Time for some more Rototom fun.

This time, I'm experimenting mainly with heads. When I bought my Rotos back in the late 1970s (the higher-pitched ones here), they came with Remo CS (Controlled Sound) Clear Black Dot heads. In my previous Rototom video (   • Remo Rototoms  ), I used Coated Ambassadors, which have a very nice, clear, resonant sound. Here I'm comparing Black Dots, Coated Ambassadors, and Pinstripes.

0:04 CS Clear Black Dots
1:14 Clear Pinstripes
2:48 Coated Ambassadors

I'm also experimenting with mounting. Back in the 1980s, when I was using Rototoms as my primary rack toms, I mounted them with RIMS suspension mounts. It worked great. With the suspension mounts, you can use standard tom L-arms and mount them just as you would normal toms. I recently bought some RIMS mounts again and once again installed them on my Rototoms. I still love how you can position them more freely with these mounted. Highly recommended...though you lose the rotational tuning of the original track setup.

Also, you'll notice some subtle rattling with the lower-pitched toms in this video. With the RIMS mounts there are more screws and bolts and other pieces of metal that resonate. I'd have to figure out how to fix that in the future.

The verdict on the heads? I still like the Coated Ambassadors for the higher-pitched Rotos, but I have to say, I liked both the Pinstripes and Black Dots overall a bit better. The Black Dots in particular give the heads a bit more tension in the middle, so you can tune the drums medium-to-low-ish without having the head bounce back toward your stick as much when you're playing. As you'll see, I felt like I could whack them harder without the notes getting lost.

...And in fairness, the Coated Ambassadors are older heads. The Black Dots are brand new. And the 10, 12, and 14-inch Pinstripes have only seen a little use. New Coated Ambassadors would have sounded better.

What do you think?

Equipment:
8-, 10-, 12-, 14-inch Remo Roto-Toms
RIMS and RIMS-like suspension mounts
18x14 inch DW maple kick
6.5x14 inch DW nickel-over-brass snare
Zildjian cymbals
Shure SM57; AKG D112; Blue Hummingbird mics
Apogee Element 88 interface
Logic Pro X, Final Cut Pro X
Fujifilm X100T camera