Suspended Tom Mounts ?

[CLWarunki]

Just wondering what everyone is using for tom mounts? What do you think are the best and worst out there?

There are many on the market and I really like the STM mounts by dw, GPI Alloy by Gauger and the EPEK EMMS which is actually a MAPLE tom mount in a matching finish which blends perfectly into the kit, really clever!

I'm really not a fan of the old pearl mount systems (iss?) and the yamaha's.

http://www.drumjunction.com/tom_mounts.html

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ April 26, 2005 03:43 AM: Message edited by: CLWarunki ]</font>

[drmaybe66]

I can say with the utmost confidence that GPI Alloy mounts are the most effective suspension mounts on the market. I happen to know Gary very well and have spoken to him at length about the differences in mounts.

In my own experience, most of the mounts on the market are actually ineffective copies of the original RIMS, and are mostly designed to "look sweet" and "sell well".

Gauger's RIMS are actually so good, a lot of pros (Vinnie, Ashwin Sood, Travis Barker, etc.) go against the wishes of their drum companies and use Gary's RIMS instead of the mounts the manufacturer puts on their drums! (If you look at the cover of the A Custom video from a few years back, Vinnie is using the actual steel RIMS Gauger gave him in the mid-80's!!)

The RIMS are all hand-bent by Gary himself, and have to pass a very strict Quality Assurance process for him to feel comfortable shipping them out. If they are even slightly uneven, they will not work and Gary will not ship them out.

Check out the GPI website for more info:

http://www.gaugerpercussion.com/

(The pretty floor tom in the Dyna-Mount pics is actually mine!!)

Feel free to send me a direct email if you want some more information!

Side Note: In an issue of Modern Drummer a year or two ago, Gauger's RIMS were listed as the second most significant invention in drum technology since the synthetic drum head. Not bad!

[Baarts]

I know about Gauger's RIMS, and it's a very interesting story he told in Modern Drummer some years ago, about how no Drum manufacter would use his great idea (Purecussion had them in for a few years, though).

Funny, that almost every company now have come kind of a copy of the RIMS. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Because of Denmark being an EU country, the Gauger RIMS are very expensive, and due to the Noveau lugs on my Yamaha Drums, I have bought the Tama Star Cast system for my two rack toms. I must say they certantly works for me, and on top of this, the Tama Die Cast rim are better than the Yamaha Die Cast rim [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

I have ordered the Dynamount from Gauger, though ;-D

The Yamaha YESS do NOT work properly (and they can talk about nodal point untill Hell freezes - I don't buy it), but there is nothing wrong with Yamaha's drums.


I don't think it's important which kind of suspension mounting you use, if you only play gigs where the drums are mic'ed.

I only play club gigs, whith no mics what so ever, and due to this, I have to get all the sound possible, so there still are some drum resonans, in order to have a great gig as a drummer, therefore I care much about the suspension system I use
[img]tongue.gif[/img]

[drmaybe66]

Ouch!! It hurts to read that DSOP!! "The Man" has really gotten to you!! =)

If you are still mounting your toms on your bass drum, (which is the death of bass drum tone!) I would suggest abandoning that practice immediately and mounting the toms from adjacent cymbal stands. My rack toms are as close together as I dare get them (without having them rub together) using this method. Check it out (sorry, the pics are HUGE...):





Chris, I can't remember the exact issue that article was in, but I think it was the Anniversary issue a year or two ago.....I'll find out and let you know....

[Randy walker]

i use RIMS on my Gretsch kit, my Ayotte kit has the suspension system it came with and works fine and my DW kits have the STM's and they work well too.
The thing some guys don't like about RIMS is the drum can tend to wobble a little more then some of the other types of suspension systems out there.
all personal preference.

[CLWarunki]

I have RIMS on my Gretsch too and they do allow the drums to wobble around a bit, not only that but they are big and heavy, remind me of a bumper on a '57 Chevy or something!

I have STM mounts on my dw's and they are the sleekest and most chic looking mounts ever... NO WOBBLE factor at all, and brilliant isolation. Very secure mounts and compact too!!!

Looking forward to the Gauger mounts on the new EPEK kit though, might go for the red alloy ones.

[CLWarunki]

On second thought, these EPEK mounts are looking VERY attractive...

[drmaybe66]

FYI: The new Aluminum Alloy RIMS are MUCH lighter than the heavy old steel RIMS!!

[troutbrooke]

Originally posted by Canarsie:
Ouch!! It hurts to read that DSOP!! "The Man" has really gotten to you!! =)

If you are still mounting your toms on your bass drum, (which is the death of bass drum tone!) I would suggest abandoning that practice immediately and mounting the toms from adjacent cymbal stands.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hey man, I didn't mean to offend anyone or burst any bubbles, but them's the facts. If you're a purist who seeks the best tone above all else, then sure. But my point is that no one else is going to notice OR hear a difference. If you have a good engineer, you could be playing on Pearl Export and get a great sound. If you have a bad engineer (much more common) then nothing is going to help you.

I think it's a lot harder to maintain a consistent setup when you mount off of cymbal stands (unless you carry around a carpet with all positions marked) and then you need to deal with wobbling toms and cymbal stands. Plus, setup will take longer.

[five eight]

My 24", 20" and 18" bass drums all had double toms mounted and sounded good to me, especially the 24".