Gibraltar 8600 hardware

T

Tiff

Junior Member
Hi,

I’ve got a Gretsch Renown ’57 and looking for a hardware pack to go with it. I’m thinking of getting the Gibraltar 8600 pack as it is light weight(ish) and seems to fit with the vintage vibe. However, I’ve not had any experience with this hardware and it’s a bit difficult for me to try the stands out. Does anyone here use this series and if so, I'd be grateful for your views? I also can't make up my mind if the hardware looks cool and will fit in with the Gretsch or whether it looks a bit odd compared to the usual tripods.

Thanks,

Chris.
 
The cymbal stands are very good quality, and sturdy. The Brake Tilter is great.

The snare stand is sturdy, but (IMO) the snare stands basket tightener is a little tough to deal with.
It's a smaller basket tightener "thing", so I found it a little hard on the fingers.
It's on my son's kit, and it's been a good quality stand (for 5 years now) other than that, so if it's a set it & forget it situation, no problem.

The flat base hi-hat stand I haven't used, so I don't know if it's sturdy or not.
 
Thanks Karl,

It's good to know that the cymbal stands are good quality. I could probably live with the snare basket although it doesn't sound ideal. I might ask my local store to get a hihat and snare stand in so I can have a 'play', but I'm not too optimistic.

Chris.
 
Gibraltars snare basket is gearless, and the tigthener is OK, it's just not fast, or super smooth moving to get it snug on the drum.

If you want a flat base hi-hat stand, and aren't married to having "all" one brand of hardware, Ludwig's Atlas Classic FB hat stand is superior.
VERY stable without being heavy.
I don't get any sway or wobble from mine, and I use 15" hats in loud/heavy rock bands.

The price might be higher than Gibraltar (don't know), but for what you'd get out of it from my experience (no movement, light weight, quick & easy set up) it'd be worth a few extra bucks IMO.
If you can play around with a Gibraltar and not have to say yes to buying it, that's cool, and it may be stable enough for you.

The A.C. straight and boom stands are really great too. Very stable with secure height grip and an excellent tilter.

Gibraltar are quality stands too, and I still love the brake tilter. You'd have no trouble with them if you decided on them.

While I'm at it, Ludwig's Atlas Classic snare stand is also gearless, and has a very secure basket, but very minimal contact of the hoops. I get no choking of the drum at all even when it's tight. I use one for my tom as well, and it's as resonant as it would be on a RIMS mount.

Not be give a sales pitch for Ludwig, but the amount of actually secure and stable FB stands in a whole line is small.
I used DW for a long time, and as nice as they are, Ludwig's are better.
The snare baskets are superior (and gearless), and the hat stand is waaaaaay more stable, and it's smoother felling.

The only thing I liked more on the DW cymbal stand is the cymbal space adjustment.
But, to get the felts/cymbal feeling the way I wanted on the Ludwig I just put a small washer on the top felt, and "problem" solved.

Good luck!!
 
Gibraltar, Dixon, Cannon, Worldmax and some of Ludwig hardware is supplied by the same manufacturer. Gibraltar seems to have the bigger selection and Dixon seems to have the better prices. If you do some searching you can usually find the same product and save a few $$.
 
I'm in the UK and I think the hardware choices are limited as far as Ludwig, Dixon etc go. The Atlas FB looks great but unfortunately I don't think it's available over here yet. The reason I was going to go for one series is because it can be bought cheaper as a package deal but I might consider 'mixing and matching', i.e. Gibraltar 8600 for cymbal stands and perhaps 5600 for hi hats and snare. Thanks for all your help and suggestions, it's appreciated.
Chris.
 
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