[marcusb]

XY on the toms ?? whatever works I guess ...

personally i'm over the 421 sound on toms, the only way to get the really big rich tone with a nice bit of top end snap seems to be with condensers, preferably large diaphram, some personal faves:

* AKG C414
* Neumann FET U47's
* Shure SM98's
* AKG C451's
* Rode NT1

For a cheap tom option the Rode NT1's were great, you can get two for the price of one new 421. I personally don't dig the NT1 for any other purpose aside from sticking it on toms, works nicely.

Cheers,
Marcus