bottom of toms

[ccrdrums]

i see a lot of drummers with no bottoms on theyre toms ......whats that for?

 

[drummert2k]

thats for drummers who want their floor tom to sound like a steaming hunk of poopie. i've seen a lot of people do it so they could telescope their drums inside each other so it takes less room and less trips to load in and out. but they sound horrible that way.

 

[druminzeetobaccofade]

Some toms were designed like that, the old vistalite Ludwig drums were made that way, they're called concert toms, and project pretty well, but in order to get the full tone of your kit you want bottom heads for resonance. Some of those older drums are worth some money.

 

[Mike T]

thats for drummers who want their floor tom to sound like a steaming hunk of poopie. i've seen a lot of people do it so they could telescope their drums inside each other so it takes less room and less trips to load in and out. but they sound horrible that way.

Of course that is just your opinion right....

 

[drummert2k]

thats for drummers who want their floor tom to sound like a steaming hunk of poopie. i've seen a lot of people do it so they could telescope their drums inside each other so it takes less room and less trips to load in and out. but they sound horrible that way.

Of course that is just your opinion right....

No, thats not my opinion. i think its even in the bible. "thou shalt not play a drum without a bottom head." Although the book of Genesis might prove otherwise. ( I thought that was funny, anyone else?)


other than the 80's, when was the last time anyone heard drums sound good with no bottom heads. they sound like dead plastic.

 

[Deanoatc]

I also think toms sound like ass when there is no head on the underside. Don't do it unless you want the shittiest sounding drum ever.

 

[lousypadrummer]

I used to play without bottom heads until I learned how to properly tune them. I think they sound terrible without them.

 

[ultrastu]

i don't know sometimes you can get a cool 80's type sound.
especially when miking drums. I know Phil Collins uses a Gretch kit with no toms.

(whats the betting that someone will post next saying something like Phil Collins sucks ass)

 

[Daneman]

Although the book of Genesis might prove otherwise. ( I thought that was funny, anyone else?)

Ha! Just what I needed to get my Monday started right. Seriously, I laughed my ass off.

Concert toms were pretty common in the 70's and early 80's to achieve that dead sound. Ever play Evans Hydraulic heads? Yeah, it's like that, except with no bottom the batter head has nothing to resonate against at all, so even more lifeless.

Concert toms do have certain applications. Think of late Beatles circa Abbey Road, or just about anything from The Band or The Eagles.

 

[Scott_Hurford]

thats for drummers who want their floor tom to sound like a steaming hunk of poopie. i've seen a lot of people do it so they could telescope their drums inside each other so it takes less room and less trips to load in and out. but they sound horrible that way.

i respect your opinion dude, and i agree with u, but this is gonna turn into tht arguement on the "No Resonant Heads" post, tht arguement on tht post is still going on i think

 

[Rockula!]

Once again, I will reiterate that ANY drum can sound good if you use the right head and know how to tune it
You forgot to use the phrase "to me" again so that you can defend your blanket statements
That's why you all think within the confines of the box in which you've been placed

It must be great being "that guy in the back" since you know your place
Have fun being "someone's drummer"

 

[Scott_Hurford]

Once again, I will reiterate that ANY drum can sound good if you use the right head and know how to tune it
You forgot to use the phrase "to me" again so that you can defend your blanket statements
That's why you all think within the confines of the box in which you've been placed

It must be great being "that guy in the back" since you know your place
Have fun being "someone's drummer"

thats just rude.

 

[Rockula!]

I have a black friend who put everything in perspective when he said that his dad told him "The only people who are truly offended by being called (the "N" word) are people who are (the "N" word)"
I think it applies to this situation as well

 

[earldrum]

I really think this debate comes down to a matter of what sound do you want from your drums. Both types of toms will produce a nice sound, but is it right for the song you are playing.

Concert toms have a very punchy sound that was very popular in the 1970's. Hal Blaine who made the big multi-tom kit famous on a thousand records used this type of tom for melodic effect. Listen to hits by the Carpenters to hear that melodic tom sound and you realize that the sound is punchy, focused, and flat sounding.

