Roto Toms - The Most Musical Drums Ever? | The Drum Department 🥁 (Ep.50)
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- Опубліковано 17 тра 2024
- Roto-toms were created to be an innovation for drummers. You can drastically adjust the tuning while playing, and they are very portable. Big in the 70s and 80s, they seemed to all but disappear in the 90s, but they have seen a resurgence in the past few years, showing up on kits everywhere. Today, we will learn all about the mighty roto-tom, and we have built a kit entirely out of them to see just how versatile they are!
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:56 What Have We Done?
3:31 The History Of Roto Toms
7:37 Classic Roto Tom Clips
9:55 Terry Bozzio
11:53 Pearl Vari-Pitch Drums
14:18 Alex Van Halen & Jon Farriss
16:45 Modern Drummers On Roto Toms
19:08 Roto Tom Kit
20:35 The Challenge
23:05 Roto Tom Snare
26:07 Mics
26:41 Can't Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers
29:05 Wipe Out - Surfaris
31:52 St. Thomas - Sonny Rollins
34:06 Exploring Sounds
41:05 Groove Of The Week
43:10 New Gear - The Drummer's Grip
49:28 Student Of The Week
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I have been drumming for 48 years and still have my 1970s black rimed 6-8-10.There the best of all time!
Guys, just for the record: The Clip with Bill Bruford isn't 'Earthworks' but his first solo-project
named 'Bruford' (check out 'One Of A Kind' from 1979 for a hefty dose of Rototoms ) and
Sonny Rollins won't be 'turning in his grave' because he is in fact still alive and well at 93 !
Correct! There are many clips around of Bill Bruford playing Roto-Toms with UK., and his own group. Check out his UA-cam channel.
That particular clip is from 'Bruford' (the band) performance on Rock Goes To College music tv series
Louie Bellson's 1974 lp "150 mph" on Concord Jazz
I grew up in Concord ...
Terry Bozzio, Billy Cobham, Bill Buford, Neil Peart, Danny Carey, Louie Belson and more played or play Rototoms. 😂
Neil never played rototoms...
All the best because the go towards experimental areas, and I think that's what the Tom's allow you to do....have more malleable ideas
Mike Mangini also! When he was touring with Steve Vai year 2000 or so, I had the oportunity to watch him playing roto instead of toms. He would tune them from center to the sides!!! I was blown up!!!! What a genius!👏👏👏👏
@juanignacioquiroga4379 I'll give OP a pass because he might be confusing them for Arbiter RIMS practice setup he used.
Cant forget pink Floyd's time
One of the earliest examples of a rototom on a hit song was "Super Fly" by Curtis Mayfield. It's all over that album. I think the sample from Pusherman is the one that shows up in a Beastie boys song
Super fly is one of my favorite albums ever
Pink Floyd’s Time. One of my most favorite drum Intros ever! Phenomenal Roto Tom sounds!
I just posted the same thing, I’m a guitar player and I love the roto tom fills at the beginning of that track
Were they not octobans on that song?
When I saw Floyd in ‘75 , Nick used octobons for that intro .
The roto Tom sounds on th pink Floyd album....done on a bass ....guitar
😂😆😆☝️😆😂
7:21 The name of Bill Bruford's band in the clip was Bruford; Earthworks is another band which he had after that one.
exactly, BB Earthworks born in the 80's
Roto Toms for me, were used as an extra tool to the regular toms . You could cut through a part with them, to add dynamics and feeling to the tune.
Pink Floyd used them perfectly!
Nick Mason was a genius.
I agree. I liken them to timbalitos and octabans - extra flavour but not the main staple of a kit.
Add LED Mini Strobes I need a link to buy us that somebody hook me Up / Full SET
Mike Mangini used a huge roto tom kit (except for the snare and kick drums) in the late 90s while touring with Extreme. There are some decent clips of that floating around youtube.
Used with Annihilator too, I believe
heard he’s not in DT anymore
Must've been the same kit I saw him with on Steve Vai's Firegarden tour in 1997
@@josuemancias7610no one cares
that's exactly who I was thinking about too, Mike Mangini ua-cam.com/video/um24wnmC3xs/v-deo.htmlsi=a7PaYSFzWyot9g0w
Alex Van Halen first used the Pearl Varipitch on the Women And Children First Tour, in 1980. He had them on the right side, above his floor toms. This was on the white Ludwig kit enblazoned with the word "flammable" on it. The bass drums had a black accordion -like extension to connect them. He also used them on the Fairwarning Tour, in 1981. This was the black & white, vertically striped Ludwig Vistalite kit.
