Anyone else dislike suspension mounts?

Stroman

Diamond Member
I was just changing out my rack tom head, and I find it such a PITA to deal with the RIMS type mount. I also feel like it sometimes caused the drum to detune.

I fully intended to mount the bracket directly to the shell while I had the head off, but didn't have the right size drill bit. Next time, my pretty,
 
I fully understand your pain! Recently, I decided to adopt suspension mounts for the toms of my old Tamburo Original, but after a few weeks I went back to the old Yamaha direct mounts: I did not notice any remarkable sound improvement with suspension mounts, toms bounced more than before and head change was, as you said, a real PITA!
Anyway, the great Tullio Granatello has found a nice solution for clever suspension mounts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujBetf9yKMk.
The video is in Italian, but go up to 1' 20" and you will just need to watch … (OK, it only works with tube lugs, but hey, that's clever …).
By the way: he also resurrected, for his new brand (Volume Drums - http://www.volumedrums.com) the old Meazzi Hollywood rim system to make head changes much easier and faster. He's such a drum genius …
 
Nope. I love them, lets the sing.
I'm fine with direct mounts, and toms in snare baskets too.
It's all cool. Variety's the spice.....
 
Hate them, too. You can't position the toms close enough together and head changes are a pain. I switched to Ludgwig Atlas mounts on my rack toms a while back and I love them. No drilling and the drum still sings like it's in a RIMS mount.
 
I like the way they let the drums sing. The rest I tolerate because of the tone it brings. Yamaha's YESS mounting system works nice because they mount it close to the bearing edge of the shell. Middle of the shell mounting sucks the life right out of a drum.
 
Just purchased a DW kit with one rack tom. The STM mount was removed in the first 24 hours. The drum will rest on a snare stand and it flat out looks better without the mount. They're a necessary evil on my other kits.
 
Been using them for years now and I have always preferred the sound I get with the toms suspended. Just my preference.

Also, I think unscrewing 3 screws by hand to remove the mount on my one kit (Tama Starclassic) isn't such a big deal. I would think it would only be a PitA if I was breaking heads regularly.
 
OK, so I'm not completely alone.

I understand the mount probably lets the drum resonate more, but my floor tom has THREE brackets screwed to it and resonates forever, if I tune it to do so.

I seem to remember my older Rogers, Tama, and Pearl kits having plenty of resonance, but it has been so many years since I've played a drum without some sort of suspension mount, I'm a bit uncertain.

Maybe the Atlas mount is worth checking, so I don't have to drill.

Thanks, folks.

PS - Andy, that looks awesome. I just need to hit the lottery or you need to mass produce those puppies so a poor Idaho boy can afford them! (I'm totally kidding. I know mass production isn't your primary objective...)
 
Personally I like the mounting system on my Saturns and the one on my Ayottes. Done well it's a great way to go. It sure beats inserting the mounting rod through the shell. I used to avoid Pearl sets because of that design. The whole thing can turn into a mess. I remember those snare stands that Tama marketed for awhile that suspended the snare drum. The marketing blurb on those was that a regulat snare stand choked the drum. I guess that it all comes down to taste.
 
For me, I suppose it comes down to one part aesthetics, and one part functionality. I am not fond of a bunch of optional extra metal hanging around my drums. Granted, I have about one suspension mountable option these days, but still... There is a natural elegance to having a clean looking drum. On the functionality front, they don't do enough for me to want to deal with them when changing heads.

Last year I ordered new Ludwigs. I gave a lot of consideration to my mounting options. My concerns were my adaptation to going big. I went from playing 22" bass drums to a 26" bass drum. That, and my first rack tom was going to be a 14x10". It was a bit of a leap of faith going from always mounting my tom from my bass drum to a virgin kick with some other option for mounting the tom.

In the end I decided to do no drilled tom mount whatsoever. I figured that I would throw it in a snare basket and try that out, and if I didn't like it, I would give the Ludwig Atlas mounts a try. They look pretty clean to me given all the other options, and would not require any drilling. So far the no mount/snare basket option is working just fine for me, but Atlas would be as far as I would go in the direction of suspension mounts.
 
One quick question about the Atlas mount. Does anyone know for sure if they fit the hole spacing for the Ludwig MINI-Classic lugs? I'm not sure if the minis use a different spacing than the regular classic.
 
One quick question about the Atlas mount. Does anyone know for sure if they fit the hole spacing for the Ludwig MINI-Classic lugs? I'm not sure if the minis use a different spacing than the regular classic.

Their spacing is adjustable. The website confirms they will fit Mini Classic spacing.
 
...while I had the head off, but didn't have the right size drill bit. Next time, my pretty,

So not only did you not have the correct size drill bit, but you missed a valid reason to go to the hardware store and buy way more stuff than you needed to complete the job.

That's two man card infractions right there!
 
With Ludwig drums, I never liked the vibrabands (or any suspension mounts). What does work for me with Ludwigs is the Keystone tom bracket (instead of classic or modular) on all rack toms and floor toms. Drums still ring & resonate, and I get the look, stability and tom placement I prefer.
 

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So not only did you not have the correct size drill bit, but you missed a valid reason to go to the hardware store and buy way more stuff than you needed to complete the job.

That's two man card infractions right there!

Haha!! I have no man card (I would have burned it in honor of Madge's thread, but I threw it out long ago, lol), and I live on the move. I don't want any more stuff!! Haha! Funny, though.
 
One of the best sounding drums over all my 15 Yamaha drums in my last 20 Yamaha years.

1939414_10203201671382217_151113518_o.jpg


Choose the direct mount over the Yes son the older RTC and RC anytime!
 
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