Are suspension mounts on their way out?

PorkPieGuy

PorkPieGuy

Platinum Member
I just read the review of those new Inde drums, and man, they look fantastic!

However, it got me thinking...

It seems that drum trends (just like everything else) come and go. While I may be totally incorrect, from my experience, upper-end drums tend come out with a new innovation, and then the lower lines follow. Overall, this has been a very positive experience. I remember back when suspension mounts were only on high-end drums. Now, my Basix kit (which I bought for $200) comes with suspension mounts for the two rack toms.

It seems that when suspension mounts came out, many high-end drums came with ALL suspension mounts (even the big floor toms). This is the way my Pork Pies are; the 14" and 16" floor toms have RIMS mounts. They sound great, so I'm not complaining. But I've noticed that the trend now is to have suspension mounts on the rack toms, but the floor toms use legs. Also as time has moved on, I've noticed these suspension mounts are getting smaller and smaller. Gretsch is now offering their Broadkaster drums with the old non-suspension mounted rack tom. In addition, I've noticed a lot of rack toms of the past several years being mounted on a snare stand (I've been doing this for years).

So my question is this, do y'all think that suspension mounts are actually on their way out? Will they get smaller and smaller to the point where people won't really care anymore? Do they really make THAT much difference? What do you think?
 
They do make a difference. I can't see them going away.
Design improvements have made them smaller and that is a good thing.
Some drummers like solid mounts and that's OK too.
I have found that if a drum is solid mounted at the center of the shell it tends to be far less resonant then if the solid mount is placed near the top of the drum.
 
As already said, it does make a difference. You get more resonance, more dynamic, more sustain out of a tom if it has a good suspension system. Check for yourself. You can really hear the difference.

The reason why floortoms don't have supsension-mounts is basically because of two things.

First and foremost: They are heavier than the rack toms and this put a lot more stress on the mounting system. Some mounting systems had problems, keeping the drums in place or wore out quicker than you like.

Second thing is space. "Traditional" Floortoms don't need as much space as a mounting system plus a tom-stand. Furthermore, the technology has advanced and there have been found different ways to simulate the isolation concept of suspension systems on floortoms. Check e.g. the current Tama Starclassic floortoms. They have air-pockets in the legs AND a rubber-dampened leg-holding system, called quick-lock-tom bracket. You get lots of dynamics, resonance and sustain from the floortom this way without sacrificing stability or space on stage. Other manufacturers have come up with similar ideas.

So... will they vanish? Hopefully not. I guess they will stay.
 
I've only had one experience with suspension mounts on a Ludwig kit and they sucked.

Trying to get the toms adjusted exactly where I wanted them was troublesome. Since I had to lift the drum to make the adjustments, there was slack in the mount so I'd have to guess high, then try again.

I also wondered if the suspension mounts affected the tuning, since they are attached to the lugs.
 
I think the Mapex method of suspending the mount between two lugs is the best style I've ever used. It's unobtrusive and it suspends the drum without a whole lot of metal added.
 
I guess we can expect each drum company to be listed as the one with the "best" suspension-system. Mapex drummers love the Mapex solution, DW drummers the way DW does it, Sonor drummers will love their suspension system etc... ;-)
 
Suspension mounts I'm guessing are here to stay. They make the drum sing longer, no doubt about it. Yamaha's YESS system works OK too, but plenty of people will still want full suspension. What's going out IMO is deeper bass drums. I think the tide is changing there.
 
larryace said:
Suspension mounts I'm guessing are here to stay. They make the drum sing longer, no doubt about it. Yamaha's YESS system works OK too, but plenty of people will still want full suspension. What's going out IMO is deeper bass drums. I think the tide is changing there.
Click to expand...

I can only hope so. Suspension mounts be damned, why the extra length?
 
Gauger are ceasing production of their alloy RIMS mounts. I'm not sure the reason for their decision. I hope it's because they have something new in the pipeline - we'll see. a shame, because they're not only the first of their type, but IMO, the best of their type too.

As for do they / it make a difference? = most certainly.
 
