Quoting Bartw "Still my experience is there's always a gain using rims. As there is always a gain in using free floating floor tom feet (the gain is bigger with straight legs though)""

Agreed ... have owned and used "Rims" with both Gretsch & Pearl Export toms 10" thru to 14"... They open up on the Rims mounts ..

I also set up vintage Slingerland Hanging toms off of "snare stands" wherever possible... they do sound better...

Cheers

John

In my experience, isolation mounts (specifically Gauger RIMS mounts) have made a significant difference in the resonance and sustain of every drum I've ever used them on. The difference is enough that I believe I could tell the difference every time in a blind taste test. I do believe the difference is more pronounced on larger drums.

For me, the greater question is whether or not that extra resonance and sustain is needed or wanted. Nearly all of my favorite music was recorded using traditionally mounted toms. The music never suffered, IMO. I believe that if the technology had been more readily available when that music was recorded, many of the drummers would have chosen to use an isolation mounting system.

My personal reasons for using RIMS mounts are that I enjoy as many sonic options as possible. I can muffle out the additional resonance and sustain if I want (and often do), or I can run the toms wide open and ringy if I want. It's all about having the choice to do so for me. Also, I like my two toms (I play a 1up 1down set) to sound like 2 notes in a chord, with equal amounts of resonance and sustain.

$0.02

Now there's an important question! I find all these discussions regarding resonance somewhat amusing, as they are usually based on the presumption that more resonance is somehow "better". Who says? Modern drum technologies (shell construction, hardware, bearing edge profiles) seem to be preoccupied with this presumption that we all want our drums to ring like church bells. Drum companies have convinced us that we need suspension mounts and free-floating FT feet to maximize resonance. If maximizing resonance is important to you, why bother playing vintage drums, drums designed with rounded bearing edges, calfskin heads, and built-in tone controls designed to suppress resonance? If maximum resonance is what you're after, buy a set of modern DW's or better yet, recut all the bearing edges on your Slingerlands, Ludwigs, Camcos, and Rogers to a nice sharp, 45 degree edge until they ring like timpani and have lost all their vintage sound.

And to you hard-core resonance hunters, sure you may notice the slight increase in resonance when you use those expensive suspension mounts, but you're hearing that slight difference two feet away from the drum in a quiet room! We are all guilty of judging the sound (resonance, tuning, tone) of our drums from two feet behind them, when we should be evaluating the sound our drums thirty feet in front of them as the audience hears them. Try to convince me you can discern an audible difference in a drummer's tom mounts from thirty feet in front of a band with music playing.

Soap Box Ah, that rant felt good,

Mike

Well, it is ME playing the drums in question. If I feel comfortable that the sound coming back to me is good, then I've done the best I can to produce a sound the sound engineer can use. I'm not looking for a bell. I'm looking for a tone...a note. Not a paper bag being struck by a stick.If any instrumentalist,including vocals, feels a certain reed/mouthpiece/mic enhances their sound, making them therefore more pleased,more confident about their sound,do it. If I sound good to ME, confidence will come through via my playing. If I thought Rims and isolation feet were a waste of time, I would have stopped using them 25 years ago. Round over bearing edges typically produce a rich, warm note. Ad to it a Rims mount-heaven. But That is what I like. If you thinks it's a waste of time, don't do it.

Another great point to bring up - Why is more resonance better? If the drum has the right sound for the job, than the drum is great. For one of my previous band's albums I had to use 4 different kits to get the right sounds for the songs. Not because drums didn't resonate, but some had the right tone for the job, others just didn't.

Another great point to this. If adding rims helps you achieve the sound you're looking for, then they are great.

Having read the replies so far I have come to a few conclusions about rims. Yes they do help, but the circumstance in which and how much they help varies. The angle of the drum on a standard mount also plays into the drum resonance and tones produced. I would assume the same could be factored in with regard to rims. Things like that aren't generally talked about in the rims debate. Nor are reso heads,hoops,bearing edges,etc... I like the amount of variables and questions that have cropped up in this thread. Makes you look at it a little deeper than just " Adding a rim mount increases resonance "

No offense Mike, but I did go buy a set of DW's!Walking

They happen to sound terrific! IF that is the sound I want in any particular situation. They are nice to have in the arsenal. The history of DW and the modern technology they have implemented into their product is top of the line.....for today.

Just as Rogers was in the 60's; top of the line of the day.

None of my vintage drums have RIMS mounts, it's just not the sound I want from them. They are great just as they are.

Tone controls have use in certain venues only, and perhaps in the studio, but they are there as an option. I think in the day that's what they were shooting for...options.

Same as these mounts we are discussing. They are an option....of today. Will they be around tomorrow? Well, they have already been here 20+ years so there's a good chance.

OK, my rant is now over.CryBaby

@Mike, off course you've got a point there. But to me resonance is only a small part of what I want improved. Most is tone, presence, volume.

I checked several times, and the difference with rims and isolation feet is also noticable from a distance. Experimenting with drumkits I allways let the bassist of my band play the kit and I listen from a distance.

In the songs in my band there's lots of places in which there's only drums, or drums and singing. When I play unmic-ed, in a bar, people are struck by the sound of my kit. Allways get compliments aftwerward.

Mic-ed situation are something completely different. I'v e seen plenty drummers playing the coolest vintage gear that sounded like a complete anonimous thuds to the audience. Rims or no rims. They could have played a 50 bucks MIT as well, no one would know.