Set ups without rack toms

MaDaBe

Member
I decided to take the rack tom off of my kit just to see what it would look like and how it would make me play it. I love it. It forces me to think differently and play differently. It looks killer without that thing staring me in the face and with only two floor toms to choose from, it really is different.

Anybody else play without rack toms?
 
Iv tried playing without rack toms before, but i just feel so naked!! iv always played with rack toms on every set iv ever played...its just too weird for me. lol
 
i love playing set ups like that, i agree that it forces you to think differently. A bassist and keyboard player i know just recently laid down some tracks that were going to use for a small funk cd that were making.
 
No, but to my way of thinking the vital organs of the kit are the snare hi hat an the bass rum. Take these away an you don't have a drum set. Toms are expendable..any tom..
 
I agree that toms aren't necessary. I do love floor toms though. I just replaced the tom with a cowbell. Plus you can stick your cymbals a little closer. Have more of them and you don't have to worry about whacking the cymbal when going for a tom fill. And snare fills have always sounded better to me for some reason.
I've got a black and gray fade kit and a red snare. So it looks neato also.
 
No rack, no floor. Easy. Simple. Do it.
 

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Rack toms are for pussies...
 

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I was just about to post with this exact same question

I recently saw deerhoof, the drummer was amazing and all he had was bass, snare ride, so i was thinking how much do I really need toms, the answer is not at all. I figure for the price of a med level kit i could get a really great bass drum and really great snare.

NOW, an recommendations for this kind of set up?

I was thinking a gretsch renown 22 and a black beauty, Jimmy chamberlin snare or a dunnett
 
I was thinking a gretsch renown 22 and a black beauty, Jimmy chamberlin snare or a dunnett

Certainly a great way to build a great kit. My "only" suggestion is get a popular finish. That way, at a later point in time, if you want to "add on" to your kit (say, a floor or rack tom), you can. This from experience. I had a Yamaha Recording Custom 3 piece, in a very rare finish. After 2 years of looking on eBay for an additional tom, I sold the kit. Who bought it? A guy who owned the matching snare, but had no kit to go with it.
 
I played my drums for a good number of years before I even put the toms on, I really wanted to get the relationship between the bass, snare and hi-hats/ride down first before I started working on the toms. Whether this was a good idea or not remains to be seen.
I also love going to pub gigs with just a bass/snare/hi-hat/ride, I feel it makes me more in tune with the "groove" and it is easier to transport! :)
 
I played my drums for a good number of years before I even put the toms on, I really wanted to get the relationship between the bass, snare and hi-hats/ride down first before I started working on the toms. Whether this was a good idea or not remains to be seen.
I also love going to pub gigs with just a bass/snare/hi-hat/ride, I feel it makes me more in tune with the "groove" and it is easier to transport! :)

i feel this real relevna in a country like england where conditions always seem cramped
i know me a good few shoebox bars in gods country too dont get me wrong but i mean the kind of places i've played in america compare to in the uk conditions are as stated. having less to transport is a god send to a drummevr )evn though i am loving big kits wiv two kicks and 4 rack toms at the momtn)
i find recording it is nice to have rack toms setup so theyre at least there as that option if you own'em already dont ditch'em or anything i say. long as your lplaying can accomodate the change in placements bourhgt on by using more pieces - and why shouldnt it - then do it in this case but live i am very pro usign as little as i can. also, while i do advocate the smaller sets - like poster said about having fewer pieces but all of them higher quality is a great idea theres nothing like having gear u really love whether u find quality in cheaper or more expensive gear qulity is a great thing - but i dont like to hav no racks or even no toms at all if that means lots of cymbals...i find 9/10 playing situations (from jazz to extreme metal) my playing and the overall sound when mixed with an ampd up band or group of acoustic instruments benefits from less cymbal use. a flexibile ride? mos def. hihats? mos def. but morethan 1 crash/china? in fact, a crash or china at all? try going without them - worth it.
im interested in that josh homme setup pictured - has he done the same thing? like do i just see a hih at, ride and what is that - a couple splashes? theydont loo like crashes to me! thats a gerat setup live if iv seen it right. not sure if he is using a floor tom but i do feel thats an essential. so many grooves i feel in the context of a band are improved by moving off that washy cymbal and playing on a tom specially a welltuned floor. suits guitar no end and guitarists often seem to really 'inexplicably love that beat'. i figure josh homme is as much setting up that way for crowd visilbity - live i dont like hiding behind loads o toms and cymbals all at body-face level! - but also when playign in the practise room with your band either setting up your kit in a different direction or taking away lots of cymbals and racks definitely makes u feel more part of the group unit and makes u more ear oreitned rather than drumming along to a band. make'em play to you - in the good way
 
I was wondering if there were no rack tom drummers and beginning to think most on this site were into big kits with toms everywhere and so on.

when Chris Pennie was still with Dillinger Escape Plan - I think 4 years ago - he was only playing a bass drum, floor tom, snare drum, a ride, two crashes, hats, and a china. And we all know that guy shreds.
 
Similar...but different
 

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You see this setup a bit more in the rockabilly genre (e.g. Slim Jim of the Stray Cats or Steve Taylor of Ray Condo and the Hardrock Goners).

GJS
 
I feel like there should be a picture thread for this. I've seen a four piece thread 7+ piece thread, why not a 3 or less piece thread?

I've been playing without rack toms for eight years or so. Never missed them. As little as I use my floor tom, I oughta ditch that too, but it feels more balanced this way. The bass and floor tom in my picture are the bass player's, but the setup is all mine.
 

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I tried it few years ago & loved it !
 

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