Terry Bozzio, Billy Cobham, Bill Buford, Neil Peart, Danny Carey, Louie Belson and more played or play Rototoms. 😂

I have been drumming for 48 years and still have my 1970s black rimed 6-8-10.There the best of all time!

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!

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 !

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

Pink Floyd’s Time. One of my most favorite drum Intros ever! Phenomenal Roto Tom sounds!

7:21 The name of Bill Bruford's band in the clip was Bruford; Earthworks is another band which he had after that one.

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.

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.

You can hear them about 21:00 minutes in.

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.

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.

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 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.

Alex VH was hip to Rotos ! Also Terry Bozzio of course 👍

That was Bruford, not Earthworks. Also check out his playing on the first U.K. record.

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.

i'm pleased the larger 14" and 16" sizes are coming back. They were always my favourite.

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

21:11. That's what we are here for.

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.

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 KZfaq 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.

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.

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!!

Yes the are coming back!!!!! The music I play wouldn’t call for Roto Toms, however I love them when used appropriately!!!!!!!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 🥁

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 want a drum set made with Octobans and Rototoms. Or an e-kit with those sounds.

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.

Nick Mason - Pink Floyd - Time (1973) The grand daddy of roto tom parts!

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.

I always think of Terry Bozzio and Alex Van Halen when I think of rotos.

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.

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. ❤

I love drum geek talk. I could listen and discuss for hours.

Not a fad. I got the 6 8 10 inch rotos on top my 2 rack toms since the 90s. 36 roto toms? dang.🍻

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

I remember my first experience on Rotos, was playing the Miami Vice Theme in high school back in the 80s.

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 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

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!

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.

If I’m not mistaken, Bozzio’s Missing Persons kit was made up entirely of Roto Toms.

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.

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...

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.

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!

Terry Bozzio with Missing Persons. So cool.

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.

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.

Christian Tanna is rocking rotos on the current I Mother Earth tour right now. 🤘

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.

wow, as a drummer back in the 1980s , I never thought I'd be watching a talk show on an "Internet" about roto toms in 2023. Mind blown.

Frank Briggs from 805 used to play them. He did some great stuff.

Excellent! Thanks for having this discussion. Roto toms so sadly misunderstood, but for drummers a useful tool indeed.

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.

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..

I had roto toms 43 years ago. So they have definetly been around along time.

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 =)

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 come from marching drumming, and Roto-Toms always remind me of the tris and quads. That's intentional, I think. Always a good time!

Not to knit-pick - that's not Earthworks. That's Bruford. Bruford was Bill's prog/fusion band of the late 70s (with Allan Holdsworth, Dave Stewart, Jeff Berlin and Annette Peacock). Earthworks came a decade later and was Bill's application of electronic drums to a jazz ensemble. Both worth checking out.

I love the sound of roto toms.

@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. 😊❤️✌️

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 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.

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 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!

One of the ways to mount rototoms individually is to replace the flat-sided center screw with a long bolt (3/8ths dia. I think) from a hardware store, and put an all-thread coupling nut all the way down at the bottom with a lock-nut holding it in place. Use a few drops of red Loctite 271 (permanent) just to make sure it never comes loose, and now you can put the coupling nut in an auxiliary tom arm, and rotate the entire tom to tune it like it was locked on the rail with the lever arm. Everything you need is at Home Depot, except for the mounting hardware. I always used Gibraltar hardware, if that's still a thing these days. Depending on the auxiliary arm you use, you can position the rototoms individually at any angle that pleases you instead of having to use that cheap, crappy channel rail. You could also use a rod-type boom cymbal stand top to put the flat-sided screw through. The tensioner would lock the flat of the screw in place and keep it from rotating. I'm not sure if anyone still makes old-fashioned boom arms like that though. Mine was from a Tama stand with a cast-iron weight on the far end. 1980s era hardware.

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?

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.

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' !!! 🤟

Always loved how Frank Briggs used them in the 80's in his band 805.

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. 😂

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 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.

Roto Toms have ALWAYS been COOL in my book, since 1973... I have a 6”, 8”, 10”, 14” & 16” ... Still looking for a killer deal on a 12” & 18”

Ya'll should give this kit away! Maybe for anyone that has a username that contains a state starting with the letter, "T" and the word Drummer in it!! Having an avatar that not only ages me but also pays homage to the drummer who used Rototoms for a very large part of his career!! I've always wanted to build a kit like this. I will one day. Great video. "I'll Wait" off of Van Halen's 1984 is killer!!!!

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...

Rotos are really cool....had my 12, 14, 16 s stolen years ago .Still have the 18" + 6,8,10 s too. Love'm!

Eric Kretz has also been using them as main toms for quite some time.

Hi guys,loved the roto toms,remember seeing Terry Bozzios early vhs video, giving them a good bashing then the later spoke cymbal

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.

In the early 80s I purchased a set of Pearl vari-pitch and played them for 8 years...I loved them

Been thinking of putting together a full rototom kit for awhile now. So, yeah, ... cool. And, you guys missed the legendary Mark Miller from Talas, who always used rototoms.

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.

Shannon Leto from 30 Seconds To Mars used Roto-Toms a great deal on their first record and they sounded amazing.

I love roto-toms. I am a sucker for the resonance and those marching snares

I have had my ROTO Toms,Toms, since 2011

No mention of Denny Carmassi, he was first drummer I remember seeing with Roto Toms with Heart, before AVH. I embraced Rotos after seeing him in concert in 1982. Heart b is a great Rototom and Simmons album

The Van Halen's 'JUMP' drum kit and roto sound are fantastic!

Have it set to an arduino and something to spin them, set it to a tempo that would be trippy as hell

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!

That's The Bruford band, not Earthworks... he abandoned the rotos by the time he formed Earthworks, in which he was using all Simmons in that band. The concept of Earthworks, was that all the instruments were acoustic, except for the drums.

Had about 1983 a drumset with 3 remo pinstripe roto's (6, 8, 10?) on a rail added to a 13, 16, 20 bd ASBA steel drum kit. It was a handy solution to have a big kit but the sound of the roto's were very small in comparison to the normal toms so ....was happy to evolve towards a Premier XPK 8, 10, 12, 13, 16 , 22 BD about 1988. Also add bongo's to my drum setups. There are real bongo's and there also are the drum set type bongo's. Timbales also are nice. Sometimes I add a tamborim to a drum set or snare drum. Also sometimes added Supercussion mini timbales to a drum kit. In accordion orchestra they had had 2 big roto toms that could be used as timpani.

Jan and Dean's band in the 70's was Papa Do Run Run and they did a 2 man version of Wipeout, it was geat in 78 and still is, RotoToms 4ever!