They made shorter arms too...I might still have one of those....

I would need 4. Three of the ones I have are 11" or 12". The other one is 10". I know these mounts are overkill but I really like the way the bracket looks on the drum. The time zapping steel tube not so much. How much shorter are the factory short ones?

Will have to measure...

Easy to cut down. I actually cut down a extra dogbone into 2 I had and save the original longer arms. Long enough to fully fit the mounts they way I set up the toms.

If you're even thinking of doing that do this first. Record the tom using Pro Tools or equivalent recording software with the arm all the way in the drum first then just hanging off the end of the arm. Examine the length of the sound waves and see how big of a difference it makes. If you see a difference go ahead and cut away. If you don't see a difference, leave it alone. If you were to do this test, I'd be willing to bet you'd choose the latter.

That's a good idea hemi. I'm gonna mess with my tuning and go from there. This isn't something I just want to do, that's why asking for input and getting good answers. Thanks

You had mentioned not wanting to use rims mounts which I can understand from an aesthetic standpoint but I must say, as many others have, they do make a huge difference by taking the weight of the drum off the side of the shell and eliminating the torquing of the wood which is what reduces the sustain. I put them on an 80's Ludwig Rocker and the difference was amazingly noticeable. It makes tuning off the mount easier, too. Without the Rims mount the tuning changes drastically when put back on the BD. With the R M it's the same as it was off the BD.

Despite what I said, I also have a couple sets that I probably would not want to put them on for just the same reason as yours.

Never messed with Memriloc,but I have with Pearl Exports,which is the same style of mount and I think the same diameter,and the difference in resonation from having the tube deep in the drum and at the end of the tube was significant,not as resonant as when holding the rim with two fingers and striking the drum,but enough to hear a definite improvement.

I understand your frustration and that is why RIMS mounts came to be in the first place. I also understand your aesthetic concerns. As to the difference in sound I can tell you that I have all of my kits on suspension mounts...except one. I have a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute with the stock YESS mounts. While they are theoretically designed to isolate the drum I am always shocked when I tune the 10" and 12" and then listen to them after I mount them. They sounded fantastic before mounting. The difference does not require monitoring via waveform; it is very noticable.

Now whether your drums will sound different with a 12" tube or a 5" tube, that is hard to say. Does the tube impact the air column enough to make a noticable difference? Maybe. I bet most if it the difference comes from the rigidity of the mount however.