roto toms ah eeeew

just brought home rotos set em up left of my 10 tom on kit above snare .put ambssadors on em EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEw!They dont come close to being in tune with the kit toms.And theat straight mounting bar makes me really uncomfortable when I reach for the 6" tom.Is there a way to get these mounted in an curve to make em flow better on the kitGuess Ill have to butcher that bar and individually mount em.But is it worth it .Im not nuts about the sound or is that another issue with heads and tweeking the tunning.How about input on drum dial tunning with these,say with pitch rings tuned low as they go.I hate to take em back this fast but I ain't feeling em on my kit.I have played other world percussion and cocktail kits and these drums fit in,but on my fussion kit I don't hear it.

ERN

A drum dial on rototoms?? ROFL!!!

Dunno why folk have such trouble with rotos. As long as the rims are mounted evenly all around, they should be fine.

Understand that, lacking resonating parts, they will have a different sound character than your kit toms. Accept that, and you'll be able to move forward and use them effectively. If you cannot accept it, you'd better return them quckly.

Exactly.

Most likely your toms each have two heads and shells. Rotos are basically just a mount for a drumhead. You shouldn't have any trouble getting them in tune, seeing as it takes about 2 seconds to tune a roto tom (longer if you use a drum dial.. ).

Bottom line, it's one of those "you get what you pay for" deals. If you wanted to buy 3 toms, it would probably cost you several hundred dollars, depending on your choice of drums. A set of 3 roto toms goes for less than $150. So if you're looking for "more toms", that's not what they really are.

As for the mounting bar, it is what it is. You can always mount each roto individually using one multi-clamp for each drum, attached to the "screw" under each drum. Again, for $150 for the whole setup, the bar is what it is...it works, but it's far from perfect.

Personally, when I used 'em, I found that I almost never used the 6" drum because it just couldn't cut through the mix.

Don't get me wrong, I like roto toms for some things. Still, you have to accept their limitations.

Really? I find that the 6" cuts through particularly well. I don't use it constantly because I try to use my stuff musically and strategically instead of putting all of it into every fill - but it certainly gets used and never vanishes into the mix.

Frankly I love the 6-8-10 rototom set. It's definitely a compromise, but it's a compromise that works extremely well. There's no way I could work in 3 more toms without it.

I don't really care for rototoms. Indeed, they are what they are, and regular tom toms they are not. You get a lot of attack and a bit of a "ping-pong" sound and they are obnoxiously loud. When my old drummer was using them, they easily cut above the other toms. Useful for the occasional gimmicky effect IMO, but I'd rather have octobons or timbales than rototoms. My drummer plopped them above his hi-hats, and the straight bar was fine for that, but indeed, you don't have a ton of flexibility with the setup. I think we tried mounting them vertically once but I don't remember if/how that worked out.

The attack part of the sound gets through, but there's no sustain in it, so by the time it gets to the audience, it's just kind of an atonal "pop" sound, rather than a "melodic" sound. The bigger they get, IMHO, more "tone" starts to appear, and it gets easier to actually hear the pitch of the things.

You're right, though...not the right thing for every fill.

Head choice may factor into this. I'm using the stock 'ambassador'-grade heads that came with the off-brand rotos I have. These provide more sustain than the CS heads that usually come with Remos, and more still than the two-ply heads some folk use.

I just bought some roto toms that came with pinstripe heads and they sound great! Maybe switch heads or something.

Thanks ya'll for the input.I took em back today.I just couldn't get over the mounting inflexablity.It would have cost too much to separate the toms,to get the flow I want.These things are in my home recording studio,and I was just gonna use them foe added effect.I have played on em b4,I figured the go into the kit easy enough.Iwas a little off on that. I did get them from a second hand store,they had a seven day policy for a no questions asked return.Put the money down on a sweet Sabian raw bell dry ride 22".That wont be so hard to put into the kit.

The other deciding factor was the sound they gave me wasn't quite right.I know they do have a unique sound and all but to go with all that head research,gets a little costly.I know remo, evans ,aquarian,all make heads for these in several varieties.about $10 ave for ea. drum that would have been a couple hundred to find out what I like.So, screw that I'll add the final tom to my kit and be done with toms.Pacific make an 8x10 that will be ok and I already know what heads I like on those drums.I guess some of you are right they are just a gimmicky type of drum.They do sound out well enough but I found out they just ain't me.

Mabey when I get a chance I will try the octoban thing .But I will build em myself,as did another meber of the forum.

Am I going to have the same sound problem with these also.Or are the shells gonna help me blend em in better?

Note,I have never played on octo's so any help would be greatly apreciated.

Thanks

Ern

Octobans also have a unique sound, quite different than regular drums.

If what you're really seeking are drums to blend sonically with your existing set, get the closest thing now made by that manufacturer. Everything else will have a different sonic character.

Try to play "odd" percussion stuff before you buy it. Timbales, roto toms, octabons, and practically any other style of drum will have it's own unique sound. If you're not familiar with what these things do, it makes sense to try before you buy (unless you're working with a store with a good return policy, and don't mind the hassle of making multiple trips).

Thanks all,

Trouble is trying to find octos around these parts.Gonna make em myself when or if I decide to try em out.Right now I own a pacific cx kit and the onlt tom I do not own is the 8".Was thinking about gettin that for my kit now that I have a rack to accomodate it.I wish pacific made a 18" floor tom.Beem trying to get parts such as lugs and mounts the creating my own with a keller shell.These days not many 6" toms exist unless you get them custom.

ern