In the late 60's and early 70's everyone from Carmine Appice to Neil Peart in the rock world used these drums. Even some famous jazzers used concert toms for a time; like Roy Haynes and Chico Hamilton (who still uses concert toms --- he was using them in the 50's).

Are concert toms my favorite sound??? To be honest I like a more resonant sound of two headed toms. But you know, sometimes a loose fat deep 8x14 snare is the right sound vs. a 3.5x13 piccolo snare. The same with concert toms. IMHO you can make double headed drum a single headed drum by taking the bottom head off, but you can't put bottom heads on a concert tom too easily. Also it is pretty hard to buy concert toms new these days unless you special order them. Try taking your bottom heads off and see if you like the sound, if so buy concert toms, if not stay with double headed toms.

That's my two cents.

 

[Howepirate]

I have a black friend who put everything in perspective when he said that his dad told him "The only people who are truly offended by being called (the "N" word) are people who are (the "N" word)"
I think it applies to this situation as well

i can think of a D word for you and its not drummer

 

[demonicAngel]

Once again, I will reiterate that ANY drum can sound good if you use the right head and know how to tune it
You forgot to use the phrase "to me" again so that you can defend your blanket statements
That's why you all think within the confines of the box in which you've been placed

It must be great being "that guy in the back" since you know your place
Have fun being "someone's drummer"

thats just rude.

It is rude, and actually, no offence to anyone, but when a drummer is playing his drumset on stage, and he likes the way it sounds, then it's tuned correctly. You need to get your head out of the box sort of speak, and listen to the music HE wants to project. saying that a drummers kit is out of tune while he's playing a gig and he's happy with the sound, is like telling a guitarist his guitar is out of tune because it's not in standard tuning.

do you see where I am getting at here?

 

[drummert2k]

Once again, I will reiterate that ANY drum can sound good if you use the right head and know how to tune it
You forgot to use the phrase "to me" again so that you can defend your blanket statements
That's why you all think within the confines of the box in which you've been placed

It must be great being "that guy in the back" since you know your place
Have fun being "someone's drummer"

thats just rude.

It is rude, and actually, no offence to anyone, but when a drummer is playing his drumset on stage, and he likes the way it sounds, then it's tuned correctly. You need to get your head out of the box sort of speak, and listen to the music HE wants to project. saying that a drummers kit is out of tune while he's playing a gig and he's happy with the sound, is like telling a guitarist his guitar is out of tune because it's not in standard tuning.

do you see where I am getting at here?

drums being out of tune and drums being flat and/or lifeless are two differant things.

if thats what they are going for thats fine, but then you have a case of the srums still sound like crap as a drum set but does the job it needs to do in the music setting

 

[demonicAngel]

I can see that they can sound bad if you tryed to tune them to a triad, and they un tuned a bit, so they clash with your guitarist's riff's, but so much as life to the drums? maybe you mean expression ? and not so much tunning?

 

[drummert2k]

I can see that they can sound bad if you tryed to tune them to a triad, and they un tuned a bit, so they clash with your guitarist's riff's, but so much as life to the drums? maybe you mean expression ? and not so much tunning?

no im actually sticking to the topic of this thread and talkijg about taking the reso heads off. the drums loose the life.its basically all attack when you hit it.

i was saying as a drum set that sounds bad, but the question is, in a musical setting, does it play the role its trying to with the sound of no reso heads.

 

[demonicAngel]

I can see that they can sound bad if you tryed to tune them to a triad, and they un tuned a bit, so they clash with your guitarist's riff's, but so much as life to the drums? maybe you mean expression ? and not so much tunning?

no im actually sticking to the topic of this thread and talkijg about taking the reso heads off. the drums loose the life.its basically all attack when you hit it.

i was saying as a drum set that sounds bad, but the question is, in a musical setting, does it play the role its trying to with the sound of no reso heads.

well think about what you just sayed, your taking off the resonant head. your taking off some resonance, it's the same goal as moon gel, but they give completely different sounds.

I guess the real question you should ask yourself is, do you really hear the resonance of a tom when your guitarist and bassist are just blowing out a wave of sound?