I love the rack, and I like mounting my toms but I don't mount my vintage toms on mine. I do have a Rogers Powertone kit and there was no mounting hardware on it when I bought it. So I use a RIMS mounting system. Seems to work great. I don't care that it doesn't look vintage, I gig with the kit.

I put all my toms on suspension mounts. That allows me to only have to stock one kind of hardware which means I can swap out drum kits as easily as swapping shells. I agree that they sound much better that way. Some here do not but a simple A/B comparison tells me otherwise. Perhaps I should say "more resonant" and "increased sustain" as those terms are not as subjective as saying they sound "better." I always have the original hardware around if I need it for period correctedness but I am just fine with suspension mounts.

As to whether or not older shells are up to the task, I don't see a problem. The three ply shells had some sort of a mount bolted on with two to four bolts depending on manufacturer. In the case of a suspension mount, you are probably spreading the shock load out over four lugs which would then be 8 bolts. The one thing to consider would be to replace the existing lug flat washers with fender washers if you are concerned. I have had no issues with any Slingerland toms and suspension mounts however.

It worked!

I agree. It 'opens' up the drum, and I think it's just a better method of hanging the thing. I do not remove the original mount, though. When I take pictures of my vintage kits, I remove the suspension mounts and use the original. If I gig the kit, I use suspension mounts.

I agree...

Isolate your toms as much as possible.. But do not damage the shells in the process.. You can obtain a pure drum tone with ISO mounts... I use Purecussion mounts on my Gretsch & Pearl Hanging toms.

Cheers

Agreed. I leave the original mounts as well unless it is a re-wrap. In that case, I leave the holes but wrap over them. That way I can add the hardware back in a matter of minutes should I decide to or for a resale.

I am, however, still scratching my head as to what to do about my Yamaha kit. I am thinking the YESS mounts may have to go and, in that case, I would remove the existing hardware.

Thanks, guys. You've given me plenty to mull over. You're the best.

What kind of yamaha? What mounting? I have a yamaha completely rack mounted, with the minimal contact yes mounts and they sound great and really resonate. No modification necessary.

I agree that suspension mounts allow for more sustain and an overall better tone. I use a Gibraltar suspension mount on my Vistalite kit for shows and it makes a huge difference.

I absolutely find no difference in the sound of my Slingerland drums mounted on a stand, the original mount or suspended, especially playing with a band. That's the appeal to me anyway about vintage drums, they don't resonate or have as much sustain as modern kits and that has more to do with the rounded bearing edges more than anything else.