| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| gazdkw82 |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 12:43:02
Iv been experimenting adding the 12" Tom between my 10 and 14 floor Tom.
Basically a traditional normal 5 piece set up.
The problem I'm having is the Tom just keeps banging against the bass drum. I have highered it so it don't but then it's too high for me to comfortably play.
Any ideas how I can set up and avoid this problem? |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| djohnson1974 |
Posted - 03/04/2012 : 10:40:37
I decided to strip my setup down last night and try and get a better setup with the mid tom. I ended up hanging the 10" of a stand and moving the 12" almost central to the bass drum. It seems to work much better, I've got my toms flatter and my foot is at a much more natural angle on the kick pedal too. Will give is some time and see how it goes.
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p590/djohnson1974/IMAG0180.jpg
http://i1157.photobucket.com/albums/p590/djohnson1974/IMAG0179.jpg
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| dibs |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 14:28:39
quote:
Originally posted by gazdkw82
sorry for the late reply...
i sit on my stool so my legs are just slightly angled down towards the bass drum. i do however have my 10" tom pretty much just high enough that it clears the lugs but thats about it.
I work a pretty tight set up so introducing a 12" tom around it is proving difficult. the biggest problem is just clearing the lugs itself. I can do it but i seem to be reaching a fair amount to get to it.
The bass drum is a 22 and both toms are on stands (undrilled bass drum)
i seen a video of vinnie quite recently and noticed how flat his toms seem to be. perhaps that just proves that the sticks need to be at the right angle to bounce correctly.
I will experiment some more
thanks 
Have you got any photos you can link to? |
| gazdkw82 |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 14:22:50
sorry for the late reply...
i sit on my stool so my legs are just slightly angled down towards the bass drum. i do however have my 10" tom pretty much just high enough that it clears the lugs but thats about it.
I work a pretty tight set up so introducing a 12" tom around it is proving difficult. the biggest problem is just clearing the lugs itself. I can do it but i seem to be reaching a fair amount to get to it.
The bass drum is a 22 and both toms are on stands (undrilled bass drum)
i seen a video of vinnie quite recently and noticed how flat his toms seem to be. perhaps that just proves that the sticks need to be at the right angle to bounce correctly.
I will experiment some more
thanks |
| knockermalin |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 09:09:20
quote:
Originally posted by Tex
Reverse the position. 10 on the right and 12 the left?
Dom Famularo used to set his hanging toms up like this - probably still does. |
| knockermalin |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 09:08:16
I've got a 20" bd with 10" + 12" toms and a 14" hanging floor tom. Last week I experimented with hanging both the 12" & 14" toms off a cymbal floor stand(my right hand crash cymbal stand with a twin tom holder attached via a clamp), efectively giving me two floor toms, just leaving the 10" tom hanging in its usual place, left of centre on the bass drum. I did this to allow me to bring in my ride cymbal in the classic low position. Previously I had been playing with just the 10" & 14" tom and hardly ever used the 12". Hanging both the 10" & 12" toms above the bass drum made the ride cymbal awkward to play. Now I have a set up that is comfortable to play yet still keeps the 14" tom within relatively easy reach and gives me a full five-piece set up but with the ride cymbal just where it should be! |
| WendyB |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 08:21:54
Take your 10" Tom off the kit and just play the 12" and 14" for a couple of days. You will then have plenty of room to move the new Tom around and get used to the sound it adds too. Then you can put your 10" back, move it around a bit and I bet that will feel just as strange. |
| thebeaver |
Posted - 02/04/2012 : 02:22:31
I dont see how setting up on a rack would help at all. Every tom mount in the world should be able to get the tom in a decent position once you understand the mechanics.
When you higher it away from the bass drum just tilt it forward a little and you should be able to find a happy compromise. Just be careful not to tilt too far though, it is a good idea to keep things relatively flat:
quote:
Originally posted by dibs
I've never really understood the "stock" advice to sit with your things fairly parallel to the ground
things have to be "fairly" parallel to get the sticks to bounce properly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuzKFx9JDGQ&context=C4fc9078ADvjVQa1PpcFNxhhVK6mjCKpr2GClp7YnuL_ph3tDVwZg=#t=02m10s
demonstrates this effectively. If you think about it, the demonstration at 3:15 is the same angle your stick would hit the tom with it positioned leaning towards you, and 3:40 is hitting a tom positioned dead flat. But there's a balance to be had.
