Tom mounted on a snare stand.

I use two rack toms in my current setup, but when I only used one I mounted it on a snare stand.
 
What's the pros and cons? Doesn't it mute the sound?

If you just let the drum rest in the basket without tightening the claws on the hoop, the difference in sound is minimal. Certainly not something that would ever be noticed in a band context.
 
My last 4-piece kit had the 9x13 tom mounted in a stand. It worked out great. Charlie Watts has had his tom in a snare basket for almost 40 years.
And indeed, for 15+ years, I had my Ludwig Vistalite 14x10 on a snare stand (14, 16, 18, 22 combo) ... on stage, with a band ... none would be the wiser ...
 
it seems like this is all the rage. every drummer i see now has a virgin bass drum with a large-ish rack tom mounted low in a snare stand. they'll have one or two floor toms and a snare to finish off the kit. that seems to be the standard setup these days (although i understand people have been doing this for many years).
 
I do on my Bumble Bee Bop set. I converted a floor tom to a bass drum so I use a snare stand. If the bass drum is already drilled I would use the mount, if not use a snare stand.
 
Pros = easy peasy.

Cons = if you don't overtighten the snare basket so as to choke the drum (which is possible on a snare anyway), there are none IMHO.

Totally agree. Overtightening the basket will choke whatever drum is in it.

I have been putting my 10x10 tom in a basket for more than a year and it works great. It also saves on hardware space and weight compared to suspending the tom from a cymbal stand
 
I am having issues with this right now. I have a brand new 11x14 Ludwig Classic Maple tom. Even when it's just resting in the basket,the resonance and tone are greatly affected..When I hold it by it's rim it sounds good. When I put it on the stand There's a an annoying ring /overtone and the body of the drum is gone. It's like several frequencies are removed from the drum and all that is left is the one that annoys me. I've never had an issue like this but I've never used a snare stand to mount a tom either. Just for kicks I'm replacing both heads tomorrow. If it doesn't improve, I'm throwing a rims mount on it.
 
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Or here's another thing you might want to consider - go rack tom-less! I lots of people who forego the small tom altogether but keep a floor tom or two. Depending on the style of music you're playing, you may never need it. I've certainly done gigs where all I played was bass drum and snare drum all night. I'm sure everybody has.
 
I did that for a short period of time because Dino Danelli did it,and later Bonzo.I just thought it looked cool,which is why I think a lot of guys do it now.

Steve B
 
Pros = easy peasy.

Cons = if you don't overtighten the snare basket so as to choke the drum (which is possible on a snare anyway), there are none IMHO.

A snare basket will definitely affect the resonance (a.k.a. "choke") a tom if the tom is tuned low. If a tom is tuned medium to high, it has less effect on the sound of the drum. The way to find out if your drum is being choked by the snare stand is to compare how it sounds while in the snare stand to when you pick it up by the rim with your fingers and strike it. If you notice a difference in sound/resonance, then you know exactly what effect the stand is having on your drum sound. It might be a huge difference or negligent difference.

I have been putting my 10x10 tom in a basket for more than a year and it works great. It also saves on hardware space and weight compared to suspending the tom from a cymbal stand

...unless you are suspending the tom off of a cymbal stand that you're already using. In that case, a snare stand takes up much more hardware space and weight than a clamp-on tom mount.

I have 3 kits that I suspend my toms and I have 2 kits that I use a snare basket. It depends on the drums and how you tune them. Also, how you want your kit to look.
 
I use a snare stand on my tom & will never go back too a rim mount (weak & unstable) the trick is too have the snare basket grip the bottom of the rim not the flared part of the rim that holds the drumhead that will choke the tom for sure....hope this helped.

Bonzolead
 
When I put a snare or a tom tom into a snare stand I set up so only the tips of the basket grip the rim instead of resting the whole drum on the arms. Like this:

baskettips.jpg
 
When I put a snare or a tom tom into a snare stand I set up so only the tips of the basket grip the rim instead of resting the whole drum on the arms. Like this:

baskettips.jpg

Exactly what I was trying too say....as they say "A picture is worth a thousand words"

Bonzolead
 
I did that for a couple of years. The only con IMO is that you have one more piece of hardware to carry around. If you have a nice hardware bag, that would rectify that issue. Its fairly easy to adjust, and is pretty asthetically pleasing depending on your taste.
 
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