Udrilled,virgin base drum pros&cons

[jornthedrummer]

Mount is better. You can use it, or not use it. It reduces setup time in my opinion.
I doubt anyone can hear if a kick is mounted or un-mounted.

 

[AudioWonderland]

Wondering the difference in sound ? feel? setup ? etc. your thoughts, thanks

The small hole in the shell for hardware is of no consequence. The weight of the drums mounted on it torquing the shell would be a bigger concern to me. In my experience it is not much an issue either.

 

[JohnnyG]

My friends at Wac'd Drums, now Spinelli Drums, have a completely virgin drum set. None of the drums are drilled. Gary Wac'd was a member here for a long time.

 

[J-W]

I too believe that virgin bass drums are mainly for aesthetics.
The only holes in my bass drum shells are for the lugs and a vent hole which is used for the XLR connection for the MAY internal mic system.
I didn't drill tom mounts purely for aesthetic reasons and didn't drill for spurs as I have no need for them.

 

[AzHeat]

I'm always of the thought that if you're setting up as a traditional 5pc, by all means, save the hassle and get BD with the tom mount drilled already. Setting up a traditional 5pc with toms flying off cymbals stands is just a pain in every respect. If you have a 4pc or offset 5pc, the tom mount will most likely limit setup options by restricting movement, so it'll spend most of its time off the BD in a corner somewhere. I only have one rack tom at the moment, so it sits in a snare stand. For me and my current setup, I'm digging the look and weight savings of not having the tom mount.

 

[Larry]

I didn't drill tom mounts purely for aesthetic reasons and didn't drill for spurs as I have no need for them.

Your bass drum has no spurs? It can roll?

 

[GetAgrippa]

You don’t see as many virgins compared to Tom mounted but I think it’s just a personal preference. All my life I swayed from virgins but my curiosity got the better and I bought one. I didn’t find mounting positions a problem in either.

 

[C.M. Jones]

There are not many true virgin drums in the world. A virgin kick drum has around 40 holes in it. And they call it undrilled.

There's really no sound difference between a truly undrilled bass drum and a BD with a tom mount. I can say this because I own a truly undrilled bass drum, Guru Origin. There are zero holes in that shell. It sounds like my bass drum with a tom tree, honest. So for sound? That's not a good enough reason. Which leaves convenience. A tom tree is more convenient, I think most would agree there. I don't get the fascination.

I don't agree that a tom mounted on a bass is more convenient. With that arrangement, you sometimes have to remove the tom to make adjustments to the bass (e.g., when changing heads or tuning). I like the ability to manipulate my bass drum and my tom (in a snare stand) separately. Also, tom mounts, like all hardware, can experience malfunctions through normal wear and tear. I'd rather replace a snare stand than a mount system. The latter requires more work and is harder to come by.

It has nothing do with sound in my case. It's all about convenience and appearance.

 

[J-W]

Your bass drum has no spurs? It can roll?

Yes, no spurs. No, they can't roll.
I don't gig with this kit so it's on a custom rack (Voelker) with custom "suspension mounts" for the bass drums. Very "80's metal", as they say (but I don't play 80's metal).

 

[J-W]

I don't agree that a tom mounted on a bass is more convenient. With that arrangement, you sometimes have to remove the tom to make adjustments to the bass (e.g., when changing heads or tuning). I like the ability to manipulate my bass drum and my tom (in a snare stand) separately. Also, tom mounts, like all hardware, can experience malfunctions through normal wear and tear. I'd prefer to replace a snare stand than a mount system. The latter requires more work and is harder to come by.

It has nothing do with sound in my case. It's all about convenience and appearance.

I agree with the convenience of being able to pull your bass drum out of your setup for changes/adjustments without disassembling your whole kit. This is especially true with (gasp!) big kits.

 

[C.M. Jones]

I agree with the convenience of being able to pull your bass drum out of your setup for changes/adjustments without disassembling your whole kit. This is especially true with (gasp!) big kits.

I'm a one-up, one-down guy, but I've always loathed fumbling about with tom mounts on bass drums. They contain too many parts that need to function in unison, and if even one component fails, the whole system is paralyzed. Furthermore, they look silly. I can't summon a better adjective to describe them. When I see a tom mounted on a bass, I think, "That's silly."

The snare stand will always be my standard tool. It's easy to transport, it's easy to position, and it's easy to replace. I've not come across a superior solution.

 

[C.M. Jones]

One more reason I reject mounting a tom on a bass drum: ride placement. With my tom in a snare stand and my ride on a boom, I can extend the ride over a larger surface area of the bass drum for utterly comfortable access. A tom mounted on the bass drum would obstruct that layout. Disorientation would follow.

 

[J-W]

I'm a one-up, one-down guy, but I've always loathed fumbling about with tom mounts on bass drums. They contain too many parts that need to function in unison, and if even one component fails, the whole system is paralyzed. Furthermore, they look silly. I can't summon a better adjective to describe them. When I see a tom mounted on a bass, I think, "That's silly."

