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
Do u keep em on the straight track? I am buy my 13 year old a set of 6810 rotors for Christmas. It’ll be a suprise. He plays on a 3 piece. He wants a 10” for the set, I figure he can do some pretty fun runs. He can go from the 6 to the floor Tom and back to the snare. Besides, a lil Tom set is a good warm up for the marching band.
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!
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.
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!👏👏👏👏
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 !
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.
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!
I was a huge Deadhead and a drummer in a GD cover band back in the 80s. We did a huge drum jam in every show, just like Billy Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart did at every Dead show. We didn't have stage full of drums, but we did have that classic 3-piece rototom kit along with our drum kits. We also had an old digital fx processor, and would run the rotos through the processor. Between the delays and flangers from the processor and the changing pitches of the rotos, we got a lot of mileage out of that setup
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.
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 RUclips 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.
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.
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.
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 🥁
Ok, so I'm feeling old... got my first drums for my 7th birthday (in '76). 3 roto toms (12", 14", 16") and a single off-brand cymbal. The toms were cast aluminum and a bit rough; not nearly as clean as modern machined versions. The cool part - my grandfather worked at Remo at the time and personally pressed the heads! In the mid 80's I bought the 6/8/10 set and cheap off-brand 5 piece kit. Wasn't a bad setup; enough to make decent noise and piss off the neighbors. Regrettably, I sold the large roto toms (and kit) in '89. I put the $ towards the purchase of my '89 Tama Rockstar DX kit (5 pc, midnight blue metallic) which I still have! When I get my office in a decent state and everything set up again, I may have to look at adding in the large toms. I still have those original 12/14/16 tom heads; unusable but of sentimental value and may display them.
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..
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!
@@BobbyCarburetorI'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. 😂👍
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.
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.
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 :)
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.
Jos Zoomer, drummer of Vandenberg, played on a drumset with just rototoms. Vandenberg was a Dutch hardrockband. Adrian Vandenberg played guitar in Whitesnake in the '80.
I played a set of 6”, 8”, 10”, 12” on a marching harness in a UK marching band back in the 80’s. They never really caught on in a marching band setting in place of tenors, but they worked well and could be tuned to the musical part that we were playing. They were great!
I am surprised you didn't mention Neal Pert. He used them a hell of a lot. especially on the Moving Pictures album. If I recall correctly they get extensive use in YYZ.
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.
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.
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...
Bruford and Bozzio influenced me to have Roto set. They were the originals in chrome not the cheap looking black ones. They provide a great attack and can record well too. Definitely a great choice for music like UK, and Bruford. Not a warm tom sound.
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.
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.
You only need to look no further than John Farris from INXS. That frum solo/fill he does on the track Orignal Sin is sooooo rototom it hurts 😂 ... I fricken love his drumming =)
Pearl didn't get defeated,they had the courage to try to make then have tone,they were a cheese fad kina at first.But like Nick Mason if you have the spot and the sound equipment to experiment with.Then bobs your uncle.
When my daughter got her 6 and 8” Tom add-on kit on her Ludwigs, once they were tuned up, I immediately thought they sounded like roto-toms. They’re basically an octave above the rest of the toms, and cut through like crazy.
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!
Good lord.....clicked on this video to see some badass Toms played and Rita Flapjaw is just running his mouth like he's running a talk show!!! SHUT IT RITA and play some jams, P L A Y The Roto toms !!!!!
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!
It would be interesting to take one of those roto-toms and put a stepper motor on the tuning adjust screw, going thru a slow back and forth tuning program. I wonder if that would give you a little phaser action?
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.
Terry Bozzio played a full set on some of the more iconic songs ..... Walking In LA, Wrods, and Destination Unknown are shown in Missing Persons playing live.
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?
Considering the space and money u save and the lighter weight this is a no brainer! Oh and of course the sound is amazing and more alive than shell drums! ............Wish they had roto cymbals as well!
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.
Growing up in the 70s and into the 80s, everyone added the 6,8,10 set to their kits...it literally said you were a beginner when you did this..they were so scorned by working players...however, they've came back and are awesome to add as complements to a kit now..funny how time changes things...
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
A friend of mine when we were in high school picked up the 6” and 8” with a stand and rail. Over the course of a couple of days, he got them worked into his playing, and came up with some crazy fills and grooves. He’s a RUSH fan, so of course figured if they were good enough for Neil, he was going to get some. Best $250 he ever spent.
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 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.
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!
@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. 😊❤️✌️
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.
Had a 14, 16, 18 Remo set way back....They never really had any use. But I tripled my money on them to a lad that thought he was the next terry Bozzio.......Biggest Kit I ever saw and no gigs to go with it.
