Roto-Toms???

[Disposable]

So can anyone tell me what good it would be
To have only roto-toms on a drum kit?

They should be used in conjuntion with real toms shouldn't they?
Not just by themselves?

My drummer is looking at a kit (he hasn't seen it yet)
But the ad says roto-toms (leading me to believe there are no real toms.)

Any good use for this?

 

[Rod Gervais]

So can anyone tell me what good it would be
To have only roto-toms on a drum kit?

They should be used in conjuntion with real toms shouldn't they?
Not just by themselves?

My drummer is looking at a kit (he hasn't seen it yet)
But the ad says roto-toms (leading me to believe there are no real toms.)

Any good use for this?

It depends on the drummer - the particular sound you want - the style of music, etc., etc., etc.

I caught a heavy metal act once that was real good - and their drummer had no standard toms - only rotos.

Myself - when i used them - it was in addition to my standard toms - and i only liked their sound on things that had a latin feel to them.

So it's a personal thing -

Rod

 

[Disposable]

Thanks for the info...
The band is a Punk/Metal band
So I'm not sure that they would suit all that well.

Also... does anyone have any samples of Roto-Toms I can listen to...
I don't think I've ever heard one (Knowingly)

 

[KevinDrummer]

I don't have a sample. I do remember some bands from the 80's using them (in music videos and the like) but I think it was just for visual effect, because the sound that was in the songs was usually not rotos.

They are tunable in pitch "on the fly" - by twisting the entire drum, the bearing edge pushes into the head via a threaded rod.

The sound is very thin, bright, and "elemental" since you only get the tone of the membrane (head) and no shell or reso head comes into play.

I've got a set in my attic. I guess that says what I think about them!

 

[Farview]

I had a guy come in with a whole kit of roto toms. It was interesting but not the sound you expect out of a drumset. Normally you see 3 of them on a stand, people use them to make their kit bigger for cheap. It turns a 5 piece into an 8 piece for about $100.

 

[bigdaddyd]

In the mid 80's van halen used a whole kit of rototoms. I think the album was 1984. Monster sized kit as usual, and all roto toms for the main toms. sounded pretty good.

 

[geet73]

They sound kinda like timbales, tuned a bit lower. They just have a similar sound. Kinda pingy and... roto tom-y?

Eh. I don't like 'em too much.

 

[timboZ]

Eh. I don't like 'em too much.

Eh. I dont like the music of the 80's too much. (roto-tom fills)
But I do have a set of roto-toms locked up in a box in the basement!

 

[Farview]

In the mid 80's van halen used a whole kit of rototoms. I think the album was 1984. Monster sized kit as usual, and all roto toms for the main toms. sounded pretty good.

He was trigering most of it live. That sound worked for the album but it would be inappropriate in most circumstances.

 

[crackdaddy]

Check out Terry Bozzio and Alex Van Halen

Bozzio in the 70's and 80's used them almost exclusively. Van Halen used them for a while also. I would say the the biggest advantage in a rock situation is that they project very well and will cut through the mix easily.

 

[Wireneck]

I can't say that I totally dig the sound of Roto-toms but it seems that the trend these days in heavy rock music is to cut all of the ressonance and decay of a drum out of the mix anyways. It might be interesting to mic up a set, since its basically all attack. Just a thought.....

 

[Progger]

I had a guy come in with a whole kit of roto toms. It was interesting but not the sound you expect out of a drumset. Normally you see 3 of them on a stand, people use them to make their kit bigger for cheap. It turns a 5 piece into an 8 piece for about $100.

That's exactly it. I play on a Pearl Forum set augmented with a set of rototoms. Great cheap way to expand your drum set. If I could afford a rack and shells, I'd go for that, but as they are, rototoms are quite useful. I don't really use the top one though, since the only way to get any volume out of it is to tune it really high, therefore making it not fit with the rest of the drum set's tonality.

 

[Disposable]

Well, it turns out that the kit wasn't all roto-toms,
And he sold the roto-toms prior to us even taking a look at them.
To top it off... We didn't even buy the kit...
I'd never heard anything about a Tama Rhythm Mate kit...
So I thought it best to pass. It wasn't really in the greatest condition either.
Not bad but not as good as I would expect it to be for $300,
Used for 8 years..

 

[geet73]

I'm under the impression that the Rythm Mate is like an old swingstar or something. I saw a 4piece at GC for $100. I was considering getting it. I didn't.

 

[mr. monkey]

Terry Bozzio and Alex Van Halen had impressive Roto periods. Listen to Missing Persons' "Spring Session M" CD for a Bozzio thrill ride (breaks on "Windows" and "Here and Now" still make me pee my pants with joy after nearly 20 years). John Farris of INXS also used a frontal array of them atop a kick/snare/floor foundation that punctuated their grooves with style and character. That's really what Rotos are about – character. They punch through the mix in a way that standard toms can't. Close miking above or below the head produces a hot, in your face attack. More ambient room miking gets you a sound reminiscent of early Peter Gabriel recordings, or Collins-esque bombast. I like the bigger ones, myself - the 14" through 18" sizes, and have used them on many occasions with a standard kick/snare/floor with great results. They, like any drum, sound best when you tighten them up a bit, and not let them get too floppy. That's why the big ones sound best. Bill Bruford and Louie Bellson both used the larger ones in their setups this way, and, more recently, Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters has a couple big ones on the floortom side of his standard kit. They do have a pretty unique sound. Call it one-dimensional? I don't think so. Do they sound like nothing else? Definitely. It's all about style, though. The great GO-GO drummers of D.C. could make 5 gallon buckets sound kickass, and have their place, sonically, in the seminal recordings of the pre-Hip Hop era. So, like any other drum, Roto Toms sound shitty when played by a shitty drummer, but stylish percussive voices in the hands of a thoughtful drummer. Most kids who stay up nights dreaming about the 6" thru gong bass drum flurry at the closing of Rush's "Limelight" will likely start with the 6-8-10 Rotos, and for that, I variably cheer and suffer the torture shared, no doubt, by the Guitar Center salesperson who has been forced to endure innumerable earnest dismantlings of "Enter Sandman" or "Crazy Train." Clever and experienced players, however, should check them out for their ability to add flavor and texture to their sound.

 

[brandonkrause]

Neil Peart has some nice roto fills and solo's with roto's...

 

[MadAudio]

I went to see the band Trans Am last night, and their drummer used 4 roto-toms instead of regular toms. It worked for their music & his style of playing (which is obviously very Peart-influenced).

 

[noisedude]

Are roto-toms like the Arbiter Flats kit? If so ... I don't think I like them!

 

[MadAudio]

Maybe a picture will help. Roger Taylor from Queen used to use them, too. A good example is on Live Killers.

 

[dr.colossus]

I went to see the band Trans Am last night, and their drummer used 4 roto-toms instead of regular toms. It worked for their music & his style of playing (which is obviously very Peart-influenced).

wow. i'm a bit of a trans am fan, i saw them in 98 (i think) from memory he was playing a fairly lrgely dimensioned four piece accoustic kit with a few electronic triggers here and there. the move to rotos is no surprise at all.