Pearl All Birch Shell mounting toms on stands vs. bass drum mounted.

[-Pearl-Blx-1987]

Hi. I am trying to upload a photo of my current set to see if it works and have a few questions.
It is a 1987 Pearl BLX (All Birch Shell) Piano black lacquer 12,13,16,22,6.5x14 Free floating steel snare. Kit is 100% original and near mint(although i have yet to clean them and they look like they have not been cleaned since new) just how they were ordered back in 1987 with the red label hardware that came with the set along with the Zildjian Avedis cymbals bought at the same time. I have the kit on carpet.

Pearl Resonant heads still look perfect and Pearl Pinstripe batter heads still have plenty of life left in them.They sound great as is.Floor tom is the best sounding 16" i have ever heard and i have heard and played tons of kits as i bought and sold kits,reworked,reheaded,restored/tuned in drum kits for over 25 years.When i take my toms off the bass drum and mount them on stands they sound a lot different-deader with less tone.Also Pear air suspension feet did not change the sound of the floor tom in any way.Was thinking of trying optimounts/rim mounts.Will i notice a better sound/more tone/sustain-A little or a lot?

Thanks fellows.

[NO DRUMS]

I believe it’s the heads that vibrates the sound not the shells.........but the wood, hoops, rim angle, toning is what I think would make the difference.

[melvinspeed]

I would suggest trying some new heads/combination of heads. Despite the fact they "look" good; a 30+ year old drum head isn't helping you any.

Going to suspension mounts will help but will also be a more pricey solution.
Surprised to hear the air-feet didn't affect your floor tom. It made a huge difference on my SMX kit.

[Eric]

I would suggest trying some new heads/combination of heads. Despite the fact they "look" good; a 30+ year old drum head isn't helping you any.

Going to suspension mounts will help but will also be a more pricey solution.
Surprised to hear the air-feet didn't affect your floor tom. It made a huge difference on my SMX kit.

New heads for sure. Those shells are nice and seasoned.
They will sound better with new heads. OptiMounts are
an option but for now get new heads on the drums and
go from there. Be sure and check all the bearing edges
when you put the new heads on. Great kit by the way.

[Cheez_Whiz]

Would definitely start with new heads. They may not have scuffs, dings or dents, but if they are the original heads from the late 80's, they've probably been subjected to temperature/environmental changes that can affect their "pliability." Not sure what sound you're chasing, but on a birch kit, if you want more resonance, I'd not recommend the Pinstripe heads. I'd suggest clear ambassadors (or the equivalent from other head manufacturers) over clear diplomats.

I'd also hold off on the suspension type mounts. You're still going to have a hole in the shell from the "through the tom" mounts currently on your drums.

If I may ask, what are the little labels under the vent grommets on the toms? I've owned a GLX and an MLX (both MIJ) from that period, but I don't recall seeing those on either kit.

Best of luck!

[BadAstronaut]

If I may ask, what are the little labels under the vent grommets on the toms? I've owned a GLX and an MLX (both MIJ) from that period, but I don't recall seeing those on either kit.

they're little sticker decals that say made in Taiwan, which his are .. MIJ drums don't have them

[-Pearl-Blx-1987]

Thanks for the replies. Would i be good with just new batter heads and keep the resonant heads on ?? Drums were played lightly their whole life mainly with brushes. I just acquired these drums recently from the original owner and my nylon tip sticks and my playing style are putting some wear on the heads and a little on the cymbals-Time to switch to wood tip sticks. I have always used pinstripe batter heads with clear ambassador resonant heads and one time i used some Evans EC-2 frosted batter heads i liked. I think ill try one thing at a time this way i know what i did and did that help-or maybe these drums are as good as they are going to sound?? Yes just like the previous reply-The sticker on the shell says "made in taiwan r.o.c."

[Cheez_Whiz]

they're little sticker decals that say made in Taiwan, which his are .. MIJ drums don't have them

Oh, I see. Thanks!

[Oliver_Stein]

You got exactly the same kit as my BLX I bought new in 1988... only difference mine had an additional 10“ tom. I changed from the the through shell mounting to RIMS which opened up the toms significantly. Closed the holes with GK-90 covers. I‘d not recommend Optimounts with the long lugs as they tend to be nearer to the edges on some drums (the 12 in your case). This results in bad adjustability. No problems with Rims in this regard.
The air suspension feet have a subtle effect on the sustain of the floortoms: on both my MLX and BLX kits they got smoother in the sustain phase, less weird overtones.
Heads wise I‘d strongly recommend to skip the old WS resos. They were not on par with Remo or Evans even when they were brandnew. I had best results with Diplomats as reso combined with Emperor clear or Ambassador coated as batter. Emp/Diplo is a very good combination on the BLX toms.
I have a recent recording of my BLX with Emperor Suede over Amba clear:

https://youtu.be/waXMUMq7LJA

[TMdrums]

You got exactly the same kit as my BLX I bought new in 1988... only difference mine had an additional 10“ tom. I changed from the the through shell mounting to RIMS which opened up the toms significantly. Closed the holes with GK-90 covers. I‘d not recommend Optimounts with the long lugs as they tend to be nearer to the edges on some drums (the 12 in your case). This results in bad adjustability. No problems with Rims in this regard.
The air suspension feet have a subtle effect on the sustain of the floortoms: on both my MLX and BLX kits they got smoother in the sustain phase, less weird overtones.
Heads wise I‘d strongly recommend to skip the old WS resos. They were not on par with Remo or Evans even when they were brandnew. I had best results with Diplomats as reso combined with Emperor clear or Ambassador coated as batter. Emp/Diplo is a very good combination on the BLX toms.
I have a recent recording of my BLX with Emperor Suede over Amba clear:

https://youtu.be/waXMUMq7LJA

Oliver, gave you guys a thumbs up for Beautifully Broken! Sounds great!

[Oliver_Stein]

Oliver, gave you guys a thumbs up for Beautifully Broken! Sounds great!

Thanks! There is a nice story about this bands room and my BLX: back in 1988 it was in exactly this room where I heard a fellow drummers Sequoia Red BLX and I was so impressed of the kit that I ordered my Piano Black soon after. 30 years later I found myself being the successor as the drummer of the band in that same room. When I set the drumset up it was like „coming home“... sorry for OT.

[TMdrums]

Thanks! There is a nice story about this bands room and my BLX: back in 1988 it was in exactly this room where I heard a fellow drummers Sequoia Red BLX and I was so impressed of the kit that I ordered my Piano Black soon after. 30 years later I found myself being the successor as the drummer of the band in that same room. When I set the drumset up it was like „coming home“... sorry for OT.

Such a cool story Oliver! Drum on my friend!

[-Pearl-Blx-1987]

Oliver, gave you guys a thumbs up for Beautifully Broken! Sounds great!

Thanks for the advice and to all others. I completely disassembled the kit and wax polished it all up including all the stands.

Kit looks like it would have back when it was new. I have also done some research on resonant heads and although my resos are not stretched-I think i will go with new heads,rim mounts, and close the holes on the shell with those gk-40 covers. And my snare buzzes like crazy(worst i have ever experienced on a snare drum) mainly when i hit the 12" tom which is closest to it. I disassembled the whole snare and reassembled it with the original heads-Tried different tuning-Could it be my original wires? They are not bent or anything.


All i need then is a 10" tom in piano black to match my kit.