hmm, I don't understand that one, unless maybe you are hearing a different sound caused by reflections near the drum set... but I doubt that it would be heard a few feet away...


Yep, there is absolutely no adverse impact to the BD sound by having toms mounted on top.  It's funny how certain ideas get propogated.  (ok, maybe theortically there is some basis, but I'd challenge you to detect it with the ear).  I personally don't like BD mounted toms but not for sonic reasons.  I just like the clean look.  Plus you have greater flexibility in positioning your toms.

I can't explain it either, but the difference was pronounced, and something audible from all around the kit, not just heard when I was sitting on the throne playing.  I swapped the tom back and forth between the bass drum mount and the tripod stand, and the difference was clear and consistent.

tom are all mounted on my rack. even if i did want to bass drum mount them, i couldnt b/c my bass is a virgin....even though i hit on her all of the time....
having everything rack mounted, like most others have said, can allow more flexability in the setup. the way i have everything set up, it would be impossible to achieve with the toms on the mounts anyway. i used to have an pearl export select and that was mounted. i then got a rack, and then my masters. but when i went from the bass mounted tom to the rack, i noticed a big difference. not really in tom sounds, but i could play better and easier i thought b/c things were more comfortable. my $.02

Yes, that's correct, no iso mounts - and I'm sure you're right that iso's would solve the problem.  

Here's the deal:  about a year ago, I decided that after many years of focusing almost exclusively on mallets and steel pan, I decided to get out my drum set and work on that instrument as well - partly to make myself more marketable, but mainly because I missed playing drums.  So, I got the ol' (pre-iso-mount-era) Ludwigs out of my parents' basement, put new heads on 'em, and set them up - only to find this problem with the rack tom.  Just on a lark, I tried putting it on the separate stand, and the sound improved noticeably.  I probably should buy some iso mounts for my toms, but I'd rather spend that $150 or so on parts for another snare drum.  

Here's some pics of my setup.  Instead of positioning the mounted tom in the standard area above BD, I've chosen to relocate it down at the same level as my snare to the far left on it's own stand (with crash).





It's a modular setup.  I like having the mounted tom on a dedicated stand for added flexibility.  Sometimes I just leave that tom_&_stand behind when I play my scaled-down setup.  Often, I'll just take snare, base, and one FT.

Being the old f*rt that I am..I just never could get used to mounting toms on stands. My current set-up has toms on the bass, and that's the way I prefer it over stands.

Like someone said it's the same set-up everytime. With stands, an inch off here or an inch off there drove me nuts. (I know, should have marked the stands postition on the drum matt -- lazy).

One day, though, I'd like to try the rack approach. Sure, more hardware, but I like the fact that set up would be the same every time.

-bruce

BTW, killer set Paul L! Reminds me of the Bruford approach.