Suspension Mount Inversion Therapy

[donzo74]

I had posted some pics of my new Premier Maple Genistas in the "Show Us Your Premier Kits" thread a few weeks back. I'm enjoying them and wanted to share something I learned while fixing them up that could help the broader community.

I experimented with the suspension mount on the 12" tom. It's the Premier version of a R.I.M.S. mount. I don't have any experience with these types of mounts but this one seemed to sag a bit and made a little bit of a creaking noise when playing. It probably never would be heard while playing but just knowing it was happening was enough to make me want to stop it. It also seemed that if it was hit really hard or if the stand got bumped that it could flex enough to contact the shell. I also recalled that the first gig that I took these on, the sound crew didn't like the suspension mount because they couldn't clip the mic on the tom and they had to use a boom stand. No big deal, the show went on and the drums sounded great but these were issues that I wanted to address to take this kit to the next level of performance and dependability.

To make a long story short, I was reading through the DW forums and ran across a few pics and statements from other drummers who used R.I.M.S. but inverted them and used them on the bottom of the drum. This made some things click for me. If I put the mount on the bottom hoop...

1. The top hoop would be free for mic clips.
2. The drum would be top heavy and the mount wouldn't sag in towards the drum. It would pull away under load and never come near the shell.
3. The inverted mount would not make noise. (I was just hopeful of this but it turned out to be true!)
4. The sustain would be enhanced, or at least not be any less than it was when the mount was on the batter head. (turned out at least as good, if not better)
5. Batter head changes would be quicker and easier since the mount is now attached to the less frequently changed reso head.
6. For drummers that fly two toms over a virgin kick (I do not), you can position the toms easier and closer together without having your cymbal stands right up on your bass drum.

I'm sure there are other reasons that this could be advantageous but those are just some of the obvious points that come to mind. The only reason I could think of to not do it was aesthetics and it turns out that I really like the look of it, too, so that left me with no good reasons to not give it a shot! I've seen high end hits from Sakae and some others where the suspension mount was on the bottom hoop or mounted from the bottom lugs instead of the top, so I went with it.

So, I'm happy that I did this experiment and it made me like this kit even more than I already did. Also, I wanted to post this here as an example of seeing a set of real world issues, reading about a potential fix through the community on the DW forum and successfully implementing the fix that solved all of my issues and led to a better sounding and looking kit that was more dependable and user friendly AND allowed me to use all of my OEM parts, without spending additional $$. If anyone was considering trying this, I would definitely go for it and I think you will not be disappointed. As always, with different products of different specs, as they say, YMMV, but I have heard of others doing this with R.I.M.S. style mounts on other kits, so it should work fine for most. I'll close with some pics.

Before, mounted on the kick w/ suspension mount on the batter side. Notice the boom stand they had to use because the mic clip wouldn't go on the top hoop:



After inversion, mounted from cymbal stand w/ suspension mount on the reso side (yes, this is pictured with the 24" kick instead of the 22" above and, yes, she thumps!!)



Close up of the mount under load with plenty of space between the metal and the shell:



As always, best wishes, happy holidays and happy drumming to all!

Don

 

[Drummer-L]

Thanks for your post! I had the same problems with these mounts and now I see it might really Premier specific topic. And that there are probably more people having the same problem with this Premier isolation mount.

A while ago I bought a set of these Premier ISO mounts as an upgrade for my 90s Genista kit. I really like the look of these, since it is not as bulky as other RIMS mounts. At first they worked very well, but then I started having the very same problems.
Rattling noise when playing and choked sound. No fun, really!
The main problem was that the rubber grommets keeping the distance between the Rims frame and the hoop had contracted or were not never big enough from the start. So, the Rims frame and the triple flange hoop would contact and make a rattling noise when the tom was vibrating. I then put a piece of cardboard between the Rims to avoid the rattling noises and it did the trick, but not a great solution, really...

Next step was inversing the Rims mount and mounting it on the resonant side. Made it better and the rattling was gone. But sometimes I put my 12" on a snare stand - then the mount lies on the hoop again and the rattling noises are back.

The final step for me - and I can only recommend to anyone owning these Premier mounts, try it out ! - was to change out all 4 rubber grommets and put the isolation mount back onto the batter side. I took some grommets from an old Purecussion Rims mount I had lying around. Now the sound is back, better than ever... no rattling noises, no issues. The grommets are also made of a softer typ of rubber than the Premier ones, and that seems to be a good thing for suspension. These rubber parts should not be too hard to get at a music store or drum builder supply, as it´s a part used on almost every type of Rims mount. They were a bit hard to attach to the Premier mount, but with a bit of soap and heat from a hairdryer they slip right in.
Now the drum is suspended not from holding the drum at hoop but from the collar of the head resting on the rubber grommets. I attached photos where you can see the difference of the two rubber parts. With the new rubber grommets there is enough clearance between the hoop and the mount, finally.

 

[donzo74]

Thanks for your post!

Thanks for your reply! I may try your fix one day but I don't ever mount this particular drum on a snare stand. Since it's working for me at the moment and sounding great, I'm gonna stick with the reso side mounting for now.

 

[Drummer-L]

Cool. Btw - I did not mean to talk you into changing your setup, at all! The inverted rims / reso side mounting works great! It just was not my thing.
But these Premier iso mounts are discountinued now. I just thought it would be great to have all the information on these (and options to fix) in one thread. I bet we are not the only ones who have had issues with these mounts. Of course the inverted rims will work with other systems, too. And it is a convenient solution for easier use of clip-on mics as you pointed out.

 

[Morrisman]

Thanks for this post! I recently bought one of those mounts to add to my 90’s Premier 12” tom. I didn’t like the look of the rubber/plastic sleeves either, so I haven’t used it. Good to know that the wider rubber grommets worlk. Pearl sell something like this as a spare part for their optimounts.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

If I'm not mistaken, Sakae drums come from the factory with the mounts on the bottom.

 

[donzo74]

If I'm not mistaken, Sakae drums come from the factory with the mounts on the bottom.

You are correct, sir! I saw a used Sakae set in a GC a while back and noticed that, too. I can attest that it really works well and I like the look of it, too. You get a nice section of shell that is unobstructed by any mounting hardware so I actually prefer the look. Functionality is great, no noise from the mount and great sustain from the drum. I already really liked this kit but after flipping this mount over and swapping out the floor tom legs for Pearl Master's legs, it went to another level. The toms have fantastic sustain and a deep, rich, round maple sound.