Heads for Roto Toms, Bop Kit

Jankowske

Senior Member
Hey guys! I'm assembling a Frankenstein's bop kit for SWMBO. I found a good deal on some rusty roto toms (6, 8, and 10 with rail and stand) to go with the 13" "floor" tom and 16" kick I have already. Was planning on just getting a bongo or timbale or two for rack toms but oh well. Now we will have the his and hers of 3 up, 1 down kits.

My question is what would you guys put on roto toms if they were your main toms? Pinstripes seem to be ubiquitous, but I want to try something different. Maybe clear G2s? Coated ambs? Some white mylar or clear ambs to get a timbale sound? Black suede to look edgy? I can't decide but I think I want to stay away from anything too muffled. I considered fiberskyns as well but if I wanted to go that way I think I'll try out the new evans calftone.

The 13" drum needs to be re-skinned as well so I'll probably put the same batter on it as the roto toms. The kick is sounding good with a clear pinstripe and coated amb. Also the trick brand floor tom-kick conversion kit is great. Simple to install and very heavy duty; almost too heavy. Haven't gotten to wallop on it much yet, so still unsure of if it affects the drum's tuning stability.

Thanks for any input. I'll post pics when it's complete!
 
The idea of suede heads on rotos is pretty interesting. Open, but with warmth, maybe...I can recall Fiberskyns also on larger concert band roto toms, the dreaded "Fiberskyn wrinkle" was especially bad on roto-toms. I might end up playing it safe and go with the CS black dot like back in the day. I've also played pinstripres on larger sized roto toms and they weren't so great. Tone killers, IMO.
 
I like the idea of using an Evans head on a Remo drum. Peace and goodwill.
 
I still think Roto Toms are balls-to-the-wall-cool. I had them about a century ago when they were all the rage and thinking about buying them again.
 
I have a bunch of 6" 8" & 10" heads, new from a music store inventory. If you would like I will put together an inventory. $5 ea. plus shipping.
 
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