Drum Suspension vs. Isolation
A letter From RIMS® Inventor Gary Gauger
Most drummers don't realize that the RIMS® system solves two simultaneous problems that occur in every drum when played. There's a simple test to demonstrate this principal of frequency cancellation (a type of phase cancellation) that any drummer can experience for him or her self.
As the inventor of the original RIMS® System I receive e-mails from drummers all over the world concerning other suspension systems developed by the major drum companies over the last 5 or 10 years*. This is usually because they’ve purchased a new set with the company’s own ‘in house’ suspension mount already installed on the set. However, they find that the systems don’t seem to perform as expected, and they want to know why and how to fix the problem. This usually occurs when they tune the drum off the mount and replace it back on the stand only to notice that either they can’t keep the drum in tune or the drum begins to lose resonance when placed back on their suspension mount. Most drummers aren’t aware that any drum that is held or supported by any type of holder - shell mounted, counter hoop supported or held by 2 or 4 adjacent lugs (top or bottom) - is suspended. I cannot make this point strongly enough - a suspension mount is not an isolation mount. Isolation mounting only occurs when it prevents the drum’s resonance from being transferred from the drum through the rest of the holder into the stand and down through other parts of the set. In other words it must isolate the drum from the rest of the set. Keeping 100% of the resonance within the drum is only half of the advantage of using our RIMS® (Alloy) Isolation Mounting System. Preventing a drum’s resonance from transferring throughout the rest of the drum set is the other half of the equation and is of prime importance for achieving a truly great sound.
The RIMS® system is still the only true isolation system that accomplishes this. No other system currently made by any of the major drum companies is an isolation mount. Only by removing any stress or pressure on the shell, counter hoop, tension rods, lugs, etc. can you have a true isolation mount.
I decided many years ago that I will never make a statement about any of my products that is based on a theory. A theory must be tested to become a proven fact. Here is a simple test that will demonstrate this for any drummer who wishes to prove this claim for him or her self.
The True Isolation Test
To check your mounting (suspension) system try this simple test…Strike your mounted drum with one hand while placing your other hand on the rod or tube that goes into the bass drum or stand that supports the drum. If your drum is supported by a RIMS® Alloy Mount you should feel no vibration or resonance transferred down through the stand or support. Now… try this same test with another sytem or even a RIMS® copy - especially if it's chrome plated steel. You will immediately notice if the suspension mount allows a considerable amount of resonance to move through the holder, tube, or pipe thereby transferring (not isolating) resonance into the bass drum or other parts of the set. The non-isolating suspension mount is allowing the resonance to be ‘drawn off’ the drum and transferred to other parts of the drum set. In elertrical energy terms this is a type of short circuit allowing resonant energy to be siphoned off, minimizing the energy that has been created when the drum is struck.
At first you may not hear a dramatic difference and not consider the implication of this problem. However, the main reason this should not be considered acceptable is that the stray resonance creates a type of phase cancellation that interfers with the resonance of other drums on the set (and, in some cases, cymbals). GPI became aware of this phenomenom shortly after we introduced RIMS® in the early 80’s. Many of our first sales were to the drum techs and recording studios in Los Angeles. They began to notice that when the toms were isolated with RIMS® the bass drum became more open with more resonance and a lower fundemental . This was due to the fact that the bass drum was no longer in conflict with the resonant frequency produced by other drums in the set. Larry London, one of the most respected and well known drummers in the Nashville music scene and prolific studio artist, once called to let me know that he began using my RIMS® system to mount and isolate all his eletronic pads that were popular at the time. He said it was the only way he could eliminate the cross talk interference of one pad triggering the other pads when they were played. The RIMS® Mounts were the only way he could isolate the individual electronic pads from vibration occuring at other parts of the set. In reality this is actually a major drawback of every drum set ever made. To truly hear each individual drum, cymbal, or other percussion accessory attached to a set, isolation of each instrument is crucial to the best and most resonant sound of any drum kit. BTW, Larry was one of the first drummers to test out the first RIMS® prototypes and was extremely helpful in a design change that made the product a major success in the industry. He equiped all his drums with RIMS and insisted on showing them in any advertising pictures, clinics or videos even after he was asked by the major companies endorsing him that they be removed when he did clinics or advertising photos…
The introduction of my mounting system in 1979 created no interest from any of the drum companies and their opinion was probably that it would dissappear within a year or two as so many of the fads and accessory items have come and gone over time. I even did demonstrations for several of the companies after receiving the US Patent. The problem was that most of them didn’t understand what it was, what it actually accomplished and why I invented it in the first place…I finally gave up and began showing it only to drummers that would listen or showed interest, some of which were very well known such as Shelly Manne, Mel Lewis & Russ Kunkel. Their understanding of the concept and the problem it solved was instantanous. What was really amazimng is that I just showed them a picture of the RIMS® mount on a tom-tom and they immediately ‘got it’ and told me what a great idea it was….Shelly sent me a wonderful letter telling me how glad he was to see that someone had finally solved the problem and offered to help me anyway he could. After 20 plus years they finally assumed suspension isolation was here to stay so they better come up with something, but their attemps at isolation mounting continue to demonstrate the fact that they still have no understanding of what it requires to produce a true isolation mount.
