Why I Hate 12 Inch Rack Toms | Orlando Drummer Podcast 

LoL

Brother I have a few 12" toms I love. My favorite is on my Maple / Mahogany kit. The kit is 22", 8",10",12",14". So it's one of the lower " floor " toms. Everyone laughs until they hear the kit. These drums are small but they punch. I think a lot of it has to do with the materials, and the heads. In the end it's preference and what sounds right for the song.

Brilliant comment hahaha

I had a 12" birch PDP tom. Never could make it sound good. I could actually tune the matching 10" tom lower. Maybe I'm not crazy.

Lmfao I love my 12” Tom, there IS A MIDDLE AREA when tuning it for sure, I usually keep the head loose-semi tight and it provides the best tone but that’s on preference cause if it’s not within range the overtone makes me want to cry.

Simple trick for a 16". Take your resonant off and tune the batter up until you hear a proper tone,put the resonant back on and tune it up (in small steps) to a preferred pitch or acceptable resonance. From there, you can do to your batter head whatever you want. Go lower or higher depending on preference or genre.

I on the other end love 8, 10, 12 and 16 in front of me!

@@ekumusicYT You got a 16 rack tom?!!! Holy hell...

@@XiyuYang Ik you’re probably joking but Neil Peart had a 15in rack for a long time

I used to have my 10, 12, and 14 in front of me with 16 and 18 to the side. loved it, but I didn't like all the space it took up. ended up moving them around and leaving just the 10 and 12 in front with the 14 on the floor

SAME. we are so on the same page lol. Plus 2 up 1 down looks weird and 1 up 1 down looks much better.

Yeah, I’m glad I’m not alone. My Black Panther kit came with a 12..... never on the kit. 10, 14, 16 for life.

Get better at tuning lol

i play 7 up 1 down, 6 & 8 roto toms above hi hat, 2 octobans behind the left most rack tom, 8, 12, 13 rack toms & then 16 floor tom. it would be nice to have my ride closer, especially for blast beats, i like the way my 13 sounds, but its too deep, so i got a 10" to have 8, 10, 12, making them lower, and giving me 3 inches to move my ride left. But my 10 sounds totally wrong compared to my other toms.and i never particularly liked the way my 12 sounds

Because they were in Jazz tuning up high and a 12" is great for that.

@@chardrum No, your response is far too simplistic, many ways to properly tune drums regardless of size, 12 inch can sound great in any setting (rock, metal, etc) with proper tuning. Try a kit with 18" kick, 14" floor, 13" and 12" racks, tune them properly (and not necessarily high-pitched) and they will sing. It's not until you get into the mini-me sizes (10" etc) that the sound goes south (can't comment on how easy/hard those sizes are to tune because I've never, and will never, play a mini-me drum, they sound like codswallop).

​@@chardrumBut he was then talking more about THE TERRIBLE LIFE THREATENING HORROR... of... placing the drum..

I always have had more problems with the 13" myself.

I've found a 13" as a rack tom is a little harder to tune then a 13" floor. I played a sonor martini kit with a 13" floor and it was a breeze to tune and sounded amazing.

@@PerkChoppzDrums yeah well its a Sonor lol. Even the Chinese ones sound great.

Idk I love larger toms. Idc how hard they are to tune or how weird they look I love large 13x13 or 14x15 power racks on a 4 or 5 piece kit. A lot harder to come by these days

Agree 😢

i got a snare stand and is able to use a 12in tom as a small but great sounding fl. tom.

My 12 inch tom is my most easily tuned tom too! Its a Sonor Force 3007 kit.

