Custom Drum Hardware Blog

Jazz legend Joe Morello once said it best by defining the humble role of a group-based drummer: You never should deliberately outshine the band leader or you will quickly find yourself out of a job. The same adage applies in a different way to your partner, for the time being, in life.

Dealing with bandmate personas on top of managing the often complex feelings of romantic friends and spouses can be the equivalent of playing a 9/8 time signature inside of a ¾ feel.

Beyond the pathetic drummer discrimination rants from arrogant musicians who are so caught up in themselves and their own insecurities that they throw you under the bus, there exists a way to manage personalities and find common ground. Then again, some of the tension that builds among bandmates and partners is also a contributor to making good music and relationships last, so it is a delicate tight rope we walk.

After playing in bands for more than 30 years, for me it really all comes down to communication, or lack thereof. And email, texting and Facebook have not helped band and partner relations at all. Bands are an extended family, or at least should act like one once they develop the footprint of cohesion and initial maturity. Bandmates need to nurture their relations by not holding opinions back about anything, and that unselfish process should start well before you ever play your first note together. When bands routinely set aside “talk time” without instruments in hand, or regularly hold band outings, intrapersonal success and better music typically follows. The trick is not to use email or PDAs – ever – as a mechanism for conveying critique or discipline.

Make it a band rule that online technology should only be used to convey successes, gig and practice details, and exchange fan and music data. If you follow this simple rule, a ton of misconstrued emails – and in many cases lost bands – will be avoided. One of my bands uses a whiteboard at our rehearsal space to not only jot down song idea reminders, but also note our goals both in progress and achieved. Hang out regularly without instruments as that is a great friend-building experience, such as attending live shows together.

As for actual playing time discrepancies and differences that do arise, the best medicine at practice is to immediately stop and analyze the problem whether personality or musically based. Enter rehearsal in a positive frame of mind free of substance abuse. Whether it is a bandmate’s continuously arrogant mannerism or drums filling when they shouldn’t be, true musicians stop during songs and find a solution. Don’t wait until the end of a tune, or much worse, the end of practice to let your feelings be known. And when the band leader stops a particular composition, that means you stop playing as well. Playing your instrument during a band timeout is rude and inconsiderate. Pros don’t do it.

New (and perhaps older) bands should also agree on a few common goals, including:

- How do you choose the songs the band plays?
- What is your practice schedule?
- Who will organize and pay for rehearsal rooms?
- How will you organize concerts and pay for band equipment?
- What is the general decision making process?
- Where does the band want to go?
- Will you copyright everything that is an original composition and how?

In a live show situation, every member of the band must remember that you have customers – your fans and potential new ones – to please. You are as much a showman as you are a musician on stage. Act like it. Savvy audiences pick up fairly easily on body language and facial negativity, let alone screaming voices.

I once remember seeing one of my all-time favorite bands, RUSH, in concert in Boston. Guitarist Alex Lifeson had wireless difficulties toward the end of the show that could not be easily fixed. Almost half a song was played with just drum, bass and synth, though no one could miss how visibly upset Alex was with his techies, even shouting at times. Alex’s overreaction left an indelible mark on the concert’s conclusion and in my own mind.

If one of your bandmates just isn’t playing well, go over and whisper something reassuring in his or her ears between songs. Just don’t stare them down or lip synch a wise crack. If a bandmate is overreacting to a negative fan’s remarks or discerning club employee, calm him or her down by accepting responsibility for handling that situation instead. Be the bigger person at gigs. The worst possible thing you can do is to draw your fans into a quagmire. Keep personal and musical differences private and off stage. That’s what good families do outside of the public’s eye.

As for romantic friends, life partners and spouses, I can’t tell folks how they should conduct their personal relationships. What I can advise is to be truthful and open at all times. If your significant other respects your musicianship and understands the time and commitment aspects involved in being in a band, it should pave the way for many years of playing enjoyment. If you don’t have a friend or spouse that understands you as a musician or you didn’t explain the industry properly to begin with, then you are probably not going to have much fun doing that because you will always have that personal angst and anxiety present. It may be time to put the drums up in the attic for awhile, if that’s the case.

If you are in a newer relationship, be very clear with your significant other about what is required of active bands so you both can set time investment parameters together. Though I am far from perfect, I routinely send my wife a personal calendar of upcoming gigs and practices so we’re on the same page, and that is not easy given I play in three different bands. But we make it work. It’s give and take and he or she should always win. Your partner needs his or her own down time and hobbies as well, so when you are not playing or practicing, make sure you are contributing on the home front in a consistent and fair way.