In the “Jump” video in 1984.
i'm pleased the larger 14" and 16" sizes are coming back. They were always my favourite.
I've used rotos almost since I began playing drums. They sound great, pure tone, and easy to tune. And besides Dave R, there are some other old full kit videos on youtube.
Put thicker heads on them instead of those pin stripes and they will sound much better!!
The first time I saw rotos being used was Bev Bevan on ELO's New World Record tour in 1977, he used a full set of ride toms. I immediately bought the 6-8-10 bar and used them on my sets until the 2000s when I went to a Roland kit. They were great, but I always preferred shelled drums.
Alex VH was hip to Rotos ! Also Terry Bozzio of course 👍
I have a 6,8,10 inch set of roto Tom’s that I play with my 5 piece kit. I bought them from Steve Weiss Music about eight years ago for my birthday. I absolutely love them! They are an integral part of my sound when I play live with my band.
The highest pitch acoustic wood drum that still sounds decent is a 12 diameter, otherwise anything less than that is usually a burden to establish/hold an acoustic tune. Whilst the roto tom is the perfect percussion instrument to project a clean note above a 12 diameter drum. You've got the right approach with your kit .
Bill Bruford on the incredible UK album and his own "One of a Kind" album [both with Allan Holdsworth!!] played an all-roto-tom kit [except for snare and bass]. Brilliant prog albums with unmatchable music throughout.
Have had up to 3 but at least 1 on every drum kit I've owned since the 70's.
Nothing else produces that iconic sound.
I wish I had caught this live. I've been playing on these since the 80s. As an addition to my acoustic set in a live situation I never mic these. They project so well that any close mic picking up any ambient sounds will pick them up. And it's the 1st thing I tell a sound man prior to them micing my kit . Those techs that go ahead and mic them always catch me at the end and tell me how they just turned the mics off lol. Love roto's. They are my life.
When Danny Carey has roto toms as his main Tom’s on his tour kit, that’s all ya need to know. We all need a roto tom kit with a solid 22” kick
Real percussionists don't cage their sound into an "era" or what is hip or not. Danny Carey is no exception, what sounds great in 1977....1984....still sounds incredible today.
One of the first to use roto toms was the legendary Bev Bevan, drummer and founder of the ELO (Electric Light Orchestra)..
You can see any video on UA-cam of the ELO live from the years 77 and 78 where Bevan has incorporated a set of 7 roto toms along with his classic Slingerland drums.
You can also hear their rototoms on some recordings of classic ELO songs such as Confusion (from the 1979 LP Discovery), the intro to the song Secret Messages (from the 1983 LP Secret Messages) and some other ELO songs.
Alex van Halen used them on the album "1984", very much so on the songs 'I'll wait' & 'House of pain', probably the most famous use of these so intensely throughout a song.
I've got 4 of these in the attic, bought them in the 80's, the larget one is an 18 inch (brutal!), the others I believe 16' and 14' & 12'. You cannot wear them out, they're just so cool.
Anyone who knew what they were listening to, knew the sound of roto’s. Alex always got a great drum sound in the studio
Men at Work's huge early 80's hit (think it even went to #1) "Land down under" opened with the most distinctive roto tom intro/fill ever recorded.
I love drum geek talk. I could listen and discuss for hours.
My parents got me a 6,8 and10 inch set of roto toms back in the 80s. I loved them back then because I wanted an Simmons electric drum kit so bad, but couldn't afford one. I agree they went out of style on my kit in the 90s, but i still have them today. I will say that back in the 80s the heads everyone used were the Remo CS dot heads. It wasn't until recently that I changed my dot heads to pinstripe ones.
That was Bruford, not Earthworks. Also check out his playing on the first U.K. record.
Also Phil Collins ... clearly visible on concert footage from the 1976 Tour where Bruford subbed
I had them 40 years ago and had to have them when I started playing again 3 years ago. So much fun to play with mixes. ❤
Jon Farriss of Inxs went on to use cut down concert toms in the early 90s then back to rotos in 97’ then used a mix of rotos and regular toms.