The snare stand will always be my standard tool. It's easy to transport, it's easy to position, and it's easy to replace. I've not come across a superior solution.

I agree that in a one-up configuration that a mount does look odd, but I can see the convenience of having it, and mounting a cymbal off of it too, as others have said.
Most people would say that my setup is silly, ridiculous even, in this day and age, so I'm not one to say that anyone else's setup is silly. To each their own.

 

[C.M. Jones]

I agree that in a one-up configuration that a mount does look odd, but I can see the convenience of having it, and mounting a cymbal off of it too, as others have said.
Most people would say that my setup is silly, ridiculous even, in this day and age, so I'm not one to say that anyone else's setup is silly. To each their own.

Always "to each their own." Just describing my immediate reaction. It's not a blight on anyone's character. It's just hardware, after all.

 

[J-W]

Always "to each their own." Just describing my immediate reaction. It's not a blight on anyone's character. It's just hardware, after all.

Yep, I've been on here long enough to know that's not what you meant. My apologies if my post sounded accusatory as that was not my intention.

 

[Winston_Wolf]

Most of the time I mount my toms offset on a stand so the mount isn't used. Having two toms centered over the bass drum has never really been totally comfortable for me, and once I started offset mounting them I've rarely looked back.

All of my bass drums have a mount, because they're all of a certain age where that's just what they did.

On one drum the mount is removed and covered, because I'm never going to use a mount on that drum. On two others I can't decide if I dislike the look of an empty tom mount or an open hole more, but right now I have empty tom mounts. In general I'd rather not have anything on a drum that's not going to be used and some day I'll probably remove the mounts and plug the holes.

Right now I'm experimenting with something different on one of my bass drums. I have two toms mounted from a single post in the left side of a Pearl two-hole tom mount. I'm playing three-up, so having the two bigger toms not quite offset but also not quite centered splits the difference to make room for the small tom and hi hat clearance on the left side, while not forcing my ride too far over to my right.

 

[C.M. Jones]

Yep, I've been on here long enough to know that's not what you meant. My apologies if my post sounded accusatory as that was not my intention.

No worries at all. And rest assured that I take nothing personally here. All drum discussions are relative, making the sharing of opinion inevitable. Thick skin is paramount to the maintenance of sanity.

 

[C.M. Jones]

Most of the time I mount my toms offset on a stand so the mount isn't used. Having two toms centered over the bass drum has never really been totally comfortable for me, and once I started offset mounting them I've rarely looked back.

All of my bass drums have a mount, because they're all of a certain age where that's just what they did.

On one drum the mount is removed and covered, because I'm never going to use a mount on that drum. On two others I can't decide if I dislike the look of an empty tom mount or an open hole more, but right now I have empty tom mounts. In general I'd rather not have anything on a drum that's not going to be used and some day I'll probably remove the mounts and plug the holes.

Right now I'm experimenting with something different on one of my bass drums. I have two toms mounted from a single post in the left side of a Pearl two-hole tom mount. I'm playing three-up, so having the two bigger toms not quite offset but also not quite centered splits the difference to make room for the small tom and hi hat clearance on the left side, while not forcing my ride too far over to my right.

Winston, you are one of the most deliberate, detailed, and meticulous equipment enthusiasts I've ever encountered. If there's one thing of which I'm certain, it's that there's a very good reason behind whatever you do to your kits. I love your chalk-outline approach. I just don't play a large enough setup to tinker as much as you do.

 

[Winston_Wolf]

My motto is "anything worth doing is probably worth over-analyzing too." I definitely do that with drums.

I know a lot of guys pride themselves on being able to sit down and play on whatever kit and whatever set up they encounter, and that is a valuable skill.

I can do that too, but I also like to tinker and the satisfaction of playing the kit when everything falls under your sticks perfectly can be rewarding in its own way. Finding that balance is harder if you want more pieces. In an idea situation I'd rather have a monster kit and a 4-piece set up side by side because both speak to me and fit into what I like to play.

 

[J-W]

My motto is "anything worth doing is probably worth over-analyzing too." I definitely do that with drums.

I know a lot of guys pride themselves on being able to sit down and play on whatever kit and whatever set up they encounter, and that is a valuable skill.

I can do that too, but I also like to tinker and the satisfaction of playing the kit when everything falls under your sticks perfectly can be rewarding in its own way. Finding that balance is harder if you want more pieces. In an idea situation I'd rather have a monster kit and a 4-piece set up side by side because both speak to me and fit into what I like to play.

I love the quote "anything worth doing is probably worth over-analyzing too." That's totally me.
It sounds like you and I have a bit in common. I too like to tinker and prefer everything in it's place. I have a large, double bass kit w/ 8 toms (monster?) and had a smaller, more portable set as well but since I'm not gigging any more, I parted with the smaller one. I can always break my big kit down if I need to, but I don't see that happening any time soon so I'll just enjoy it right where it sits in my living room.