When your friend or spouse attends a gig, though I highly advise against inviting them to band practices, treat them like royalty. They are your special guests so don’t avoid them between sets or when done; be with and love them. That sincere show of affection will most certainly carry-over to how your admiring fans, other friends, and bandmates perceive you. And perception is reality.

It really all comes down to compassion. Treat your bandmates and significant others better than you would treat yourself. Folks in general tend to forget how far their relationships have grown. It’s always good to look back in time at the positive developments every full moon or so. Have fun.

- Tim Kane is an independent drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. He writes a weekly blog for Gibraltar Hardware.

How many times have you purchased a cymbal stand not fully understanding what you were buying or how it would jive with the cymbal it was intended to hold? I am guilty of this, and the team here at Gibraltar knows there are many of you who would benefit from a thorough discussion on the topic.

We felt it best this week to discuss some of our Gibraltar cymbal stand lines, their practical implementation with our preferred partner and friends at Sabian cymbals, with due consideration given to tube and arm diameter, weight, durability, silence, and height and extension options.

First, it’s really important for drummers and percussionists to understand the overall anatomical design philosophy of cymbal stands before making specific gear investment decisions. To help guide you, I have included a summary below from one of our cymbal stand videos, which details each standard component part and the engineering reasons behind them. Though not reflective of all our stands’ components, this particular video provides one of the most fitting examples of why Gibraltar makes some of the best drumware on the planet.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND OUR STANDS

Working up from the floor, our patented round rubber foot design works great in tight drum kit set-up situations where your stand legs may not be able to extend out all the way.

Next up the tube is our cast tripod collar. It should be noted that we were one of the first companies to use this innovative design versus stamped metal pieces from competitors who simply wanted to save costs at high stress point areas of their stands. The rigidity of the cast versus stamped is critical to the longevity of the stand.

Our unique design innovations extend upwards to our tripod key collar (the area where the first tightening screw is placed to extend and retract your leg extensions). What is great about this feature is if you have an issue with the key screw threads at some point, we designed them using a softer metal than its adjacent cast chamber. This makes the key screw easily replaceable. A nylon insert is used to avoid metal-to-metal contact at the tripod collar, which also helps greatly in reducing vibrations that drive studio engineers nuts, not to mention preventing dents and ease when opening and closing it.

Our pioneering hinged height adjustment point of the stand again utilizes the unique nylon insert that sits within the hinge section, which secures the stand without need to over-tighten or inflict dents and scratches. Our black hardened steel screw is used throughout all of this stands’ height adjustment points. Hardened steel eliminates the threat of stripping. A plastic sleeve is inserted into the hinged height adjustment receiving tube to create a nice tight and silent fit. So it takes less pressure to hold our stands’ height and stops any stand noise vibration.
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The next integrated level is the boom rod and arm adjustment component, which essentially performs two functions: gripping the cymbal stand boom rod and holding the boom arm angle adjustment. While some other companies cut corners by offering only a single tightening adjustment to perform these two critical jobs, we developed and use a two-point boom section to handle these functions and prolong its life.

And finally, Gibraltar’s standard brake tilter gives infinite cymbal angle adjustments compared to standard ratchet tilters that have set angle limits. In addition to the wing angle adjustment, we take it one step further by adding a back-up drum key lock to hold the tilter position, if needed. Gibraltar also uses an ergonomic wing nut here, extra thick cymbal felts, and a one-piece nylon cymbal seat that threads onto the stand to avoid losing parts and adding stability.

SO WHAT’S THE RIGHT STAND FOR YOUR CYMBAL?

In terms of matching up your Gibraltar Hardware stand with the most appropriate Sabian cymbal, the biggest consideration is with regard to weight followed closely by positioning ease. For example, if your stand is Gibraltar’s newer Turning Point 9710-TP straight series, you probably would want to use one of Sabian’s brighter and lighter series, like AA, AAX, PRO or Sonix. For Sabian’s lower pitched and heavier series, like Hand Hammered and HHX, our heavy or medium double braced single stands – or even our newer 7709 eliptical leg base models – would be more in tune to properly balance the weight.

The key point to remember is it’s not that any of our stands couldn’t support any Sabian cymbal, it really comes down to how often you plan to open and collapse the stand and how road worthy it is. Our boom stands are designed to give you all the strength offered in single models, but with the extra length and maneuverability you need to access taller heights and tighter positioning zones around your drum kit or percussion assembly.