Great drummer 🥁
You could attach motors to each mechanism, and then plug it into a midi setup, imagine the instant retuning madness and fun you could have with these things.
Kinda want to try this now.
I remember my first experience on Rotos, was playing the Miami Vice Theme in high school back in the 80s.
Frank Gibson from New Zealand had a full roto Tom kit.
He was a session drummer. Also played with various artist in Europe.
He ended up as a Professor at Melbourne in Australia. A very good player.
I still have the rotos i bought back in 1983 as an addition to my seven piece Slingerland set. I still play both. Love the musicality of the rotos. Always have. Great show!
Excellent! Thanks for having this discussion. Roto toms so sadly misunderstood, but for drummers a useful tool indeed.
There was a fund raising event at Guitar Center in Hollywood California for Mark Craney. Terry Bozzio performed. He was playing Paiste cymbals but had a falling out with them so at that show all his “cymbals” were roto tom frames. It was wild! Never saw anything like it. And to this day, he still uses the for a remote hi-hat. There must be a picture of his kit somewhere!
Yes, Remo had actually sold those base frames as 'Spokes'. I'm not sure if they still do, though.
My first time seeing them was Van Halens jump video when it fist came out. Alex's kit in the video was mostly roto Tom's and I had to have them lol.
I grew up with these on my dad's set, he never dropped them. Still to this day uses his roto toms he bought in the 80s
great episode. I was coincidentally recently dreaming of replacing the ones I used to have with my first kit, over 25 yrs ago! They are always cool...
Terry Bozzio with Missing Persons. So cool.
Happy that the mighty Rotos have returned! Had some ages ago and lamented getting rid of 'em, could get some new ones sometime. Played 10", 12" & 14" Roto-Toms in a row and would love to do another version of that set-up with an acrylic floor tom and bass drum, already have cymbals and a 13" Ddrum wood snare in mind for such a thing.
I’ve had a 6 8 10 rack of Rotos above my hihat for decades. They don’t see too much use anymore, but they remain there for those special moments
One 90s example I can think of (and a Canadian one at that): there's what sounds like a rototom lick in the breakdown of Tom Cochrane's Life is a Highway.
In the late 70's or early 80's, I had a full set of Remo Roto-Toms (6,8,10,12,14,16,18) as my primary toms, paired with a chrome wrapped Yamaha Tour series 14"x26" kick, plus a 18"x16" traditional (also Yamaha) floor tom. Eventually, I swapped the Yamaha drums for Ludwig, with their modular mounting system that attached to the sides of the kick, virtually "floating" the Roto-Toms around me. Way cool!! I might have a pic or few. Oh, and they also made clear plastic "shells" that attached to the lower frame of the drum...available in a "full circle" or "semi-circle", for a shell-like sound.
Finally, to answer the question: Would I play Roto-toms (again), heck yeah!!
Great chat!.. thank ya.
I remember seeing Paul Kersey playing with Max Webster , he had a full array of Roto Toms..that was mid- seventies. At that time, pretty spell binding.
Got my Roto toms out after 30 years in storage... New heads and they still sound great... BTW I think the Snare on your kit sounds cool, it works with the kit :)
I want a drum set made with Octobans and Rototoms. Or an e-kit with those sounds.
Could be realy fun to have a tr 909 kick and snare with Simmons Tom sound and rototom kit over Real cymbal.
I owned 5 Rototoms and 4 Octobans back in the 80’s and I sold them in the 90’s. I am a jackass!
@@RobertE.J.I've never met anyone who sold their musical gear and didn't regret it.
That's why I'll never sell anything again.
I once traded a cymbal and i regretted it pretty soon after😂
Keep your eyes peeled on Reverb for Pearl Vari Pitch. Same thing, roto batters with “shells” attached for projection. I have a full kit. They’re pretty wild.
Dude !!!
I was thinking that exact thing !!!!!
I'm gonna see if I can emulate some of the toms on my TD27 to see if I can get roto tom sounds !!!!
Hehehehehehe
I still have my old roto toms in my mom's basement too !
