I really enjoy seeing the photos that folks post of vintage drums whether they have vintage hardware or not. The overall vintage vibe including hardware is certainly cool, but I am more concerned with the drums themselves. I will say I would love to pick up a set of Lokfast hardware for my Premier kit someday because those were just the coolest looking stands ever made.

I think the reason I don't care that much about vintage hardware is that most of it was built to simply serve a utilitarian purpose and very little attention was paid towards design aesthetic. There is nothing wrong with that and I do not mean that as a criticism; I just see that is being the way it was and is. To make a point, I would look at a Lokfast stand and say that there was some serious thought given to styling along with functionality. I look at pretty much any other cymbal, snare or hi-hat stand made (actually vintage or modern) and I would say that it looks like something that would hold a cymbal, snare, etc. with varying degrees of success. Therefore, I don't get too worked up about hardware. I think it is great that some guys do because that is a real asset for the preservation of our respective interests. (as a side note, I will have to give props to Rogers for some very well designed hardware that looked good as well)

As to actually using drums, no vintage hardware for me. I want something that is rock solid and bullet proof. I prefer virgin bass drums and isolation mounts. The drums we all love sound better that way. In many cases they sound WAY better that way.

You can always use vintage snare stand like John Bonham did.:)

I'm with the OP — can't stand to see a kit from the '40s thru '60s with Gibraltar heavy duty hardware. On my modern gigging/recording kit, I use the top-of-the-line Pearl hardware, but with my vintage kits it's authentic only. Nothing against those that disagree, I just wanted to put my vote in.

Stephen

How interesting! For those of us born after the great baby boomer generation, Baby Busters so to speak, most of us have a pet peeve against bass drums being used as a tom stands or a cymbal stand. IMO there is no better way to Ruin a bass drum than to drill a bunch of holes into it for the purpose of mounting a tom or toms that one can never get adjusted just right and wobble around with anything more than brushes being used. FYI There were snare stands like the Roger's Supreme, or Clipper model that were built like a tank, never moved and held a hi-tom perfectly. flowers2

It's ones personal taste really. I have to say I do like the RIMS mounting system. Never had one but might pick some up in the future. My 40's 22" bass came with a later W&A consolette on it. So I bought a diamond plate mount and added it to my 13" tom. I wanted to play them like this and so far they have been fine. I like the vintage look but they need to be sturdy too. If the consolette doesn't work out for me I'll use a RIMS mount or snare stand. It doesn't really bother me to see however anyone mounts toms with either modern or vintage hardware. It just nice to see these old tubs fixed up and played as intended. I was very fortunate my first kit was a Fullerton Rogers 5pc with that wonderful swivo hardware. I got spoiled by those!! D' Drummer

i also agree. When I see a kit with a tom on a snare stand, I think they might just as well leave the front head and hoop off the kick drum as well. Aesthetics are very important, especially if you have a really nice, vintage kit. I'm also a Rims/suspension mount supporter, and like virgin shells. My one 60s Ludwig 'players kit', I removed the consolette, filled the holes, and used Rims mounts off the Hercules, (chosen for more support) cymbal stands. I think it makes for a cool sort of hybrid kit, and it sounds killer. Vintage hardware at home, flat based repros for gigging.

Looks like a major drum company doesn't agree with this thinking, Slingerland, http://www.vintagedrumguide.com/images/catalogs/slingerland/1964_slingerland_6.jpg I personally love snare mounted toms. they are stable, and very adjustable. I use em often.

Charlie don't care. :)

Boy, it sounds like you guys are going to hate this!

This is a rather unconventional use of a snare stand to hold a tom for sure, but DAMN if it isn't solid...

This is a 900 series concert snare stand from Yamaha, which happens to use the same size hex as the tom mounts for the snare basket (which can normally be moved in or out about an inch) on a ball mount. Add that to a standard tom hex mount on a second hand RIMS mount and viola!

(note the upper half is actually a Gibraltar knock-off of the Yamaha part, as the Yamaha upper and basket are in use on my kit with the low Gibraltar lower until I find a [very rare] 900 series low mount for my snare)

PS I got a pair of custom made 20" hoops from Precision Drum today.. so I will be updating my D-20 thread soon.

I know this can be debated endlessly, but my 5 cents is I've been gigging around 30-35 years (twenty of those in a Zeppelin cover band). I usually carry as little as possible, because I hate lugging stuff around. I've used a Ludwig 1123 Hihat stand for years and I always use a shell mounted ride cymbal stand (I have a -67 Ludwig, -69 Gretsch -56 and -79 Slingerlands). Along with that I usually have a couple of vintage cymbal stands that look like tooth picks next to "modern" stands. In all this time I've never had any incidents with hardware failing (and I am not a particularly "light" player).

I used a snare stand for the tom briefly when I had a 26" bass....