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 never got rid of mine. Bargain 6 8 10 set I got 20 years ago. Still in superb condition, and great for playing Tom Sawyer and Frankenstein among many other fun bits
Drummers I remember using them (some just briefly) back in the day. Bill Bruford, Nick Mason, Terry Bozzio, Louie Belson, Phil Coliins, Alan White, Roger Taylor, Alex Van Halen, Bev Bevan, Andy Ward, Albert Bouchard, Eric Carr, Vinnie Colaiuta, Danny Seraphine and Jon Farriss. I bought all sizes Remo 6" - 18" many years ago. So glad I held on to them. They are so expensive nowadays.
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
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
I have been drumming for 48 years and still have my 1970s black rimed 6-8-10.There the best of all time!
Do u keep em on the straight track? I am buy my 13 year old a set of 6810 rotors for Christmas. It’ll be a suprise. He plays on a 3 piece. He wants a 10” for the set, I figure he can do some pretty fun runs. He can go from the 6 to the floor Tom and back to the snare.
Besides, a lil Tom set is a good warm up for the marching band.
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
i'm pleased the larger 14" and 16" sizes are coming back. They were always my favourite.
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 ruclips.net/video/um24wnmC3xs/видео.htmlsi=a7PaYSFzWyot9g0w
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
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 RUclips 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 ...
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 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 .
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.
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 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.
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.
Alex VH was hip to Rotos ! Also Terry Bozzio of course 👍
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
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!!
I was a huge Deadhead and a drummer in a GD cover band back in the 80s. We did a huge drum jam in every show, just like Billy Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart did at every Dead show. We didn't have stage full of drums, but we did have that classic 3-piece rototom kit along with our drum kits. We also had an old digital fx processor, and would run the rotos through the processor. Between the delays and flangers from the processor and the changing pitches of the rotos, we got a lot of mileage out of that setup
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.
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 RUclips 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.
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.
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.
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 🥁
Ok, so I'm feeling old... got my first drums for my 7th birthday (in '76). 3 roto toms (12", 14", 16") and a single off-brand cymbal. The toms were cast aluminum and a bit rough; not nearly as clean as modern machined versions. The cool part - my grandfather worked at Remo at the time and personally pressed the heads! In the mid 80's I bought the 6/8/10 set and cheap off-brand 5 piece kit. Wasn't a bad setup; enough to make decent noise and piss off the neighbors. Regrettably, I sold the large roto toms (and kit) in '89. I put the $ towards the purchase of my '89 Tama Rockstar DX kit (5 pc, midnight blue metallic) which I still have! When I get my office in a decent state and everything set up again, I may have to look at adding in the large toms. I still have those original 12/14/16 tom heads; unusable but of sentimental value and may display them.
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..
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'm a huge fan of rotos, not because of their tunability but their big thud which is perfect for metal. Tunability is just bonus.
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.
I purchased my Rotos in the early 00s and they have been a vital part of my kit ever since.
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!
@@BobbyCarburetorI'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.
😂👍
Yes the are coming back!!!!! The music I play wouldn’t call for Roto Toms, however I love them when used appropriately!!!!!!!!
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.
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 love drum geek talk. I could listen and discuss for hours.
I've always thought these were really kettle drums, and the most logical improvement to the roto-tom would be to have a foot-pitch pedal.
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 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. ❤
Terry Bozzio with Missing Persons. So cool.
One thing I've learned about the drum industry is: Everything old is new again. Glad rotos are making a comeback.
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
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.
I remember my first experience on Rotos, was playing the Miami Vice Theme in high school back in the 80s.
Jos Zoomer, drummer of Vandenberg, played on a drumset with just rototoms.
Vandenberg was a Dutch hardrockband. Adrian Vandenberg played guitar in Whitesnake in the '80.
Hi guys,loved the roto toms,remember seeing Terry Bozzios early vhs video, giving them a good bashing then the later spoke cymbal
I have had my ROTO Toms,Toms, since 2011
Excellent! Thanks for having this discussion. Roto toms so sadly misunderstood, but for drummers a useful tool indeed.
I played a set of 6”, 8”, 10”, 12” on a marching harness in a UK marching band back in the 80’s. They never really caught on in a marching band setting in place of tenors, but they worked well and could be tuned to the musical part that we were playing. They were great!
I am surprised you didn't mention Neal Pert. He used them a hell of a lot. especially on the Moving Pictures album. If I recall correctly they get extensive use in YYZ.
He never played roto-toms...
Nope. He had small, traditional, single-head toms with shells for 6-12 inch.
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.
Christian Tanna is rocking rotos on the current I Mother Earth tour right now. 🤘
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.
One of the most underrated bad ass drummers of the 90's, Eric Kretz of STP used them then and still does. So underrated that you fellas forgot him.
I always think of Terry Bozzio and Alex Van Halen when I think of rotos.
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...
