Suspension mount vs. shell mount...shell mount wins!

Tama Starcast mounts FTW. Quick mount/dismount, max resonance, easy to position, don’t choke the drum when it’s angled off-axis.

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Rack toms will choke using Yamaha's YESS mounts unless you position them perfectly on their hex rods, especially 12" toms. I've owned four Yamaha kits (still have two of them) and it has been the same story with all of them. It's MUCH harder to find that sweet spot when you add an accessory such as a cymbal arm to the tom holder, by the way.

The issue relates to the heavier tom pulling the mount ever so slightly to one side, as far as I can tell. The one thing that works consistently well for me is to mount the 12" tom as far up on its hex rod as possible, sometimes pushing the rod in so far as to make contact with the little felt patch protecting the shell. Others favour a different approach, mounting the tom at the very end of the hex rod so that there's very little for the drum to grab onto. I'm not a fan of that.

It's a nuisance but once you get the hang of it, it's fairly quick to find the sweet spot. I've learned to avoid using the accessory mount though, which is a bit of a disappointment. The 12' tom doesn't have to be pressed up against the ball mount when I don't use the accessory holder.

For the record: I still love my Stage Customs. Once I get the toms mounted "just so" they're fantastic, and the YESS system lets me maneuver them into position in seconds, but the choking issue is a big one for me. I got rattled at an important gig once when a 12" tom choked during sound check and the sound guy ran out of patience while I screwed with it. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot :(

It wasn't a Stage Custom I played that night, either. It was a top-of-the-line Absolute kit.

Truthfully, I'm a bit over the whole choking thing which is one of the reasons I went with Gretsch went I bought my new kit a couple of months ago. My Renowns use the GTS mounting system which seems to be immune to choking. The toms sing like nobody's business.

I'm not in love with RIMS mounts either. I play a Premier kit at one of the places I rehearse and somebody replaced its factory mounts with RIMS mounts. The rack toms are ridiculously heavy and don't resonate particularly well, nor are they especially easy to place. Pretty small sample size I know but so far it's Gretsch's GTS mount for me.

I always have trouble with the 12 on most kits I have owned, it is quite frustrating and annoying. Never have problems with the 10 or 14 ft
 
I could hold up the drum by the hoop and hit it and get a ton of resonance, then mount it and that resonance was cut in half - if not more.

Funny enough.. this is probably why I had such great results with the older original Pearl ISS that clamped on the hoop.. Alot of people laugh at that thing but I had much better results with that than the way nicer looking aluminum optimount.
 
I always have trouble with the 12 on most kits I have owned, it is quite frustrating and annoying. Never have problems with the 10 or 14 ft
Same here. No problem with the 8", 10" or 13", but I can never quite get the 12" just where I want it.
 
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