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Concert toms are punchy toms without bottom heads that produce really tight sounds. They add a good bit of variety to drum and percussion setups, so they’re a great tool to have.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at the best concert toms on the market right now.
I’ve compared sounds, build quality, design, and cost to give you my top recommendations.
What are the Best Concert Toms?
Concert Toms Reviews
DW Design Series Concert Tom Set with Mount
DW Design Series Concert Tom Set with Mount Review
The stunning DW Design Series Concert Tom Set is the best sounding option on the market right now. Constructed from HVLT North American Rock Maple, these concert toms truly offer fantastic tone and projection.
The DW Design Series drums offer outstanding value for money, and they sound incredible. The build quality is first-rate; near flawless in fact. They also tune up excellently thanks to the True-Pitch tuning rods.
Sized at 6” and 8” inches respectively, the DW Design Series concert toms produce exciting sounds. These drums are beautifully made and they sound killer. The small shell sizes provide these drums with a lot of bite and they are so fun to play.
For the money these are the best concert toms available. The matte black finish on the Maple shells looks stunning too, and the chrome hardware is really sturdy. You also receive a heavy-duty tom mount system with these concert toms.
Whether you are looking to expand your drum set in order to explore new sounds, or perhaps you require concert toms to expand your percussion, these concert toms make a great purchase.
Features:
- 6” and 8” concert tom set
- HVLT North American Rock Maple shells
- Includes DW double tom mount
Pros
- Sonically and visually stunning
- Loud and authoritative tones
- Amazing build quality and value for money
Cons
- No negatives
Pearl Rocket Toms With Double-Braced Tom Stand
Pearl Rocket Toms With Double-Braced Tom Stand Review
These Pearl Rocket Toms might be just the ticket if you are looking to add a new and exciting dimension to your drum set. Both of these Rocket Toms are sized at 6” inches in diameter but are 12” and 15” inches deep respectively.
These concert toms feature elongated aluminum shells that deliver a loud sonic projection and pure, musical tones. These drums are also adorned with Pearl SuperHoop II hoops for a bright attack.
The Pearl Rocket Toms are perfect for drummers looking for retro looks and sounds of the 1970s and 1980s. Without resonant heads, these concert toms are very bright and punchy, and they sound amazing when used in fast drum fills!
Also included with this set of Pearl Rocket Toms is a heavy duty tom stand that allows you to position these concert toms easily within your existing setup.
The Rocket Toms would also make a wonderful addition to any orchestral percussion setup, or pit percussion drumming arsenal.
Features:
- Two 6” aluminum toms – 12” and 15” deep
- Triple-flanged hoops
- Includes Pearl tom stand
Pros
- Bright and musical tones
- Distinctive looking and sounding toms
- High-quality construction
Cons
- Can be awkward to position
- Expensive price tag
DW Design Series Rata Tom
DW Design Series Rata Tom Review
The DW Design Series Rata Tom is the perfect addition to your drum set if you wish to emulate the classic rock drum sets of the past, made famous by the likes of Neil Peart and Stewart Copeland.
Constructed from a solid acrylic shell, this concert tom produces a robust, melodic crack. It’s super loud and it’s really great fun to play!
The hardware on this drum is excellent, as you would expect from DW. The triple-flanged hoops, Mini-Turret lugs, and True-Pitch tuning rods are all highly functional and they help this drum to sound as good as it looks.
Overall this is a really high-quality drum that boasts an impressive musical quality to it. It’s very enjoyable to play within an existing drum set, especially when used within drum fills!
You can tune this concert tom to go really high, or keep the skin fairly loose. It sounds great however you choose to tune it. This drum certainly goes a long way in adding a little sonic diversity to your drumming!
Features:
- 10” x 6” acrylic rata tom
- Triple-flanged hoops
- True-Pitch tension rods
Pros
- Awesome addition to any drum set
- Impressive retro looks and sound
- Excellent build quality
Cons
- Does not come as a set
Majestic Concert Black Series Tom 2-Pack
Majestic Concert Black Series Tom 2-Pack Review
Majestic is a sister brand of Mapex, so these Majestic Concert toms have the same design as most Mapex shells.