@@jonnylikertrommer I used to have that kit! Yeah, I found the same thing. I play a Saturn V exotic now, and my 12 on that is easy to tune as well. It all depends where your starting point is, I guess. I wonder how Adam would feel if he just started with a 12 instead of the 10; because his biggest complaints were it was "hard to find the middle note when starting with a 10, and it takes up the space where he likes his ride". Start with the 12 (have 1 up and 2 down like he already does, but with a 12 as the top), still leave space for his ride, and not have to deal with finding a middle note if that's the first fundamental and no 10". Personally, I like all sorts of configs depending on the context. If just left setup in the studio, I usually leave all the toms up, and I find my 12×8" on the Saturn one of the easiest to tune. It's usually getting that 14×12 right where I want it that's a little tricky, so it matches well with the last fundamental of the 16×14 and the previous 12, but still sings well without being left so low it detunes frequently. I also have a Gretsch Catalina with deeper toms in the same dimensions, and the 12 is what I usually leave as the top if I'm doing 1 up (granted, it's usually what my students play on as the second kit). Lastly, I use a left and a right ride (20 and 22) and the Saturn has cymbal mounts for the toms, so I run into the same configuration/setup puzzles for finding the right angles and distances for my rides when using 2 up; but still manage to get it all nice and comfortable within about 15 minutes, without anything overlapping or crowding to where I misfire. To each their own, I guess! But, I've honestly never found 12s to be all that difficult to use/tune, and when tuned right or used in the right context, adds a great sound to the setup. Happy drumming!

I dont know how deep my 14” mounted tom is on my mapex, but is shorter, and is hell to tune”

@@Wut88 Mapex is usually a 14×12. But, I'm not sure what series you have. Yeah, it's usually one of the trickier ones to get "just" right; but once it's there, sounds great! At least, on my Saturn. Mine aren't mounted though, they're on the floor. Mapex usually makes more box drums. My Gretsch Catalina shells in the same dimensions are like 2-4" deeper per tom; but solely maple. The Saturn with that walnut/hybrid shell just hits me the right way. Kinda like a birch, but more warmth. Happy drumming, my dude!

@@blakenunndrums yeah Ive had my mapex pro m for like 18 years, at first I used the whole set.. 10 12 14 16 , then just the 12 14 16 , cause I started experimenting with one tom (and I love 12s), and eventually I just went with 12" and 16".. thats when I realized I hated the 14" , lol but now I got a smaller kit (gretsch catalina with 18" bass drum) and the 14" is now my favorite part of the kit... now the 12" is kind of "meh" , and also the hardest to tune

Wow, great sizes!! What did you get?

@@EduanSnarfHendrix Drums Perfect Ply Walnut kit.

I agree with this. love my 12 inch tom. my 14 sounds good but the lugs are so loose, they easily unwind and fall out at the bottom. I will try bigger floor tom(s) soon.

I have this problem too. Just can't get the transition from the 10 to a 14, smooth. I went with a 13 instead of the 14. Much easier transition.

They need to bring that back

9x13 is still my go to

Same, It's pretty easy for me,however, 13 inch toms and 18 inch Floor toms can be tricky!

I hate racks in general. Rack toms are the worst - stands only.

@@archologyzero yeah it's pretty cool that way you can put the toms anywhere you want. I used to put my small rack tom off to the left and then I would put another tom next to my floor tom back in the 90s.. but yeah you can get pretty creative on stands

Me too. I always have more trouble with my 13". I like the look and sound of my 12x9.

Agreed, 14 and 16 floor toms are too similar in pitch. The 16 goes deeper, but the 14 has better tone. I'm seriously considering a single 15 floor tom on my next kit.

Agreed lol

14 is my favorite. :(

@@EricT43 Yeah, 14 and 16 are too close in tone, so to get a good sound i have to tune them a fourth or preferably a fifth apart. Here comes the problem: the 14 is more tensioned than the 16 and as such is also louder. Companies should make 15-18 floor tom combinations the standard or at least an option to choose from.

15in floor toms go so so hard. 10,13,15 and 20 are my dream sizes

Tama did back in the late 80's early 90's I seem to recall.

Craviotto does

good luck getting heads lol

Ive had more trouble with my 10" rack and 18" floor tom,

I was born in 69 so I'm really old lol

Also you could get a 12" power tom with a longer depth but I like the shorter toms. 🤷‍♂️