While there is certainly no need to attach a AA 6-inch Sabian splash to our 6609 heavy double braced boom stand, which has three-tiers and cast hideaway boom with memory lock height adjustment, you may want to consider attaching one of our SC-CMBAC medium cymbal boom attachment clamps to it as shown in this instructional video. Even if you desire to mount one of Sabian’s big bad boys like its 22-inch Legacy heavy ride, you still have to think beyond the stand’s ability to just hold it steady.

As I mentioned earlier, it’s the little things in a cymbal stand that add up to many years of playing enjoyment. Small things to look for include an unending angle adjusting brake tilter; high quality cast components; no metal-to-metal contact; hardened steel screws to avoid stripping; and how long the boom rod is so you don’t end up short of where that cymbal needs to be positioned.

There are endless configuration options with cymbal stands, but the wise drummer and percussionist does his or her homework first. Think about why you need that stand in the first place, or why it failed to last. Gibraltar has done that homework for you.

- Tim Kane is a freelance drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. He writes a regular blog for Gibraltar Hardware.

By Tim Kane

How many of you have attached individual drum clamps to cymbal stands for a gig and then lost components at the bottom of your hardware bag or back stage? They have feet of their own sometimes. Likewise, the venues I play and practice at require a tighter drum kit set-up, so mounting a variety of cymbal arms from one stand via clamps makes sense. In our latest innovation this year, the team here at Gibraltar Hardware has solved this common kit challenge for both acoustic and electronic drummers.

The newly released Gibraltar 7700Q Quad Mount Stand and separately sold SC-SPAN Spanner Bar make for the perfect compliment to your kit. Gibraltar’s elliptical leg Quad Stand allows players to mount two acoustic toms or electronic pads along with two cymbal arms directly from a very solid and attractive platform mount. For the tech savvy skinner, you could feasibly mount four electronic drum pads before even attaching the Spanner Bar for additional clamping options. That means an entire 4-piece digital kit with two cymbal triggers could be housed on this one stand system.

Whether you choose to add the Spanner Bar to a Quad Mount or on another stand of your own, drummers and percussionists gain three additional clamps, two of which can be locked at either end of the tube. Our own Gibraltar-endorsed artist Jim Riley of Rascal Flatts, pictured here, recently used both of these items at the recent Drum Daze in Columbus. At that gig, Jim elected to mount the Spanner Bar on a single boom ride stand at his kit’s right side, and hung two tom-toms and splashes on the Quad Stand above his snare.

We’ve read quite a few forum posts kicking around about the stability of mounting multiple acoustic toms or electronic pads and cymbals arms to one stand. Some of you share very wise concerns that your rig would bounce and sway too much while striking the heads and cymbals, or even tip over. Let us calm those fears. While our system needs to have proper weight proportional balance for mounted items, meaning you shouldn’t try to anchor everything on one side, the dexterity of the Quad Mount Stand, particularly with a Spanner Bar add-on, eliminates those perceived challenges.

I mounted my two Gretsch Catalina Maple kit’s 10 and 12-inch shells on the Quad Stand, utilized its two built-in clamps, and then added the Spanner Bar, which all accept ½-inch through 1-inch diameter tubes. My cymbals range in size from a mega 24-inch heavy ride and 18-inch heavy crash ride to a lighter 16-inch crash and 8-inch splash. Again, you do need to think a little bit beforehand about proper spacing and balance, and it doesn’t hurt to point one of the tri-pod legs toward your feet (though not required).

On my scale at home, the Quad Stand weighs in at a light 10 pounds and the Spanner Bar is 5 pounds. At its safest extension, the Quad Mount Stand is 38.2 inches high – not including the two 6-3/4 –inch-tall tom spurs or your clamped on cymbal arms’ heights. The Spanner Bar is 24 inches long, giving you plenty of width for cymbal arm mounts away from other drum gear.

Ultimately, what the Quad Mount and Spanner Bar provide is greater freedom with less hardware intrusion. I can still perfectly position my two mounted toms left of my 22-inch kick drum, and leave room to hang my large ride off one clamp to the right – almost like a traditional jazz set-up. In between, the length of the spanner bar and extended height of the Quad Mount base allows an assortment of vertical and horizontal arrangements for my remaining three cymbals. Knowing our supporters demand customized options, the Quad Mount’s 2 Ball L-Rod mount for toms and electronic pads can be specially ordered to fit four millimeter variations from Hex Style to 9.5mm.

Beyond investing in one of our complete rack systems, the Gibraltar 7700Q Quad Mount Stand and SC-SPAN Spanner Bar build virtual trees of cymbal and drum mounting options without all the floor clutter.

- Tim Kane is an independent drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. He writes a weekly blog for Gibraltar Hardware.