As the inventor of the original RIMS® System I receive e-mails from drummers all over the world concerning other suspension systems developed by the major drum companies over the last 5 or 10 years*. This is usually because they’ve purchased a new set with the company’s own ‘in house’ suspension mount already installed on the set. However, they find that the systems don’t seem to perform as expected, and they want to know why and how to fix the problem. This usually occurs when they tune the drum off the mount and replace it back on the stand only to notice that either they can’t keep the drum in tune or the drum begins to lose resonance when placed back on their suspension mount. Most drummers aren’t aware that any drum that is held or supported by any type of holder - shell mounted, counter hoop supported or held by 2 or 4 adjacent lugs (top or bottom) - is suspended. I cannot make this point strongly enough - a suspension mount is not an isolation mount. Isolation mounting only occurs when it prevents the drum’s resonance from being transferred from the drum through the rest of the holder into the stand and down through other parts of the set. In other words it must isolate the drum from the rest of the set. Keeping 100% of the resonance within the drum is only half of the advantage of using our RIMS® (Alloy) Isolation Mounting System. Preventing a drum’s resonance from transferring throughout the rest of the drum set is the other half of the equation and is of prime importance for achieving a truly great sound.
The RIMS® system is still the only true isolation system that accomplishes this. No other system currently made by any of the major drum companies is an isolation mount. Only by removing any stress or pressure on the shell, counter hoop, tension rods, lugs, etc. can you have a true isolation mount.
I decided many years ago that I will never make a statement about any of my products that is based on a theory. A theory must be tested to become a proven fact. Here is a simple test that will demonstrate this for any drummer who wishes to prove this claim for him or her self.
The True Isolation Test
To check your mounting (suspension) system try this simple test…Strike your mounted drum with one hand while placing your other hand on the rod or tube that goes into the bass drum or stand that supports the drum. If your drum is supported by a RIMS® Alloy Mount you should feel no vibration or resonance transferred down through the stand or support. Now… try this same test with another sytem or even a RIMS® copy - especially if it's chrome plated steel. You will immediately notice if the suspension mount allows a considerable amount of resonance to move through the holder, tube, or pipe thereby transferring (not isolating) resonance into the bass drum or other parts of the set. The non-isolating suspension mount is allowing the resonance to be ‘drawn off’ the drum and transferred to other parts of the drum set. In elertrical energy terms this is a type of short circuit allowing resonant energy to be siphoned off, minimizing the energy that has been created when the drum is struck.
At first you may not hear a dramatic difference and not consider the implication of this problem. However, the main reason this should not be considered acceptable is that the stray resonance creates a type of phase cancellation that interfers with the resonance of other drums on the set (and, in some cases, cymbals). GPI became aware of this phenomenom shortly after we introduced RIMS® in the early 80’s. Many of our first sales were to the drum techs and recording studios in Los Angeles. They began to notice that when the toms were isolated with RIMS® the bass drum became more open with more resonance and a lower fundemental . This was due to the fact that the bass drum was no longer in conflict with the resonant frequency produced by other drums in the set. Larry London, one of the most respected and well known drummers in the Nashville music scene and prolific studio artist, once called to let me know that he began using my RIMS® system to mount and isolate all his eletronic pads that were popular at the time. He said it was the only way he could eliminate the cross talk interference of one pad triggering the other pads when they were played. The RIMS® Mounts were the only way he could isolate the individual electronic pads from vibration occuring at other parts of the set. In reality this is actually a major drawback of every drum set ever made. To truly hear each individual drum, cymbal, or other percussion accessory attached to a set, isolation of each instrument is crucial to the best and most resonant sound of any drum kit. BTW, Larry was one of the first drummers to test out the first RIMS® prototypes and was extremely helpful in a design change that made the product a major success in the industry. He equiped all his drums with RIMS and insisted on showing them in any advertising pictures, clinics or videos even after he was asked by the major companies endorsing him that they be removed when he did clinics or advertising photos…
The introduction of my mounting system in 1979 created no interest from any of the drum companies and their opinion was probably that it would dissappear within a year or two as so many of the fads and accessory items have come and gone over time. I even did demonstrations for several of the companies after receiving the US Patent. The problem was that most of them didn’t understand what it was, what it actually accomplished and why I invented it in the first place…I finally gave up and began showing it only to drummers that would listen or showed interest, some of which were very well known such as Shelly Manne, Mel Lewis & Russ Kunkel. Their understanding of the concept and the problem it solved was instantanous. What was really amazimng is that I just showed them a picture of the RIMS® mount on a tom-tom and they immediately ‘got it’ and told me what a great idea it was….Shelly sent me a wonderful letter telling me how glad he was to see that someone had finally solved the problem and offered to help me anyway he could. After 20 plus years they finally assumed suspension isolation was here to stay so they better come up with something, but their attemps at isolation mounting continue to demonstrate the fact that they still have no understanding of what it requires to produce a true isolation mount.