a bit of fidgeting to be done beyond just lifting and repositioning a tripod or FT legs' position on the floor. But, everyone's entitled to feel that the situation grinds their gears for whatever reason. Others who used FT's with legs prior to trying a hanging one may have just not liked that it moves at all- they weren't used to it. Those who always mounted a single rack tom in a snare stand and then flew one off a cymbal stand might find that equally annoying.
My one rare issue is making sure that the tom & cymbal (in my case, the ride- rack toms and one crash are on a double tom stand with a boom cymbal holder clamped on) are a good working distance apart. It just so happens that it works for me with a 14" hanging FT and a 20" ride on the same straight stand, if the drum is mounted with a one-piece clamp and ball & socket arm (of the Mapex/DW/Ludwig type). In the case where I had to use a separate clamp and Tama tom holder, I had to futz with them a bit to achieve the right (for me) distance. I could've just used a boom stand, but with a tom already hanging from the stand (low, in a FT position), I didn't want to also extend a cymbal out past the stand's center of gravity. To get the tom to not extend too far away from the stand, I had to make the clamp and holder not stick out straight over that leg, but make them kinda zigzag. (I'm not sure I'm conveying that well; it makes sense to me because I'm the one that did it.
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I should also state that, in my case, rarely do my rehearsal kit on stands or gig kit on a rack have to be adjusted; rehearsal kit stays set up all the time, gig kit is memory locked within an inch of its life. I imagine anyone who would need to adjust regularly would likely find hanging toms more annoying.
Hanging floor toms are annoying because they don't always stay put. 14" and 16" floor toms are just too big and heavy for most tom mounting systems and they end up sagging or moving around while playing.
Plus, they require 1) a tom bracket and 2) a hardware stand or rack to hang it from.
A floor tom with legs can support itself without any extra fuss, and no extra hardware.
Mine, hanging from both a rack or stand depending on the kit, stay put. They wobble just a little- as much as my rack toms do but no more (maybe a little less, because the heavier weight is more resistant to the same drumstick strike velocities), but then, they're not "square" depths, but a few inches more shallow- 11x14. (I don't think I would hang 14x14 or 16x16 drums, unless they were thin with light hardware, and maybe still not.) I have noticed that all 3 of my toms wobble more when the stage is somewhat flexible and bandmates are in "performance" mode, shifting their weight around near me- but then, so do all my cymbal stands.
Sans rack, on most kits there's usually a stand nearby anyway, unless the kit is pretty sparse. Hanging FT's do require one bracket, but a FT with legs requires three. Re: "extra" hardware- I'd posit that it's just
different hardware. the single bracket, mount of whatever type (usually a RIMS style thing), and clamp is present
instead of the two additional brackets and 3 legs that go into the brackets.