I have to ask a question of those of you who have a virgin floor tom with no mounts for legs. I am about to acquire a Ludwig & Ludwig virgin floor tom and was wondering if there is another way to use it besides (a) drilling the shell to add mounts (of which I am dead against), or (b) using a cradle. I also can't use a Ludwig Atlas mount bracket as the lug hole centers are too close together. Any ideas or suggestions?
Virgin floor tom mount question
Gibraltar makes a rim mount that will accept 9.5mm floor tom legs.
I believe that the Atlas mounts will fit the lug holes of your drum. I've read where others have used them with 3 ply drums.
I thought that the spacing of the Atlas mounting screws were adjustable so that they will fit many different spacings..
You can use a RIMS mount and suspend it off a stand. I did that for a while with a Gretsch 16x16 but discovered I preferred using the legs (but then it already had the brackets in place). In your case I'd guess the drum originally sat in a basket or cradle which was how floor toms first came to be "on the floor".
Another thing I once did was shorten a snare stand to where it could work as a floor tom stand. I knocked off the adjustment assembly, cut both tubes (upper and lower) down several inches and then put the adjustment back on (it's a friction fit). This will only work with certain stands that have the fold out legs without sliding braces. Like vintage Slingerland, Ludwig Standard, and Premier stands.
They have rims mounts now that accept floor tom legs....
It's 16x16.
Thanks for the replies. I'll have to check out the Gibraltar rim mounts.
Here's a picture of the toms I'm buying. Included in this purchase is a 14x24 kick and a 14x26 kick. This purchase will allow me to put together a kit for any gig scenario as will I now have a 14x24, 14x26, and a 14x28 kick. This floor tom however, is the first that I've owned that doesn't have the leg brackets. Maybe I'm weird, but in my mind everything I buy has to "pay for itself" - hence they all see gig time. I'll look into the suggestions everyone made.
Here's a picture of my modified "shorty" snare stand. I made this after finding out how much vintage tom baskets can go for. I think it would work for a 16" drum and has the advantage of being somewhat adjustable as far as height.
K.O. - I like that idea. I'm still not decided on what I'll do but I've found a few options that are available.
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