Suspension mounts & floor tom legs - Sound influence

[Fritz Frigursson]

I use Yamaha YESS mounts and I find them the best. Not the longest sustain, but who actually wants drums to ring forever? I can position my toms how I want and the tom holders from Yamaha are rock solid.

Personally I don't really care about floor tom legs. They all do the job and I absolutely do not want more sustain in my 16 than I already have.

 

[boomstick]

For smaller toms up to 13", I find suspension mounts to be a necessary evil. I don't like their wobbly nature, but the resonant difference is noticeable enough to me that I use them. I ditched the RIMS style mount that came with my 13" tom and replaced it with a Pearl Optimount, which I think is the best balance between resonance and stability. One downside is they are heavy, but I'm just using a size small on one tom, so it's not too bad. Another downside is a lot of metal hardware blocking the shell, but my drums have a black finish, so it blends in pretty well.



For size 14" and up, I prefer legs. My kit originally had a 15-inch "hanging tom," but the previous owner installed a RIMS Dynamount.



It's definitely an improvement over "hanging" a large tom, but I didn't like how it made the drum bulkier, it was still a little wobbly, and it made changing the resonant head a pain. Also, those Gibraltar brackets were used, which required a drum key for installing the legs. Madness. So I sold the Dynamount, drilled the shell for legs, and haven't looked back.



I also use the Pearl suspension feet and they made a noticeable difference in the before/after test. They are also very robust.



So I guess I am a fan of Pearl suspension systems.

 

[Justinhub2003]

Sonor has 2 Tom mount systems that are on the opposite ends of the spectrum.

My Sonor SQ1 Sound Sustainer system is just awful on my 12” Tom. It takes a drum that sings and completely mutes it and chokes it out when mounted.

But I added a Sonor prolite TAR mount to my SQ1 Tom and it’s probably the best Tom mount I’ve ever used.

I’m not exactly sure why Sonor Sound strainer system is so bad on 12” toms. And I don’t think it’s like that on all of them. I think maybe the rubber gets too hard over time.


Also I have Ludwig’s Atlas Tom mount system on my Ludwig Classic Oak kit. I don’t prefer the way it looks but it actually performs much better then I expected. It basically replaces a lug on the drum with a lug + mounting system that isolates it from the shell. Sounds great

 

[single-ply]

There are several of these videos out there but thought this one was pretty good and fun topic of discussion. Interesting how different designs behave entirely differently though have the same intent.

Personally, I've uses RIMs (trad design or mounted to lug), Pearl's original suspension mount and snare basket. I haven't really seen/heard a perfect system yet but I haven't tried everything. Let's hear your thoughts!

The cheapest solution, and one that really works, are the rubber suspension feet made by Pearl. I have them on my 16" old Ludwig floor tom and they work great without adding weight or more hardware.

 

[Darth Vater]

Sonor has 2 Tom mount systems that are on the opposite ends of the spectrum.

My Sonor SQ1 Sound Sustainer system is just awful on my 12” Tom. It takes a drum that sings and completely mutes it and chokes it out when mounted.

But I added a Sonor prolite TAR mount to my SQ1 Tom and it’s probably the best Tom mount I’ve ever used.

I’m not exactly sure why Sonor Sound strainer system is so bad on 12” toms. And I don’t think it’s like that on all of them. I think maybe the rubber gets too hard over time.

I have a Prolite (TAR mount) and SQ1 w/ sustainer thingy. I don't have any problem with the 12" tom on either kit. I don't use Sonor hardware though on my SQ1. I fly the toms off a cymbal stand using Mapex SoniClear tom arms. Works like a dream. TAR mounts are great. That's a sweet tom mount.

Best advice I can give anybody regarding Sonor tom mounting is to get rid of the L-arms with the short sides. Get the ones that are the same length from the bend.

Like these

Sonor Hex Rods for Sonor Tom Arms (Pair) Free shipping | Reverb

In stock at Daytona Beach Drum Center, Sonor Hex Rods for Sonor Tom Arms (pair)Never Used, Mint Condition. Used with 600 and 4000 Series Split Ball tom arms.

reverb.com

Get rid of these.......

 

[Larry]

Something about the sound of "TAR Mount" repels me from them.

TAR...one of the most sticky, tenacious substances from your planet. Is TAR an acrolite I mean acronym for "Total Acoustic Resonance"?

Sonor hardware is just way too over engineered for my tastes. I couldn't even figure out how to take a bass pedal off on a kit share jam. Really?

 

[SharkSandwich]

I used these when I was playing a 70s Ludig Vistalite floor tom. They made a difference. They're called Booty Shakers.

 

[Lennytoons]

I use compressed air on my toms to keep them suspended in mid air. Then I put three yards of duct tape on the batter heads. That gives me that 70's Doors sound I'm after.

 

[timmdrum]

Also I have Ludwig’s Atlas Tom mount system on my Ludwig Classic Oak kit. I don’t prefer the way it looks but it actually performs much better then I expected. It basically replaces a lug on the drum with a lug + mounting system that isolates it from the shell. Sounds great

I'd love to hear more about this, particularly if you have any insight as to how it works better than the old shell-mounted brackets. I've heard others say that it works as well as a RIMS-style mount.

 

[Treverer]

View attachment 102890

⬆ This is v3 of the Starcast mounting bracket. The visible wing nut is the memory lock and the small black "switch" above it is what locks/unlocks the mounting bracket to the mounting post. It is designed for fast setup & tear down, and not having to reach into a tight space, but it doesn't clamp onto the mounting post with much force. It's more like a "loose grip". Tama did this in an effort to increase the sustain of the toms.

Some people love this, some prefer v2. I've never seen or touched a v3 type, so I can't make a direct comment.

