Roto Toms Remo V cheapo

[Blackdog]

Any advice on cheaper roto toms (Peace, Powerbeat etc) v the original Remo?
It's all hardware and air, so I can't imagine there's a huge difference other than price. I had a quick look at some Peace (I think) today and the hardware seems solid enough?

Wouldn't get a drum from the same makers, so maybe that tells me something (like I'm a bit of a scrooge.. actually no maybe's about that)
Opinions?

Many Thanks

 

[JohnL]

Resale value would be much better on the Remos.

 

[Shuggadugga]

I have a 6,8,10" set of Pulse roto toms. The stand they came on is surprisingly solid. The drums sound decent too. Well worth the $100 I spent. I rarely touch them these days. In fact, I think they still have the stock Attack heads on them.

I'll vouch for Peace's quality as well. They really do make some decent low end gear. Never seen a set of their roto toms, but my very first drum kit was a Peace kit. I still use some of the hardware it came with. The drums have been re finished with faux fur and are now my gigging kit (after some bearing edge work).

 

[Bunnyman]

I turned my cheap rotos into chimes.

 

[bat]

Do any of the other companies make a roto-tom larger than Remo's 14"? I would like to build a new roto-tom kit.

 

[MonkeyGrass]

It's all metal and head... not like there's some magic shell formula that Remo uses.

I have a set of the Pulse roto's. I've owned Remo's in the past. The base of the pulse stand is not quite as robust as the Remo version. Other than that, I can see no difference at all in sound or function. I picked them up for $50, much cheaper than the Remo's!!

 

[Blackdog]

thanks all.. off to buy some this afternoon.

 

[dexplosion]

Do any of the other companies make a roto-tom larger than Remo's 14"? I would like to build a new roto-tom kit.

Steve Weiss sells 6"-18" roto toms.
http://www.steveweissmusic.com/category/bargain-drums

 

[TonyVazquez]

I love Remo roto-toms. But I welcome roto-toms made by any drum manufacturer as long as the spokes are well-made solid as the frames of DW5000 pedals, lol.

I was trying to find out When did Remo stop making roto-toms larger than 10"... because rotos of sizes 12 and up are becoming hard to find unless I look for them in the aftermarket to realize how pricey they're becoming.

Steve Weiss makes roto-toms... so, someday I'll have to bite my fingers and buy a 16" roto from Weiss.
That's because I recently scored a vintage Remo 14" roto-tom ("slightly used" according to the out-of-town person who sold it to me) in mint condition shiny chrome.

I'm playing a traditional shell pack drum kit;
and now I want the option to switch back n forth between rack-tom Shells... and... Roto-toms on a rack.

I already have a 10" Roto-tom.
Got 14" roto arriving to me on Tuesday after this weekend.
And I'm watching a used 12" roto in my local instrument retailer store.
Hopefully I'll have 10, 12, 14 roto-toms on a DIY rack with materials from my local Home Depot.

Them:
"Why are the bigger roto-toms no longer made?"

ME:
because Terry Bozzio, Alex Van Halen, and Neil Peart bought them all!

 

[CherryClassic]

Years ago, I had a complete set of Remo's 6 thru 18. I should have never sold those drums. I had some good fun times using them.

I found out really quick that they needed to be mic'ed for tone any distance past the stage.

sherm

 

[varatrodder]

I don’t remember the brand, but I had a cheap set that failed on me. The frame cracked.

 

[mebeatee]

I have a set of remo black spoked roto's 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and a pair....14, 18 of chrome spoked remo roto's.
I've seen copies in stores and nope.....there's metal and there's metal. Some of the copies look and feel like they'd crack....but I really couldn't say.
What I will say though is the stands/rail mounting systems sucked and I had some Collarlock stuff made for them.
There are a number of threads here that address different roto mounting systems....
bt

 

[dtk]

I think if rotos were re introduced with a more common mount they would take off again...that and maybe a decent cheap case/way to transport.
It would be neat if you could attach a minishell to them too...a choice of woods and metals... I had the 6/8/10 and at one time I think a 14/16 which I thought I'd use to replace my floor toms on a practice kit but I felt like they were too specific to pitch (not enough overtones?).

 

[langmick]

Remo's chrome and rigidity is much better than the other brands.

 

[Iristone]

Remo's should be lighter, being made of aluminium. I've a set of CB700 rototoms and, while they sounded nice, they were quite heavy and weren't made that well. The inner tubing (supporting the inner spoke that contacts the head) cracked on one of these drums, and a tension rod was bent.
I'm looking forward to having a pair of larger rototoms. I've heard they sound like tympani!

 

[mebeatee]

I think if rotos were re introduced with a more common mount they would take off again...that and maybe a decent cheap case/way to transport.
It would be neat if you could attach a minishell to them too...a choice of woods and metals... I had the 6/8/10 and at one time I think a 14/16 which I thought I'd use to replace my floor toms on a practice kit but I felt like they were too specific to pitch (not enough overtones?).

There were some clear plastic "shells" and of course those pearl drums with a roto attached....
And yes they can indeedly emulate timpani....that's why I have a 14 and 18 pair....as well as the others...!!!
Remo also made some pedal/cable tuned roto's as well.....
bt

 

[TonyVazquez]

I'm tracking the UPS delivery of My 14" roto-tom, and the status tells me it is Out for delivery. I'm excited!

I've always played the usual 6.8.10 rotos, but this will be my first time playing rotos larger than 10 and I can hardly wait to try some ideas with them.

Lots of ideas are being tossed around in this thread, and I'm taking them all into consideration. Along the way, I plan to post video clips of my experiments with my larger rotos.

 

[mebeatee]

I found the/a pic.......dunno whose this is or where it came from but way kewl.....
bt

 

[RobbiefromAtlanta]

I have a 12” coming. I already have a 14” and a 16”.
If anyone is looking for some Roto’s Jeff Friedl is selling some on his Instagram page
That’s who I bought the 12” from

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[LRod1707]

Wow, thread revived after 8 years!

I have the 6, 8 & 10 Remo roto's. (Bought them new like 4 years ago). I've seen the cheap ones in person and those are in fact inferior quality. The only thing that stinks is the attachment point for the Roto's. I had a set in the late 80's and they were exactly the same. I can't believe that Remo never upgraded the design. Another thing as well is that the whole assembly is ridiculously heavy. I've since mounted them to my rack using a Multi clamp. It's much better!
On another note, the heads!
I changed mine out to some single ply Aquarian's. They sound a lot more lively compared to the Pinstripe's that they come with.