Hehehehehehe
I cut the bar because it was too long, so I can only fit 2 on it, but I'm gonna go grab them and set them up !
Totally forgot about them.
I pretty much only play edrums now, but I can at least use my roto toms to try and dial in that sound.
I'll letcha know if I succeed, and what elements I used in the module.
😂👍
Nick Mason - Pink Floyd - Time (1973)
The grand daddy of roto tom parts!
Great video, as always. I love your channel. I can still remember an older recording with roto-toms, Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Time Is Right 1975. I still remember when I was 7 years old, that you can do that with a drum kit, I wanted that too.
I come from marching drumming, and Roto-Toms always remind me of the tris and quads. That's intentional, I think. Always a good time!
Yes the are coming back!!!!! The music I play wouldn’t call for Roto Toms, however I love them when used appropriately!!!!!!!!
I’ve been playing drums for a long time guys and I used to play Roto terms of bag from early 1980 to 1989. They were real popular in the Spanish community as well as the gospel community. They came in handy.
21:11. That's what we are here for.
I'm from Argentina and I love the sound of rototoms because during my adolescence in the 80's, the drummers of the most recognized local bands used them in their kits. For example, Willy Iturri from the band GIT and Charly Alberti from the band Soda Stereo.
Oscar Moro en Seru Giran
Not a fad. I got the 6 8 10 inch rotos on top my 2 rack toms since the 90s. 36 roto toms? dang.🍻
Glad to see those back on kits, I just ordered new ones for my 1990 Tama kit.
In parts of the UK, if memory serves, mullets used to be called "ice hockey hair." How very Canadian. The Super Furry Animals even had a song/EP in that vein.
Frank Briggs from 805 used to play them. He did some great stuff.
Christian Tanna is rocking rotos on the current I Mother Earth tour right now. 🤘
I've always been a fan of Rotos and ended up acquiring a complete set (6"-18") during COVID. I don't use them all the time, but I have them if I want them.
First time I saw those Rototoms was Louis Bellson 7. And after that, one of my best record ever the first U.K. record with Bruford on the kit...
I've been playing drums for the last 46 years and I have a good twenty rototoms that give me the possibility of many configurations. I love matching them with classic drums. I use them probably more like a guitar player uses an effet pedal ! I love em' !!! 🤟
I love the sound of roto toms.
In the early 80s I purchased a set of Pearl vari-pitch and played them for 8 years...I loved them
Hi guys,loved the roto toms,remember seeing Terry Bozzios early vhs video, giving them a good bashing then the later spoke cymbal
I use the standard 3 with a cajon and a pedal, a snare cajon, thin 13" hats, a crash ride, splash and a wood block for a cross stick sound.
I have the snare stand, ride and splash all connected to the stand holding the roto toms. And the wood block connected to the hi hat stand.
It would be cool to have a short cable hat to just connect all of them to the roto tom stand.
And I sit on the cajon.
Works great against unplugged acoustic guitar and acoustic bass.
that roto snare sounds so unique and cool !!
Saw Louie Bellson already in -76 or -77 with Oscar Peterson trio using two Roto Toms with his Pearl double bass drum kit. Had to buy a pair for myself soon after...
I bought a set of 3 on 1979 at Mars drum shop in Monaca PA .
In marching band 1981-84 played a set of roto quads.
Coated heads take a little of the ring out.
Had a set mounted right above the racks on my old Swingstar kit. Had them set up 8, 6, 10, it was natural to have them like that from playing trips in marching band.
Rotos are really cool....had my 12, 14, 16 s stolen years ago .Still have the 18" + 6,8,10 s too. Love'm!
I'm a huge fan of rotos, not because of their tunability but their big thud which is perfect for metal. Tunability is just bonus.
I think Roto toms are a great addition to any drum kit! I always had them on my five piece kit when I started playing drums. They helped me play Rush songs and any song that needed that very high to low drum fill. Great for small or big drum fills. Great accent drums. I have no problem with these at all?
Guys, Louie Bellson has an album titled Live at the Concord Summer Festival. The cover of the album is Louie playing on his All rototom kit, including two (2) bass drums and snare drum! There is a track on the album titled Roto Blues where he plays the melody of the song on the roto tom kit and solos on the kit.
Worth checking out!
I had roto toms 43 years ago. So they have definetly been around along time.
