NEWBIE - Hi-Hat Stands

[Rendy]

Hello members, need some help here. Firstly, I honestly dun know of any significant difference in hi-hat stands except for the obvious like durability and such.

Currently I am using some Carlos brand and recently tried the Pearl H-820W and DW5000 (Could be the 5500D) at TIET Studio. The DW has this nice 'floating' effect which I can't describe very well here. When I lift my feet, it floats open, whereas the Pearl and Carlos, it stops at the preset height which produces a sound that am trying to eliminate.

Hmmm.... any idea what this feature is called or is it just some configuration of the hi-hat stand. Or am I not explaining properly.

Aprpeciate any help.

 

[drumsolo86]

Previously, I thought like you there was not much of a difference in the hi-hat stands and never thought of getting an especially good one. However, I recently managed to acquire this DW9500 hi-hat stand and there is a difference in that and the Pearl hi-hat stands I was using.

There's this 'floating' effect that allows nicer sloshing, half opened hi-hat sounds. This was considerably harder to achieve on my previous hi-hat stand, and could be only achieved by applying this precise amount of pressure. Anything more or less would result in the hi-hat closed or too harsh. Whereas on the DW stand, it is far more easily achieved with less effort!

 

[Rendy]

Ahhh, yes, you're right bout the half-opened hi-hat - currently I have to apply less pressure to get that sound, whereas, with the DW, less effort needed. This isn't really the concern though, just that the non-floating ones have that sound when I completely lift my feet...arghh.

So I guess the floating effecr is not a configuration of the stand but just the brand and model itself then?

 

[churnz]

hi Rendy,
most, if not all hi-hat stands will produce that "sound" when u lift your feet completely.Due to the sudden lift,the velocity at whereby the hi-hat retracts upwards is increased and hence causes the impact of collision of the mechanisms to be higher.The reason why u may not experience this in the DW hi-hat stand would most probably be the pedals,which make the biggest difference.

Hence,i would only suggest controlling your foot when clutching and un-clutching the hi-hat pedal, unless you are willing to pay the huge difference for a DW hi-hat stand.

cheers

 

[Composer of Requiems]

You might want to look at the clutch itself also. Sometimes the feeling isn't from the pedal part, but the clutch part. And also sometimes, the felt support can affect the sound also, you can get smaller ones or rubber ones, etc.... maybe, the DW one, you might want to try taking it apart (or at least the clutch part, and change height, etc.etc.) and see if you can still have the same effect.

 

[gambatak]

Hi, i cant help feeling this might be a case of "sticky rod". This is VERY common is low end hardware found in alot of jamming studios.

How to find out? Remove the hats from the hi hat stand. Step on the pedal repeatedly. The hihat rod should move smoothly up and down. If it is not smooth, or has delayed response, then it might be time to remove the rod and do some greasing inside. Or maybe there could be some dirt build up. Also make sure that the clutch nuts holding the top hihat is screwed tight.

I am using a Tama HH75W. From this model upwards, there is a plastic groove thingy at the bottom where u can tune the tension of the pedal i.e the response speed and strength required to depress the pedal.

This model is rather affordable and durable. If im not wrong, paid $120 + - at the swee lee sale awhile back.

 

[churnz]

Hi, i cant help feeling this might be a case of "sticky rod". This is VERY common is low end hardware found in alot of jamming studios.

How to find out? Remove the hats from the hi hat stand. Step on the pedal repeatedly. The hihat rod should move smoothly up and down. If it is not smooth, or has delayed response, then it might be time to remove the rod and do some greasing inside. Or maybe there could be some dirt build up. Also make sure that the clutch nuts holding the top hihat is screwed tight.

Agreed."sticky rods" are very common especially with no regular maintenance and in a humid place like Singapore.

Rendy: But nonetheless as I've mentioned, a little bit of control on the foot does the job should be facing none of the above mentioned problems.
E.g. when you release your your foot to open the high hat,you do not need to remove your whole foot from the pedal,keeping it in contact with pedal when fully releasing it would reduce your problem.It strengthens your hi-hat foot too.

 

[Rendy]

Thanks for the response guys.

Churnz, yes, you're right. Guessed I've learned to control my feet the hard way. I have been sub-consiously keeping my feet somewhat intact but you know, there are moments, well, frequent actually, where you wanna get the most sound out of your hi-hat, hence, I would wanna lift my feet up and tap it down - Tend to do this frequently when my right is hitting the ride or crash and wanna use the hi-hat to keep a constant sound - gosh, I can't explain for nuts.. but yeah.

Oh, especially during moments like bridge, when your band mates are quiet... dang, I will have to do my sub-consious thing or else.... chip, tak, chip, tak, chip, tak... urghh..

Oh, I do not have sticky rods... it's just like what churnz mentioned, it's due to high velocity produced when leg is lifted.... but honestly, seems like the DW I tried before is one of the rather expensive ways to overcome... free-floating.

 

[underaged]

I would wanna lift my feet up and tap it down - Tend to do this frequently when my right is hitting the ride or crash and wanna use the hi-hat to keep a constant sound - gosh, I can't explain for nuts.. but yeah.

Oh, especially during moments like bridge, when your band mates are quiet... dang, I will have to do my sub-consious thing or else.... tak, chik, tak, chip, chip, tak... urghh..

hmm, looks like i'm not the only one....

 

[Rendy]

hmm, looks like i'm not the only one....

Hah, definitely man, it's a common thing, plus I like to hit my hi-hat during ride in between notes... influenced by Alter Bridge's Scott Phillips.

 

[underaged]

well, if you can deliver it properly it certainly will not be a prob or irritation to your band members i think.

 

[Rendy]

actually, its never a problem to my band mates.... its me la. Also, it's just during quiet moments that I can hear it more obvious.