As a young man of 13 I purchased my very first brand new drum(s) in 1978, it was the 6”, 8”, 10” Roto Toms you see in these photos. I worked my paper routes and cut grass to afford them, but not the all chrome top-of-the-line model. I ordered, and paid the deposit for the Bee-Line low-end model set with silver painted rings, not chrome. Back then things did not come to you instantly, and after waiting a few weeks I got the call from my local music store (George’s Music of Spring City, PA.) that they had arrived. I told George, “Great, I’ll be there as soon as I can get a ride”.
When I arrived he said “We have a problem”, then opened the box and pulled out a set of all chrome Roto Toms. He explained that the wrong ones arrived for whatever reason and that they would be forty dollars more, to which I responded, “WE don’t have problem, you have a problem”. He then stated he would split the cost and I informed him that would be impossible for me (twenty bucks was a fortune to me then). He then told me he would have to send them back, it would take many weeks to exchange, how much the shipping costs would be…, to which I said, “send them back”. He dropped his head in defeat and murmured “just take them”. He was a good egg and this started a lifetime of business interactions at that location. Many years later I appreciated the mistake as I built this all chrome set.
Over the decades since I have often dreamed of building a complete Roto Tom set. But life takes over and other priorities ensue. Then finally in the last few years I decided to make that dream a reality. Making a decision to accomplish that goal and it actually happening are two different things. Trying to acquire all chrome Roto Tom’s especially the largest of 18 inches proved to be quite challenging. After a couple years of searching, bidding and buying all necessary parts and drums including entire collections to sometimes get just one piece I was finally ready to build the set.
Not happy with any of the options available to convert the 18” toms to bass drums I was going to design and build my own. Having my own shop and the know-how was a blessing I’m very grateful for. So when I finally had the time this past week I decided to get down to business. The bass drum mounting brackets are made from solid half inch, quarter inch and eighth inch flat stock American steel I had in my shop from other jobs. After figuring out the precise measurements I got to fabricating, including cutting, shaping, grinding, sanding, welding and painting my two custom Roto Tom Bass Drum Mounting Systems you see here. With very aggressive testing I can report that they are extremely sturdy, solid and work perfectly. I am thrilled!
I had to do a few modifications on stands and other hardware to make everything work properly as a set. I shortened stands and modified the original mount rail of the three small drums to form a triangle. I am very pleased with all the results. 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 14” Toms, 16”, 18” Floor Toms, 2-18” Bass Drums, 8.5” x 14” Roto Tom/Pearl Vari-Pitch Snare, all drums are Vintage Roto Tom chrome models.
This beautiful set is a sheer joy to play and feels smooth and effortless while doing so. The toms sounds exactly the way you know and expect Roto Toms to sound. But the biggest question was how would the bass drums sound? Well, I can report that they sound great! The biggest benefit is you can go from a flat dead thump to a high pitched resonance in an instant!
I’ve been having a blast putting this gorgeous set to work the last two days with a big smile on my face thinking, “A Dream Realized”! As always, thank you so very much for reading and responding to my column, I truly appreciate it!!!
Stay tuned…
Edward Tucker
Fate Up
Studio 3T