Which mount is better?

Pearl's Optimount or the Rimms system.

Have at it guys.... Which is more stable?

More stable is Optimount. More resonant is RIMS. I had both on an Export and went with the RIMS.

Jarick is as usual correct. Having tried both on the same drums, I would say the increased resonance of the RIMS mounts is fairly small if you use the optimounts correctly.* I get more resonance/sustain than I can use with the optimounts. And with optimounts the drums don't bounce. Ya pays yer money and takes yer choice.

*Optimounts come with virtually no installation instructions--just pictograms on the box. Many assume you need to press the two halves of the optimount together firmly against the lugs and then tighten. But from having read how the Pearl guys themselves set up kits for shows, it turns out they leave significant play between the mount and the lugs. It definitely resonates better that way and is just as stable.

Thanks

Yes, there was definitely a lot of tweaking. I liked the low profile of the Optimount, but it was difficult to get everything situated, and difficult to work with the stupid lugs on my old Export kit.

The whole deal was done maybe 8 years ago so my mind is rusty, but I remember being underwhelmed by the Optimount system and going with RIMS, which sounded a bit better, even if they bounced a little more.

With any suspension system, it seems there's a tradeoff between stability and sustain. It's physics; when you inhibit the vibration of a shell, you decrease sustain. Always a tradeoff.

Oh, and for the record, the Export still sounded like ass. Just a little less plinky and a little more note.

thank you both for your input.

This leads to my next question.

Might it be a good idea then to switch between them, one for recording and one for live play?

Too much hassle. Pick one you like best and go with it--life's too short to be changing mounts for one gig or another.

one nice thing about Optimount vs. RIMS is that when you change heads, you only have to thread two rods through the mount instead of 4 or 5.

a small thing.

This one...

Exactly.

*** Stay away from snare stands! Stay away from snare stands! ***

We now return you...

I tried the snare stand thing with a Starclassic, an Export, a Pacific, and a custom Keller kit. I tried mid-range snare stands all the way up to $150 stands with suspension grip claws and what not. I did loose and tight grip. They all sound terrible, no sustain, increased ring.

I settled on taking a tom arm and sticking it into an old snare stand base. Best of both worlds.

Thanks again guys, I suppose a susepnsion bridge made of rope is out of the question. I think I am gonna run with the optimounts.... my drum guy that I am working with suggested them, but then he will admit that he is a total Pearl nut.

He'll know this, no doubt, but perhaps others reading this thread won't: the optis only work on certain sizes of drum with certain lug configurations. They are:

8" - 5 lugs

10" - 6 lugs

12" - 6 lugs

13" - 6 lugs

14" - 8 lugs

15" - 8 lugs

16" - 8 lugs

That said, it is possible to bend them to suit other configurations. I tried several versions of RIMS mounts on our 8" 4-lug tom with poor sonic results, then finally followed another drummer's recommendation to bend the arms in slightly (to stand off the mount from the shell) and voila, an 8 that sings just like the others.

I've also heard of guys bending the 14" opti to work with 6-lug toms.

All RIMS mounts may be bent slightly to accommodate the drum. See the Gatzen YouTube video for details.

My snare stand holds better, and can accommodate most sizes.

yah.. the funny thing about the mounts.. If i went with optimounts, then I was going with Pearl hardware on the shells, The Rims would have meant Tama hardware. Luckily the shells have not been drilled yet, and wont be til I have the hardware in hand.