Bruford and Bozzio influenced me to have Roto set. They were the originals in chrome not the cheap looking black ones. They provide a great attack and can record well too. Definitely a great choice for music like UK, and Bruford. Not a warm tom sound.
If you put thick drum heads on they sound better than the pin stripes!!
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.
21:11. That's what we are here for.
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
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. 😂
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
You can hear them about 21:00 minutes in.
Thank you!
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
You only need to look no further than John Farris from INXS. That frum solo/fill he does on the track Orignal Sin is sooooo rototom it hurts 😂 ... I fricken love his drumming =)
indeed, Jon Farriss of INXS used these for years with great result. funky!
Pearl didn't get defeated,they had the courage to try to make then have tone,they were a cheese fad kina at first.But like Nick Mason if you have the spot and the sound equipment to experiment with.Then bobs your uncle.
When my daughter got her 6 and 8” Tom add-on kit on her Ludwigs, once they were tuned up, I immediately thought they sounded like roto-toms. They’re basically an octave above the rest of the toms, and cut through like crazy.
Alex Van Halen and Eric Carr 🤘🏾🤘🏾
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!
Roto toms were the best. It broke my heart to have to sell them to eat. They complimented the drum set and were excellent for playing the Latin stuff.
12 14 and 16 and a set octo bonds to eat 30 years ago...lol
@@tttarms1970 it broke my heart
@@keithe.bilitsky833 thank god I got rid of my gf at the time that I was living with....should of done that before the gear
@@tttarms1970 my wife had a sh*t hemorrhage, they cost me, to my recollection, $275. Late 80's early 90's
@@tttarms1970 ps you know what they call a drummer without a girlfriend?
Homeless lol
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.
Good lord.....clicked on this video to see some badass Toms played and Rita Flapjaw is just running his mouth like he's running a talk show!!! SHUT IT RITA and play some jams, P L A Y The Roto toms !!!!!
lol... Yea I didn't click on the video to hear him run his yapper either!!
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!
Jan Hammer is the composer of the main "Miami Vice" theme.
It would be interesting to take one of those roto-toms and put a stepper motor on the tuning adjust screw,
going thru a slow back and forth tuning program. I wonder if that would give you a little phaser action?
Terry one of the greatest drummers in the world missing person
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...
The Van Halen's 'JUMP' drum kit and roto sound are fantastic!
that kit hat octobans not rotos
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.
Terry Bozzio played a full set on some of the more iconic songs ..... Walking In LA, Wrods, and Destination Unknown are shown in Missing Persons playing live.
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?
Sadly you missed Mike Mangini in your collection of drummers that use/used rototoms
Considering the space and money u save and the lighter weight this is a no brainer! Oh and of course the sound is amazing and more alive than shell drums! ............Wish they had roto cymbals as well!
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.
Growing up in the 70s and into the 80s, everyone added the 6,8,10 set to their kits...it literally said you were a beginner when you did this..they were so scorned by working players...however, they've came back and are awesome to add as complements to a kit now..funny how time changes things...
I am a young professional drummer and I LOVE my RotoTom 6/8/10!
Not a fad. I got the 6 8 10 inch rotos on top my 2 rack toms since the 90s. 36 roto toms? dang.🍻
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
A friend of mine when we were in high school picked up the 6” and 8” with a stand and rail. Over the course of a couple of days, he got them worked into his playing, and came up with some crazy fills and grooves. He’s a RUSH fan, so of course figured if they were good enough for Neil, he was going to get some. Best $250 he ever spent.
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.
Frank Briggs from 805 used to play them. He did some great stuff.
You missed the band "Brand-X". The back of the album has a photo of a Roto-tom kit from 1971
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.
Though Stewart Copeland didn’t use roto toms, I use roto toms to replicate his octoban sound
He did use them before the octabons. You can see a photo in Modern Drummer in the 80’s when he was just coming up in the ranks of greatness
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!
@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.
😊❤️✌️
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.
Had a 14, 16, 18 Remo set way back....They never really had any use. But I tripled my money on them to a lad that thought he was the next terry Bozzio.......Biggest Kit I ever saw and no gigs to go with it.
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 never got rid of mine. Bargain 6 8 10 set I got 20 years ago. Still in superb condition, and great for playing Tom Sawyer and Frankenstein among many other fun bits
Drummers I remember using them (some just briefly) back in the day. Bill Bruford, Nick Mason, Terry Bozzio, Louie Belson, Phil Coliins, Alan White, Roger Taylor, Alex Van Halen, Bev Bevan, Andy Ward, Albert Bouchard, Eric Carr, Vinnie Colaiuta, Danny Seraphine and Jon Farriss. I bought all sizes Remo 6" - 18" many years ago. So glad I held on to them. They are so expensive nowadays.
For sure Jon Farriss is great! Love 'Dont Change'! [no roto toms though]