One last thing to remember Gazdkw is that you're adding something new to your kit, so of course it's going to feel weird and uncomfortable. It may seem too high now but chances are after a couple of weeks getting used to it you will adjust to it. Every time I've had the flattening and raising of the toms discussion with a student they've always said its too high and they keep hitting rims (after five minutes of playing). I ask them to stick it our till next lesson as an "experiment", but get them not to think about consciously changing their technique and every time they come back next lesson loving the new set up. |
| Tex |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 20:24:48
Reverse the position. 10 on the right and 12 the left? |
| dibs |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 18:40:27
More from Joe Crabtree in this video - in particular check out the close up of how far forward he has his 12" at 4mins 40
http://youtu.be/UlNC81JPdB8 |
| djohnson1974 |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 18:26:06
I'm a big fella (6ft 6in) and have been experimenting with drum position and throne height for ages, I just can't seem to find a comfortable position where I feel like I'm on top of the kit and not behind it. I like my toms fairly flat and even with my height have trouble with the 12in tom over the BD. I particularly have problems at kit share gigs and drum lessons where I always have to play with knees above hips! Next experiment is to take toms of BD and mount on stand. |
| Steevo114 |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 16:57:02
Exactly dibs, - I think the mechanical effort of lifting the leg is greater with parallel thighs than with an open angle, - its more effort to keep the weight off the pedals if you play heel up, unless you maybe compensate with spring tension taking some of the load between foot strokes....(opinion)
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| dibs |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 16:39:28
quote:
Originally posted by Steevo114
Well I'd consider setting the toms up so they're comfortably clearing the bass drum and move everything else up a little. That means putting your stool up and getting used to it. (You don't say how old you are, so I'm assuming you're an adult?)
Seat height is intriguing, - I sit high, but I'v come to think that's because as a kid I played adults kits before I had my own and got used to having my thigh angle more open. That makes me wonder if people who maybe start off playing lower as a youngster don't keep pace with their physical growth and put the kit up a bit now and then, - ending up playing 'overly low' as an adult. It doesn't make sense to me personally, and I emphasise 'personally' to have my legs doubled up under me when I play. No offence to those that are used to it, but I just ask the question.
What do others think?
I'm fairly short anyway and I've never really understood the "stock" advice to sit with your things fairly parallel to the ground - it seems like you're working well against gravity that way with every lift of your leg, however minor. I raised my stool and opened up my thigh angle quite a bit and instantly found it easier to both get around the toms but also my bass drum pedal technique seemed to improve quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, I don't teeter up high but I couldn't function if I sat as low as conventional advice seemed to suggest. |
| Steevo114 |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 16:23:42
Well I'd consider setting the toms up so they're comfortably clearing the bass drum and move everything else up a little. That means putting your stool up and getting used to it. (You don't say how old you are, so I'm assuming you're an adult?)
Seat height is intriguing, - I sit high, but I'v come to think that's because as a kid I played adults kits before I had my own and got used to having my thigh angle more open. That makes me wonder if people who maybe start off playing lower as a youngster don't keep pace with their physical growth and put the kit up a bit now and then, - ending up playing 'overly low' as an adult. It doesn't make sense to me personally, and I emphasise 'personally' to have my legs doubled up under me when I play. No offence to those that are used to it, but I just ask the question.
What do others think?
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| ian-40 |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 15:18:51
lift it higher at angle it more |
| logic_user99 |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 15:13:12
I've found that adjusting the angles of my toms as a set often works. How to the toms work together, in position, playability, and sound?
Just experiment, friend. |
| dibs |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 13:09:27
Joe Crabtree has a similar idea here but mounts the 10" off a stand so the 12" can be more freely manoeuvred around on the bass drum mounted tom post.
http://www.joecrabtree.com/blog/2012/02/20/how-should-you-set-up-your-kit/ |
| dibs |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 13:00:19
You could try mounting it off a stand instead of the bass drum - it gives you more adjustability. Or (and you can usually do this even if mounting off the bass) you can move it further forward (if it's a double tom post you'd do this by twisting the post so that instead of it being parallel to your torso it would be at an angle which also pushes your 10" tom further back so that might need re adjusting or I prefer to leave it as it as it means I can move my snare further forward) so that bit of the hoop that would otherwise be wanting to sit atop your bass drum is now projecting beyond the lip of your bass drum (which might mean having to move your 14" a little bit further round but everything is a compromise.
Sorry, sounds clear as mud now I've read it back. I will look for pictures! |
| Prog |
Posted - 31/03/2012 : 12:44:05
Don't bother with it. 
What size is the bass drum? is the 12" a power tom? Do you sit low? |
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Setting up mid Tom
