Tomtoms

The drum kit

(1) Bass drum (2) Floor tom (3) Snare drum (4) Hanging toms (5) Hi-hat (6) Crash cymbal (7) Ride cymbal (8) Splash cymbal (9) China cymbal

Not shown

sizzle cymbal swish cymbal crash/ride cymbal cowbell wood block tambourine rototom octoban temple block gong triangle

See also

drum hardware drum stick traps case

A tom-tom drum (which is distinct from a tam-tam, a gong) is a cylindrical drum with no snares. The name came originally from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala. The tom-tom drum was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between 6 and 20 inches (15 and 51 cm) in diameter, though floor toms can go as large as 24 inches (61 cm).

The first drum kit tom-toms had no rims; the heads were tacked to the shell.

As major drum manufacturers began to offer tunable tom-toms with hoops and tuning lugs, a 12 in (30 cm) drum 8 inches (20 cm) deep became standard, mounted on the left side of the bass drum. Later a 16 in (41 cm) drum (16 inches deep) mounted on three legs (a floor tom) was added. Finally, a second drum was mounted on the right of the bass drum, a 13 in (33 cm) diameter drum 9 inches (23 cm) deep. Together with a 14 in (36 cm) snare drum and a bass drum of varying size, these three made up the standard kit of five drums for most of the second half of the 20th century.

Later, the mounted tom-toms, known as hanging toms or rack toms, were deepened by one inch each, these sizes being called power toms. Extra-deep hanging toms, known as cannon depth, never achieved popularity. All these were double-headed.

A wide variety of configurations are commonly available and in use at all levels from advanced student kits upwards. Most toms range in size between 6 and 20 inches (15 and 51 cm) in diameter, though floor toms can go as large as 24 inches (61 cm).

In the 50s and early 60s, it was common to have only a single hanging tom (a 13") and a single floor tom (16").

Single-headed tom-toms (also known as concert toms) have also been used in drumkits, though their use has fallen off in popularity since the 1970s. Concert toms have a single head and a shell slightly shallower than the corresponding double-headed tom. Phil Collins still uses four single-headed rack-mount toms and two floor toms (Gretsch) in his setup. They are generally easier to tune as they have no bottom head to adjust.

Recently the term concert tom has also been used to describe double- or single-headed tom-tom drums designed for use in a concert band rather than in a drumkit.

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Wikipedia