I have a Ludwig 5 piece a la John Bonham and have always had my 14 inch tom mounted on a stand. You definitely don't get any hardware rattle. I don't think there is much sound difference, mounted vs. on a stand. Some purists may say otherwise....

x-mas1

Using a stand as opposed to a mount will muffle the drum a little.But certainly not enough to kill the sound of the drum or make it sound bad.If it works for you and gets the job done then thats really what matters.

I think snare stands choke the toms, but not as bad as the rail consolettes do. I've seen some guys close the basket section of the snare stand so it holds the tom on the outside of the bottom rim, instead of the tom resting flat on the stand. That may help. On my vintage sets, I use a rims mount off a cymbal stand for my small tom...works real well...

Do you think rail consolettes choke the tom even if using a suspension mount?

Any kind of suspension/isolation mount will allow more resonance of the drum, whether mounted off a rail consolette or otherwise.

I am currently using a snare stand for my 12" tom on my Rogers kit; I actually think it allows for a bit more sustain than using the Swivo mount, perhaps because the shell itself is freer to vibrate without the arm sticking into it.

In the past, I have mounted the drum off a cymbal stand with a RIMS mount, and this definitely gave it a lot more sustain and "modern" tone. I'm currently favoring classic bop tone, though.

Charles

I used a snare stand when I was a teenager. The rail consolette was OK when I was younger, but as I got taller, I needed the extra height. I've used Tama mounting hardware and Pearl 1" hole through the drum mounts and definitively the best sound I've gotten has been from suspension mounts. But as time went on I settled in was a certain head combination and maybe my ear got better for tuning so it is hard to say in retrospect what is truly better.

I think if you have a concern, what I always do is have someone else play the kit in the different configurations and I let my ears tell me. You could also record the drum the two different ways. I think the reality of the situation is that unless you are miked and EQd, you aren't going to know the difference and your audience certainly will not.

My teacher always told me, don't let the drum set play you. Placement is the most important thing, so if the rail has you moving in angles that don't seem natural, move the drum until your mechanics do seem natural and use a memory lock.

2 cents worth

Gary

Dix Hills, NY

I used a snare stand when I was a teenager. The rail consolette was OK when I was younger, but as I got taller, I needed the extra height. I've used Tama mounting hardware and Pearl 1" hole through the drum mounts (very shell abusive) and I believe the best sound I've gotten has been from suspension mounts. But as time went on, I settled in on a certain head combination and also maybe my ear got better for tuning, so it is hard to say in retrospect what is truly better.

I think if you have a concern, what I always do is have someone else play the kit in the different configurations and I let my ears tell me. You could also record the drum the two different ways. I think the reality of the situation is that unless you are miked and EQd, you aren't going to know the difference and your audience certainly will not.

My teacher always told me, don't let the drum set play you. Placement is the most important thing, so if the rail has you moving in angles that don't seem natural, move the drum until your mechanics do seem natural and use a memory lock.

2 cents worth

Gary

Dix Hills, NY

lots of good comments here. i've found that if i tighten a snare stand too much it will choke the tone of the drum. so i don't tighten it- it just sits there loosely on the rubber part of the stand. granted i'm not a heavy hitter....