This setup offers two toms that have 6” and 8” diameters. They have birch shells, making them sound very bright and punchy. However, these toms have bottom drumheads too, which is something that most concert toms don’t have.
The result of the added bottom heads is that they sound a lot warmer and they offer more resonance. They’re tight and punchy, but they’re also musical and responsive. This makes them perform more like standard rack toms than typical concert toms.
If that sounds appealing, these may be a better option than the other concert toms we’ve looked at so far.
You can easily slot these toms into a drum kit setup with the included double mount stand. You can also set them up on their own in an orchestral percussion section.
One last thing to mention about them is that they have a slightly bigger tuning range than other concert toms, and that’s another feature that comes from having bottom heads.
However, if you want tight sounds with no resonance at all, these won’t be a good option.
Features:
- 6” and 8” birch shells
- Chrome steel hoops
- Included tom holder
Pros
- Warmer tones due to having bottom drumheads, which is something a bit different from standard concert toms
- Surprisingly wide tuning range
- Included stand is very sturdy
Cons
- The mount for the 8” tom is a bit wonky
Tama Mid-Pitched Single-Headed Concert Toms
Tama Mid-Pitched Single-Headed Concert Toms Review
Our last option on the list is a large set of concert toms with wide and deep shells.
You essentially get a group of four floor toms here, but they don’t have bottom heads, which leads them to perform like concert toms. Each drum feels like a floor tom but sounds like a concert tom.
All the drums have maple shells that make them warm and responsive, but the lack of bottom heads adds plenty of punch and bite to the sounds.
The benefit of having such large toms is that you can get far deeper tones than all of the other options on this list. This is excellent for orchestral percussion applications where you need deep tom sounds to play in a score.
The two included stands are incredibly sturdy, so the toms barely move at all when they’re mounted.
The toms are also very easy to tune, allowing you to get the exact sounds that you want without needing to sit for too long with the tuning process.
The only downside of this tom set is that it costs just over $1000. That’s far pricier than any of the other concert toms we’ve looked at so far. However, you get two more toms here, making the package well worth the money you pay.
Features:
- 10”, 12”, 13”, and 14” maple shells
- Triple-flanged hoops
- Two drum hardware stands included
Pros
- Four large toms that offer a variety of different sounds
- Wide tuning range between each drum
- Full setup with one purchase
Cons
- Expensive compared to all the other options on the list
Concert Toms Buyer’s Guide
Concert toms are indeed a thing of the past. Back when acoustic drums were humongous – they were found on every iconic rock drum set you can imagine, along with various electronic drums and multiple bass drums.
Classic rock drummers including Stewart Copeland and Neil Peart helped to make concert toms famous when they used them in their trailblazing fills and within their epic drum solos.
What Exactly are Concert Toms?
Concert toms differ from regular toms in several ways. Firstly, they only feature one drumhead, which means they only have a batter side and no resonant head. This helps them to produce clearer and punchier drum sounds, with a lot more aggressive bite! They often sound like a snare drum without the snares.
Secondly, they are also typically smaller in diameter than regular toms found within a drum set. Concert toms can be as small as 6” inches in diameter and the smaller tom size gives concert toms a distinctive and bright pop sound.
Why are Concert Toms Not as Popular as Before?
Concert toms are nowhere near as popular as they used to be. This could be due to many factors. Most importantly, drummers nowadays rarely play on huge drum sets with a second bass drum like the ones that existed back in the 1970s and 1980s.
Let’s face it – drums are expensive. They can also be very inconvenient to transport to gigs and rehearsals. For these reasons, drummers (like myself) tend to use more streamlined set ups. It’s more convenient to own and to play a more compact drum set.
Why Buy Concert Toms?
Concert toms would make a great investment for any drummer who actively wants to expand their drum set with percussion instruments. While having a bigger drum set is not as convenient, it is a lot more fun! You have more drums to play and you can be more creative behind the kit.
Having an extra percussion instrument allows you to be as creative as you like, and you are able to explore from a wider range of percussion sounds to incorporate within your drumming.
Concert toms produce distinctive and musical tones that sound amazing in drum grooves and fills. They are surprisingly loud like snare drums, which makes them useful especially during drum solos.