The tom mount on my '65 Ludwig allows me to put the tom anywhere I want. I think Ludwig had an advantage over other makers. As for sound, I doubt the small holes for the rail consolette and cymbal holder affect the sound much. The holes for the spurs probably let more 'vibe' escape than anything. That's why I call BS on virgin basses unless they have hoop-mounted spurs. I just prefer drums that look and sound the way they were meant to be. I reiterate that vintage drums with double-braced, super-heavy hardware, look silly.

I don't choose to think that way, I just do.

Stephen

It is not the holes per se that effect the sound, it is instead the pressure exerted on the drum. Case in point, I just bought a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute kit with YESS mounts. Supposedly, this is the Yamaha version of an isolated mount. I tune the rack toms wide open, hold them up in the air to see how they sound and they are spectacular. I mount them on their YESS mounts and the drum is very decidedly choked. It still sounds good, but nothing like it sounded before it was mounted. I believe I will put RIMS on this kit as well.

Now truly we are splitting hairs here but my preference is always a virgin bass drum and an isolation mount for toms. I can always spend 15 minutes disassembling and reassembling to take a vintage correct photo (because that is very cool), but otherwise I like vintage drums and modern hardware.