Roto Tom Mounting

I just picked up a pair, 14 and 16 inch chrome rotos.
They came with the rail, mounting clip but no stand.
My intention is to mount the 14 as a rack tom and the 16
to my right as a floor tom. The 14 has a bent carriage bolt so I am replacing that and trying to work out a clean yet functional mounting solution.

I started playing with multi clamps which might be the way to go here but I am also experimenting with clamping the base of the carriage bolt into my Tama boom stand in place of the boom arm. It's an old Titan stand from the 80's and the boom arm is 3/8 inch diameter like the carriage bolt from the roto tom.

The only setback here is that the bolt head is too wide too pass through the eye bolt in the boom stand so removing it is impossible. I could cut the bolt head off but I think it will twist in the stand when turning the roto tom.


I just picked up a few different carriage bolts and will post some pics when I get it all together.
 
If you don't intend to re-tune while playing (by rotating the "drum"), couldn't you just mount them on any rims style tom mounts? Would fit nice and low on any BD, probably looking quite good.
 
For single rototom mounting, one of these clamps works great - clamp one end around the tuning bolt, the other to any stand, adjust angle as needed.

https://www.amazon.com/Gibraltar-SC-PUGC-Angled-Grab-Clamp/dp/B0002H06L4/ref=asc_df_B0002H06L4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312195717264&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6573092739547506678&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033619&hvtargid=pla-568802980526&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=61623488545&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312195717264&hvpos=1o4&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6573092739547506678&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033619&hvtargid=pla-568802980526

If you have several rototoms and the track is giving you heartache, get a length of rack tube (24" or 36" works fine) and one multiclamp to attach it to a stand, plus as many more as you need to attach the individual rotos to the tube. Way easier to deal with than the track.
 
Just mounted up my 5 roto toms to my Yamaha hex rack. Spent under $15 for the bolts/nuts/washers .... cut down some 7/8" tube I had lying around to 5" length.​
 

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Very cool. I've ALWAYS loved rotos. SO many peeps make fun, say they're not drums. . .they may not have shells, but they're drums.

I dig your setup.
 
Very cool. I've ALWAYS loved rotos. SO many peeps make fun, say they're not drums. . .they may not have shells, but they're drums.

I dig your setup.
Thanks. This is the 3rd time I've brought a full kit of them to life.​
Back in the early 1980, I had a 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 combo., with each drum mounted on a Tama Titan boom. 'Round 2005, I put a 14, 16, 18 combo. together, each mounted on a modified snare stand.​
These are 8, 10, 12, 14, 16. I might add an 18, if I find one cheap enough. On eBay, 18's are going for $300 .... which is a tad pricey. I paid $130 for my 16. So the team may be full as is.​
Yeah, there seems to be a lot of hate towards these .... oh well
... to me, they're just another sound option.​
 
Thanks. This is the 3rd time I've brought a full kit of them to life.​
Back in the early 1980, I had a 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 combo., with each drum mounted on a Tama Titan boom. 'Round 2005, I put a 14, 16, 18 combo. together, each mounted on a modified snare stand.​
These are 8, 10, 12, 14, 16. I might add an 18, if I find one cheap enough. On eBay, 18's are going for $300 .... which is a tad pricey. I paid $130 for my 16. So the team may be full as is.​
Yeah, there seems to be a lot of hate towards these .... oh well
... to me, they're just another sound option.​

I've been tempted to buy a set of three off of Ebay. Honestly right now, I just don't have enough space in my drum room.
Rotos always remind me of 1984 and Alex Van Halen. Maybe they were a "fad" to some. They're just another drum with a different sound--for sure.

I will say, it would be neat, if someone designed a roto that sat down in a shell for another option. Clamp it on like the old Remo pre-tuned drums.
 
