Drums
& Equipment - Tom-Toms/Toms
A tom-tom (not to be confused with a tamtam) is a
cylindrical drum with no snare.
The tom-tom originates from Native American or Asian cultures.
Tom-Toms can be fitted with an adjustable mounting for a floor stand, or
attachment to a bass drum or marching rig. They can be single or
double-headed.
Shell depth standards vary according to the era of manufacture and the
drum style. Diameters usually range from 6 to 20 inches, with heads to
fit.
The tom-tom drum was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th
century. These first drum kit tom-toms had no rims, the heads were
tacked to the shell. Jazz drummers used the heat from a match and water
(or whiskey depending on the venue) to tune them. The best were imported
from China.
As major drum manufacturers began to offer tunable tom-toms with hoops
and tuning lugs, a 12" drum 8" deep became standard, mounted on the left
side of the bass drum. Later a 16" drum 16" deep mounted on three legs
(a floor tom) was added. Finally, a second drum was mounted on the right
of the bass drum, a 13" diameter drum 9" deep. Together with a 14" snare
drum and a bass drum of varying size, these three made up the standard
kit of five drums for most of the second half of the 20th century.
Later, the mounted tom-toms, known as hanging toms or rack toms, were
deepened by one inch each, these sizes being called power toms.
Extra-deep hanging toms, known as cannon depth, never achieved
popularity. All these were double-headed.
Today two "power" depth tom-toms of 12x10 (12" diameter by 10" depth)
and 13x11 is the most common hanging tom configuration, and would be
considered standard by most drummers. Also popular is the "fusion"
configuration of 10x8 and either 12x8 or 12x9, and the again popular
"classic" configuration of 12x8 and 13x9, which has never fallen from
favor with some jazz and retro drummers. However a wide variety of
configurations are commonly available and in use, at all levels from
advanced student kits upwards. A third hanging tom is often used instead
of a floor tom.
Single-headed tom-toms have also been used in drum kits, though their
use has fallen off in popularity since the 1970s. Concert toms have a
single head and a shell slightly shallower than the corresponding
double-headed tom.
Rototoms have no shell at all, just a single head and a steel frame.
Unlike other toms, roto toms have a definite pitch and some composers
write for them as a tuned instrument, demanding specific notes. They can
be tuned quickly by rotating the head. Since the head rotates on a
thread, this raises or lowers the head relative to the rim of the drum
and so increases or decreases the tension in the head.
The tom-tom drum is also a traditional means of communication.
Construction and Manufacture
Typically a tom consists of a shell, chromed or plated metal hardware
and head.
Shell
A crucial factor in achieving superior tone quality and ensuring
durability, especially with wood, is the creation of perfectly round
shells and much research and development effort has been put into this
manufacturing technology.
Shells are often constructed of 6–8 wood plies (often using different
woods e.g. mahogany and falkata — birch or maple are commonly used for
single-wood plies), solid wood (turned) or man-made materials (e.g.
fiberglass, pressed steel, acrylic glass, resin-composite). Wood or
composite shells can be finished by laminating in plastic in a large
variety of colors and effects (e.g sparkle or polychromatic); natural
wood may be stained or left natural and painted with clear lacquer.
Steel is usually chromed, fiberglass self-colored and acrylic glass
tinted or clear.
Hardware
One or two cast or pressed metal rims attach by threaded tension rods or
lugs to nut boxes bolted onto the shell holds the heads onto the bearing
edges of the shell. The tension rod assembly needs to be precision
machined, cast and fitted to enable predictable and secure tuning
without inhibiting resonance or introducing extra vibration. All
components will be placed under great tension and experience added
stresses from playing.
Mounting systems vary greatly, from a simple cast block on the shell
which accepts and clamps to a rod attached to a clamp or holder to much
more sophisticated arrangements where there is no attachment to the
shell, instead a frame clamps to the tuning lugs.
Another sort of rod clamp system allows attachment of the drum to the
tom holder without the need of a hole in the drum shell for the rod to
pass through. The clamp is attached to the shell at the nodal point with
two bolts so as to allow the shell to vibrate freely without degrading
the shell's dynamic range and sustain. The nodal point is the location
on a shell with the least amount of vibration allowing for the mount to
have minimal effect on the resonance of the shell.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom-tom_drum
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