I work with V3 on a regular basis as a drumtech and it is an excellent system! Have seen nothing better till this day.

 

[Bozozoid]

I used these when I was playing a 70s Ludig Vistalite floor tom. They made a difference. They're called Booty Shakers.
View attachment 103067

Ladies and gentlemen...the Pearl hovercraft re-enters the earth's atmosphere after its first landing on the moon's surface. What drummers won't do for added resonance and tone.....and I'm one of them.

 

[s1212z]

I'd love to hear more about this, particularly if you have any insight as to how it works better than the old shell-mounted brackets. I've heard others say that it works as well as a RIMS-style mount.

It's in the OP video, vintage Luddy at ~2min mark and Atlas ~8min mark and RIMs through out. To my ear, it sounded good but not as long as of a sustain as RIMs...maybe why Ludwig still keeps RIMS mounts as an option. Not to say the mount with longest sustain wins but it does shape the sound it seems.

 

[yammyfan]

I use a mix of just about everything mentioned in this thread: Pearl feet, RIMS, Yamaha YESS, Booty Shakers etc.

So far, Gretsch's GTS mounts are the best I've used, followed by Yamaha's YESS - once you eliminate the causes of tom choking. The Pearl feet are the real deal and Booty Shakers work too.

The jury is out on RIMS mounts though I suspect they're fine. I'm rebuilding a Ludwig kit that uses them. They're kind of bulky but all will be forgiven if they get the job done.

 

[dwsabianguy]

So far, Gretsch's GTS mounts are the best I've used, followed by Yamaha's YESS - once you eliminate the causes of tom choking. The Pearl feet are the real deal and Booty Shakers work too.

+1. Gretsch GTS mounts isolate near perfectly, don't take up any addition real estate on the kit, don't mask the finish behind a metal plate, don't require any extra holes... if you have a Gretsch drum. Yamaha's YESS are a close second in my book, though they're not quite as good an isolator as the GTS mounts.

I have Pearl feet on all my floor tom legs except the Yamahas, which don't really need them. They work as well as BootyShakers and stay attached to the legs!

No RIMS for me, thanks. Too bulky, too much to keep track of when changing heads, and they don't always fit quite right.

 

[Bo Eder]

This might be a silly question, but have any of you tried to tune your drum while it was bolted to a tom mount to get it to sing?

I recall first seeing the Gauger RIMS system when it came out and thought “what a great idea” - but many of us still played drums with drilled brackets on them and still got them to sing properly. I would think with any suspension mount on any of your drums now it should be even easier to get it to sing. So I’m just wondering what drums do you hear when you see a kit without suspension mounts?

 

[Justinhub2003]

I'd love to hear more about this, particularly if you have any insight as to how it works better than the old shell-mounted brackets. I've heard others say that it works as well as a RIMS-style mount.

I for sure think it works as good as Ludwig’s vibra band and I feel it looks and works better with Ludwig’s aesthetics.

I don’t know exactly how they do it but it for sure resonates the way you want a drum to resonate.

I think it’s the decoupling of the mount that makes it work well.

 

[Justinhub2003]

I have a Prolite (TAR mount) and SQ1 w/ sustainer thingy. I don't have any problem with the 12" tom on either kit. I don't use Sonor hardware though on my SQ1. I fly the toms off a cymbal stand using Mapex SoniClear tom arms. Works like a dream. TAR mounts are great. That's a sweet tom mount.

Best advice I can give anybody regarding Sonor tom mounting is to get rid of the L-arms with the short sides. Get the ones that are the same length from the bend.

Like these

Sonor Hex Rods for Sonor Tom Arms (Pair) Free shipping | Reverb

In stock at Daytona Beach Drum Center, Sonor Hex Rods for Sonor Tom Arms (pair)Never Used, Mint Condition. Used with 600 and 4000 Series Split Ball tom arms.

reverb.com

Get rid of these.......

Man I tried all this. I even used my mapex Tom holder and also mounted it upside down. As soon as the drum hangs by the sound sustainer it dies.

It doesn’t affect my 8” Tom on the same 4000 series hardware.


I think it’s faulty rubber

 

[cbphoto]

My 14” & 16” floor toms sing plenty long. Lotsa sympathetic vibrations too. Are booty shakers designed for drums tuned JAW?

 

[gish]

I use the Booty Shakers on my snare stand used for my 13” tom. The stand is a Yamaha 700, which I was having 2 issues with. First, the protective rubber on the basket arms does not extend very far; I found it a little tricky to make sure the bottom hoop wasn’t coming in contact with the metal arms. Second, I did notice some wonky distorted overtones when I tuned the tom to its lowest note. The booty shakers solved both issues.

The most dramatic gain in resonance and tone I’ve encountered when using a suspension device happened on my son’s floor tom. He bought an Apollo kit on Craigslist for $40. My son is handy and likes working on things; he removed the nasty white covering, cleaned all of the shell hardware, and stained the shells. With new heads and good tuning this kit looks and sounds way better than a $40 kit should. Except for the floor Tom. Thin sounding, choked, no resonance, weird wonky overtones. I finally figured out it was the cheap stock floor tom feet (which are more like hard plastic caps). My son bought the Gibraltar air suspension floor tom feet, and voila. The drum opened up, weird overtones vanished, and a nice deep tone sang out. I wasn’t aware Gibraltar offered these but they worked great on his drum.

 

[dwsabianguy]

This might be a silly question, but have any of you tried to tune your drum while it was bolted to a tom mount to get it to sing?

I do. My Ludwig Standards have Rogers Swiv-O-Magic hardware bolted straight to the shell, so it's a bit of a balancing act to get the two rack toms to sing. Tension and position on the hex rod all kind of works in tandem.

And to a lesser extent my Yamahas do the same thing, so they get tweaked while they're mounted.