I believe in each to their own. My preferences are for shell mounts and drilled bass drums purely on a practical level as shell mounts allow for tom positioning without the "give" that suspension mounts can have. That being said, once you've got your positioning sorted out then it's no longer a problem as long as what your tom is fitted to can be set up consistently, which is why I prefer drilled bass drums. Of the suspension mounts I've tried I preferred the Mapex system for its solidity, but that being said (& this is an honest enquiry/observation) I find it hard to understand how a mounting system hard fixed to two lugs on a shell differs from a block hard fixed directly to a shell. There's no 'give' in the former sytstem as I far as I can see unless I've got the wrong end of the stick and am missing something.
 
I agree that most modern lug mount systems aren't really suspension mounts, they are just bolted to the shell in two or three places instead of one.

I remember reading that the original Rims mount was based on balancing the rim on opposite points, plus a mid point to stop the drum rocking. This would place minimal stress on the rim or shell. Most modern mounts don't do this. Instead they hold just one side of the drum, so it's unbalanced and stressed. So you might as well just bolt a bracket onto the shell like the old days.
 
Morrisman said:
Most modern mounts don't do this. Instead they hold just one side of the drum, so it's unbalanced and stressed. So you might as well just bolt a bracket onto the shell like the old days.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Opti-Mounts on my Masters kit are a good example of this. My 12" tom can sound totally gated if it isn't in just the right spot on the tom arm. The drum sounds great when I hold it in my hand, so I'm considering getting a new sort of suspension mount for it. No idea what I'd replace them with, though...
 
I must say that I am very satisfied with the solution Tama has come up. The toms just sing the way they should, it's easy to use and mount and very very sturdy... really nice. But I also like the way Yamahas supsension system works. Completely different design but it works pretty well, too.
 
larryace said:
Suspension mounts I'm guessing are here to stay. They make the drum sing longer, no doubt about it. Yamaha's YESS system works OK too, but plenty of people will still want full suspension. What's going out IMO is deeper bass drums. I think the tide is changing there.
Click to expand...

I think you're right. The deeper bass drums are starting to disappear. That said, I'm more than happy that I have one. My Saturn IV 22x20 is the best sounding bass drum I've ever played in my 49 yrs of playing.

Their tom mounts, as well as Tama's are pretty nice too. :)
 
I love the Yamaha design of mount. I always loved Tama drums but that bent angle iron mount on some of the range just look industrial to me.
 
Jimi Rashidi said:
I think you're right. The deeper bass drums are starting to disappear. That said, I'm more than happy that I have one. My Saturn IV 22x20 is the best sounding bass drum I've ever played in my 49 yrs of playing.

Their tom mounts, as well as Tama's are pretty nice too. :)
Click to expand...

I've been noticing a lot more 16" depth bass drums lately. I just don't remember that being an option until recently.

As an aside, for a 22" bass drum, a 13.6" depth would be the golden ratio, 1.618 times 13.6 is 22. Not sure if the golden ratio can be utilized acoustically like that, I think it's more of a visual thing.

A 24" drum would get a 14.835" depth to make golden ratio.

So a 14" depth on both diameters is close to golden ratio, if that actually means anything acoustically.

I have a 22 x 20 DW. I get a fine sound from it. But it's awkwardly big.
 
What I find funny about this topic is that these companies spend x amount of dollars trying to get a drum to ring as long as possible..........only to have a sound guy gate it at 1000 milliseconds. haha.

D
 
Derek Roddy said:
What I find funny about this topic is that these companies spend x amount of dollars trying to get a drum to ring as long as possible..........only to have a sound guy gate it at 1000 milliseconds. haha.

D
Click to expand...
True, but it's the old head sustain vs. shell resonance thing again. A punchy drum with almost zero head sustain benefits tonally from greater shell resonance. It's what delivers body into the resolved sound. Many think "resonance" is all about length of note - it's not always the case :)
 
Derek Roddy said:
What I find funny about this topic is that these companies spend x amount of dollars trying to get a drum to ring as long as possible..........only to have a sound guy gate it at 1000 milliseconds. haha.

D
Click to expand...


Ha ha, yea. Or for drummers to stick Moogel or duct tape to keep it down
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top