You can hear them about 21:00 minutes in.
Thank you!
There was a vey popular band in Phoenix in the 80s and 90s called 'Major Lingo'. Like a ska/irish dance/reggae band...perfect for dancing. This band originally featured the legendary drummer Tim Alexander that went on to play with Primus...but the drummer that filled in that spot after Tim left was really fantastic too. He used a full bass drum and regular snare, but all the toms were rototoms. I loved that set up, and fit the music perfectly. I am totally a fan of rototoms!
Ive got some roto toms on my kit!!! I love those things
I played roto toms in the mid 70s and was one of the first in England to have 3 of them on a single stand i was called RotoRoy for years , i was told later that Bruford saw me play a few times and consequently next time seen he had roto's too ! 😊
I had the 6 8 and 10" roto toms back in the early 80's and roto toms sold clear shells for the toms, it gave them a better tom sound without the ring that they have.
I used rototoms through the 90's and 2000's throughout my kit and still have them.
I always think of Terry Bozzio and Alex Van Halen when I think of rotos.
Rotos are great. Thank you for doing this. Any thoughts to more work with them- including using close individual top mics and maybe more exploration with different stick thicknesses and force?
I was using Root Toms in the 1970s. I seen them at a Musical Instrument Sale in NY around 1974??? and instantly added them to my kit
Roto Tons are Awesome, I have the 6, 8, 10. I would love to have the full set like in the video, that would be really fun.🥁🥁
I love roto-toms. I am a sucker for the resonance and those marching snares
Nate Morton from The Voice TV show house band plays a kit with roto-toms up top every now and then. Always a treat to listen to him play in the background with those artists!
Super cool! Need to play first then blather on.
If I’m not mistaken, Bozzio’s Missing Persons kit was made up entirely of Roto Toms.
Except for the snare and bass drums, yes. I also remember him as the first drummer to stack cymbals back then 🙂
And his kit on the 2nd UK album, which pre-dated Missing Persons
My middle school concert band had a 6/8/10 kit back in the percussion section. I think that's what they used for Wipeout.
This channel is a GEM!
Sonny's still with us guys! Living legend
I recall Louis Bellson utilizing roto toms prior to Bill Bruford adding them to his arsenal. I had a set of 8,10 and 12” in the mid 70’s. Sold them. Kind of wish I hadn’t.
Louis was always innovating.
Nice touch with the rims mounts 👌
@45min: I used to carry a pair of pliers that I dipped the business end in rubberized grip coating, instead of the handles so I could loosen and tighten wing nuts. Then I cut a slot in one side of a thick walled piece of 3/4 inch thick PVC pipe big enough to fit over a wing nut, so I use that now.
Still keep the rubber coated pliers in my kit though, just in case.
😊❤️✌️
I'm an armature background percussionist and I bought a used,, straight line, 3 head roto tom set in 2000'. I was thinking outside of the box when building my setup, so I redesigned the straight mount, into a triangle setup with the 5 inch and 7 inch head, over the 4 inch head. My inspiration was was the overhead electronic kit played on Howard Jones "Things will only get better" live..
What I love about roto Tom's is they are so easy to tune and I saw a dude at Disney land doing a solo on them and moving the tuning while he was doing it in 1983 and I was sold on em
I just wish Remo would go back into making the 13,14, 16 and 18 again
Always loved how Frank Briggs used them in the 80's in his band 805.
Yes, they are cool and I have wanted to attain a whole set of them!
In Brazil the roto toms (we call rontontom) are used on specific styles of music for example on "forró" and "brazillian country music". Have a roto tom is definitely necessary for a "forró" drummer since 2000s if i'm not wrong...
First time heard of them, was Bill Bruford, and he made/makes them sound amazing.
Thanks heaps for this ! I’m going to “borrow” the Rototoms off my acoustic kit, to use on my Roland electronic kit. Should be good for a laugh. 😂
Yep! I never grew out of Roto's, I still have them to this day in fact I bought some new ones 14 or 15 years ago ( I'm in my 60's, which might be why 🤣)
Bought my roto's at a pawn shop downtown Phoenix AZ back in 1988 before I even had a drum set still have it and still use them.
My Dad play drums with Roto Tom's and Octobonds and for me it's cool and love it