Pearl probably came closest to that .... with the Vari-Pitch drum kit.
Never seen any toms with reso. heads, however. Pearl and Firchie made snares, also.​
My next addition to this kit will be to add a Yamaha EAD10 to it. Selling off some extraneous hardware now to finance that. Gotta lighten the load before I go an add to it.​
 

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Pearl probably came closest to that .... with the Vari-Pitch drum kit.
Never seen any toms with reso. heads, however. Pearl and Firchie made snares, also.​
My next addition to this kit will be to add a Yamaha EAD10 to it. Selling off some extraneous hardware now to finance that. Gotta lighten the load before I go an add to it.​

Oh wow! That's almost exactly what I was envisioning. That's definitely a look, that people were probably very critical of.

The EAD10 will be fun for sure.
 
I know this is an ancient thread but I have 10" and 12" roto toms that I bought way back in the late 70's. They haven't seen much action but more recently I've been using the 10" as my high tom in a 3 up 2 down setup. But I don't like how it looks. What I do want to do is buy an 8", 14" and 16" to make a full roto tom kit 3 up 2 down and using a regular bass drum and snare. Kind of like Terry Bozzio's Missing Persons kit. I figure it could be fun putting that together. Hey, if they were good enough for Bruford and Bozzio, they're definitely good enough for me.
 
I know this is an ancient thread but I have 10" and 12" roto toms that I bought way back in the late 70's. They haven't seen much action but more recently I've been using the 10" as my high tom in a 3 up 2 down setup. But I don't like how it looks. What I do want to do is buy an 8", 14" and 16" to make a full roto tom kit 3 up 2 down and using a regular bass drum and snare.
8, 10, 12, 14, 16 ......
 

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The idea of a full set of drum with roto-toms is also something that have crossed my mind. Main reason i wouldn't do it is because roto's lack the low end and fuller sound that a double headed drum has. Haven't played the larger ones, but when i hear the 16 and 18" rotos they do sound enormous!
I have a set of 6/8/10 rotos from a cheap brand, but also been struggling with mounting then properly that they're now collecting dust.
 
8, 10, 12, 14, 16 ......

When are you going to put some Evans heads on those?

Putting evans on roto-toms is a personal favorite hobby of mine haha.

FYI I love roto-toms: I'd be down for a full kit of them if it ever became a possibility! Maybe not as my primary - but it would be so fun!
 
When are you going to put some Evans heads on those?

Putting evans on roto-toms is a personal favorite hobby of mine haha.

FYI I love roto-toms: I'd be down for a full kit of them if it ever became a possibility! Maybe not as my primary - but it would be so fun!

They sound big and fat with Evans Hydraulics. And they last forever.
 
They sound big and fat with Evans Hydraulics. And they last forever.

OHHHH - Is this the kit that you put new Hydraulics on after like decades of not changing the heads???

This is alllll making sense now haha.
 
OHHHH - Is this the kit that you put new Hydraulics on after like decades of not changing the heads???

This is alllll making sense now haha.

I put Pinstripes on them after 40 years of using Evan's Hydraulics.
 
When are you going to put some Evans heads on those?
Yeah .... that frankenhead assortment is just whatever those came with, when I got 'en off eBay.

I tried Evans Hydraulics on them ..... many years ago. They were OK .... but I went back to Remo CS heads then. That was back in the early 80's. My 1st kit .... made up of Roto Toms. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18. Vistalite kicks and floor toms.

My second venture into Roto Toms was in the late 90's .....

And so I'm on my 3rd fling with them.
 

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Thrilled to find this thread. I always wanted rotos when I was a kid, finally got a set a few years ago. haven't figured out a good way to integrate them into my kit, and keep the footprint from expanding. picked up another old set as well, to experiment with.

I was trying to mentally design a way to have the 6 and 8 together, and the 10 below it, in an upside down triangle sort of shape. I was thinking that might be easier to work in, perhaps to the left of the rack tom.

I also would love to make up whole roto kit. I know a guy that peddles used gear, and I seem to recall him having some bigger rotos in one of his storage areas. If I can ever get gigging again to make some mad money, I'll try and snag those from him.
 
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