What companies used straight floor tom legs?

  • Thread starter Lorenzo1950
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WFL/Ludwig, Leedy - probably all companies making drum sets in the very early 60's and before.
 
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probably more of a who didn't before 1960....

mike
 
I still see them on eBay when people sell vintage sets from the mid 1960's. Was never crazy about that look but in the early days there was no choice.
 
I would think almost everyone when FTs were first introduced used straight legs. The bent legs started in the early 60's and have remained the new improved FT legs.
 
Good question is who was the first company to use bent legs?
 
I'm not great at physics and it took a bass player to tell me why my cymbal stand was toppling over. It was a tripod stand and the cymbal was heavy and positioned between one of the legs where there was no support. It's also a center of gravity thing with the floor tom legs. And aesthetically the bent legs look better and add more support.
 
I've read somewhere that although the bent legs provide more stable support, the straight legs allowed for more sustain because of less outward-pulling stress on the mounts. My first old Ludwig set had a 14" with straight legs and it had a lot of sustain. I never had a problem with stability, but I couldn't wait to ditch that set and get a more modern-looking one with heavier hardware and bent legs. I still like the looks and stability of bent legs, but straight ones look nice to me on old sets. At any rate if you weren't majorly tilting the floor tom, then straight legs worked fine.
 
Drums with bent legs will resonate much longer than drums with straight legs (unless the straight legs are on foam or shock absorbing rubber tips). The bent legs do give a different look & add stability, but the true beauty of the design is in the transfer of energy. With straight legs, the energy goes straight down the legs into the ground, which robs the drum of resonance. The bent legs, such as Rogers hex legs, cure this.
 
Greaser - Okay I'll stand corrected on that. I do believe I remember reading that somewhere but a quick google search showed me you're right. I still like the way they look on old floor toms, though.
 
I think the Japanese started the curved FT leg thing, earliest I know of were tama in the 70's all my vintage USA kits past and present have straight Legs, Camco, Slingerland, Ludwig
 
Ludwig, Gretsch & Rogers were all using bent legs by the early 60's; Camco & Slingerland both followed by the early 70's.
 
Greaser said:
Ludwig, Gretsch & Rogers were all using bent legs by the early 60's; Camco & Slingerland both followed by the early 70's.
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Yup, early 60s I'd think. my BB Rogers came with hex bent legs.
 
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