I friggin' hate that tom mount.

It's easy enough to piece together a Gibraltar replacement. If vintage looks aren't a concern, it should be exactly what you're looking for. You'd need an SC-DP Double Tom Mount and two SC-LBS 9.5 mm L-Rod Balls. Total cost will be around fifty bucks.

Drum Foundry has a double mount with 10.5 mm rods for $29.99 HERE, but I don't know if those slightly thicker rods will fit in your Ludwig mounts. (The particular Ludwig mount you mentioned also has 10.5 mm rods.)

If the base of your tom mount has a hex bolt to tighten the mount in place, you should be able to replace just the bolt with a wing screw. DrumsOnSALE carries the Ludwig wing screw you'd need. (I don't remember the diameter or thread pitch offhand.)

Wow, what a nightmare. You're right. This is a horrible mount.

I am setting this up for the first time and everything is very weak and wobbly.

I can use a better mount but a major deficiency still lies with the mounts that are on the toms. They keep slipping and I can't get them tight enough. Who's insane idea was it to make everything round? Yeah right, like that little knurling on the rods would really hold anything. LOL

I am using wing nuts instead of the double deep hex nuts that were original. I was reading in the Vintage Drum Guide that these tom mounts (which were also the floor tom leg mounts) were only different from the leg mounts in that they had hex nuts instead of wing nuts. The reason being that the floor tom legs didn't require the level of tightness that the toms did. I can see that is so true, here.

So, even if I replace the mount and the dual holder, I still have the problem of the toms swinging around on the mounts and laying on the bass drum.

What? Rim mounts? Is that my only option?

I simply refuse to gig a drum set that requires me to take a breaker bar and socket set to setup and tear down, LOL

No wonder everything on these older Ludwigs is always stripped. I bought three bass drum mounts and every one was stripped and re-tapped.

Ludwig still makes the P1216D tom mount, but the current version has a handy large wing nut and a recessed spot that will grab a memory lock. This is much more stable, but ONLY Ludwig 9.5 mm memory locks will work. Does anyone know a source for these memory locks? I'd like to buy a few more of them.

Over the years, Ludwig has made some design changes -- including the use of a toothed eye bolt that makes the mount a lot less likely to slip. HERE is the current version, which is a cosmetic match and a straight bolt-on replacement. It wouldn't be quite as fail-proof as some other mounts or a RIMS-style setup, but it's a huge improvement on the original.

Also, HERE is that wing screw for the bass mount I mentioned earlier.

Here ya go -- $1.82 each.

Norman,I saw this,http://www.drumsonsale.com/ludwig-tom-floor-tom-leg-bracket-p1216d-p-6119.html they are supposed to allow the use of memory locks.

Thanks, SkyDog! I looked for those when I made a recent order to Drums on Sale, but couldn't find them!

Awesome stuff. Thanks so much.

Has anyone dealt with DrumsOnsale.com? Any feedback?

Thanks again. I'm going to play these this Wednesday night. If they sound good and I want to make them my "regular" gig outfit, I'll pay a few bucks and completely update the mounting system.

I was going to go with rim mounts but I hate to change the classic look that much.

Again, many thanks.

Does anyone know if the Ludwig LR2980MT Rocker Double Tom Holder - 9.5mm arms has the same bolt pattern as my '69 bass drum?

For just over 100 bucks, I could have a nice, new, solid tom mounting system. I can always retain the original parts for resale if I ever sell this set.

Thanks again.

That mount should fit just fine... Looks like it includes the P1610D which is their still-in-production "diamond plate" which fits the same mounting holes as the old ones.

The design has changed only slightly in 40+ years, but the pitfall is that the tightening screw from the new ones does not fit older models (any before the 70's black-handle screws).

Obviously if you order a whole one you'll be just fine. And that Rocker mount is sturdy but not super heavy, and will have the correct size (9.5mm) to fit new and old tom brackets (P1216D)... and it comes with the memory locks!

Once you have the new mounts in place (memory locks are a must) everything is much more solid - gigged/played with that setup extensively and reliably.