Must rant before I fix this situation

Bo Eder

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
You know, when the drum companies like DW came out with two-legged hi-hat stands, I thought that was a really dumb engineering idea. So I solved that by never getting into the two-legged stands (never needed it either since I only play a single pedal).

But I like the DW 5500 hi-hat stand and got a three-legged one. But here's another dumb thing they did: there's a full pedal plate on it as well! In order to break it down you have to use a drum key to loosen the plate (basically in four spots) so you can fold the pedal up to get it in a case. As solid and stable as this is, it now takes an additional minute to set it up and to break it down. The pictures I saw of it before I bought it showed it with the usual bendy-rods to hold the pedal in place on the frame. Apparently, that's not how they're makin' 'em anymore. Grrr.

Like I said, I love the weight and the stability, but it seems so over-engineered as to make me hate the whole design. The early 5500 hi-hat stands didn't use the plate, and their new 3500 doesn't use a plate, but that stand is much lighter. So I'm currently searching for someone with an old 5500 hi-hat stand to sell. Anybody? I'll make this work one way or another, but can someone tell those guys in the white lab coats at DW to stop over-engineering their stuff? This makes me want to go to Pearl or something. Sheesh!
 
Bo Eder said:
This makes me want to go to Pearl or something. Sheesh!
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Yeah...make the jump to Pearl mate (at least the top-o-the-range). Then you only have to contend with inter-changeable cams, footboard "docking stations", convertable spiked feet, weird and wonderful rod-pull systems.....and yes.....drum keys to set the footboard up!!

Over engineering in the extreme.
 
Thank God for the Iron Cobra Lever Glide!
The pedal board folds right up on itself.
It has two legs and I love mine.
 
Really, who OK'd that? You have to wonder why someone at DW didn't say, "Hey this thing is a PITA to break down. Nobody's gonna want that".

I can't believe that fact was not considered. I wouldn't buy it knowing this.
 
larryace said:
Really, who OK'd that? You have to wonder why someone at DW didn't say, "Hey this thing is a PITA to break down. Nobody's gonna want that".

I can't believe that fact was not considered. I wouldn't buy it knowing this.
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That's why it somewhat angers me. The picture showed one thing, and the stand arrived the way it did. I thought I'd try to work with it but now (way beyond being able to return it) it just pisses me off.

On a side note - there's a guy selling a Vintage '80s Tama Titan hi-hat stand and a Tama King Beat bass drum pedal (that I played as a kid). I'm heavily debating right now....
 
I like yamaha hardware. Sturdy as DW in my opinion and without the price. Easy to use as well.
 
Why cant you return it?. And arent DW the kings of the "quick release". ;)

Oh well, if you cant return it, I'm sure you could get rid of it for a decent price there on La La Land Craigslist.

I know you had a 3007 kit. Did you ever have the 400 series hat stand?. It has the bendy rods. Its sturdy, light, cheap and easy on the eyes.
 
Homeularis said:
Why cant you return it?. And arent DW the kings of the "quick release". ;)

Oh well, if you cant return it, I'm sure you could get rid of it for a decent price there on La La Land Craigslist.

I know you had a 3007 kit. Did you ever have the 400 series hat stand?. It has the bendy rods. Its sturdy, light, cheap and easy on the eyes.
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No, I was using the light Tama Stagemaster stuff and some Ludwig flat-based cymbal stands. Life was easier then....

Can't return it because I'm way outside the 30 day limit - I kept trying to work with it and even tried to train my brain that this is how it is now. All to no avail. Whose idea was it to use this stupid pedal plate on a hi-hat stand? Sheesh...
 
And this is why the most complicated piece of hardware I own is my DW5000 pedal (or my old Pearl P-100 Double Pedal). I believe that drum companies have been throwing on overly-complex engineering 'solutions' for too long at the expense of reliability, flexibility and ease of use. It drives me mad!
 
Bo Eder said:
Yeah, back in the early 90s I had a Yamaha 7-series hi-hat stand that I could not destroy. It was awesome. I just see Yamaha hardware all day at Disneyland so I don't need it at home ;)
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I understand your feelings on that Bo, but there's no getting away from the fact that the Yamaha stuff is better designed & much better quality than the DW stuff. I own hardware from both companies, & Yamaha is miles ahead. Never had a reliability issue with Yamaha, never. Had a few with DW though, especially casting fractures.
 
keep it simple said:
I understand your feelings on that Bo, but there's no getting away from the fact that the Yamaha stuff is better designed & much better quality than the DW stuff. I own hardware from both companies, & Yamaha is miles ahead. Never had a reliability issue with Yamaha, never. Had a few with DW though, especially casting fractures.
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Yeah, I agree with you. But to be honest, I've never had a reliability issue with the DW stuff, either. They just do these aggravating engineering things. I love their pedals, but I do not understand the 2-legged hi-hat or why you'd need a plate underneath the hi hat pedal! Thankfully, you can still get a DW bass drum pedal without a plate (the 6000's), but I like the solidity of a plate under the bass pedal. So I'm keeping my DW5000 - right out of the box it's great. The hi-hat issue is solved by going slightly lighter with their 3500 hi hat stand - it's double-braced with slightly smaller tubing, but there's no plate under the pedal - it's a regular radius rod. I found a guy going out of business on the 'bay and he had one brand new in the box for $90 with free shipping. Problem solved!

I just wanted to vent about this apparent over-engineering DW tends to do. So I have a DW three-legged 5500 hi-hat stand for sale if anyone needs one! Practically brand new with the box! It'll go up on the 'bay if nobody here wants it!
 
You shouldn't have any problems with the 3500 3 leg version at all.

I have 3 of the 3500TL TWO leg hat stands (one is actually the previous 5000 designation) and they are plenty sturdy. They can take some heavy playing easily.

Yamaha stuff is great, and I never had an issue with the stands I had back in the 80's-90's.

No memory locks though. I find that weird these days.

I don't break anything down but folding the legs, so I want ML's, and the cymbal space adjustment is fantastic on DW stands.
I just fold the legs on my hat stand also, so the plate on mine is fine for just putting in the case.
I do like the side wires on the old 5000 that is on my son's kit.....I just hate the internal spring on that model...it's always something!
 
Bo Eder said:
I love their pedals, but I do not understand the 2-legged hi-hat or why you'd need a plate underneath the hi hat pedal!
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To be fair, the plate (and velcro strips) make the pedal rock solid on carpet floors. No annoying slip that you sometimes get with other pedals.

That said I've had 5000 series hardware for 12 years now and I feel your pain. The bigger issue I had was trying to fit the DW HH stand in my 'Hardcase' hardware box. It's marginally too long when in one piece. This means I have to separate the upper part from the lower just to fit it in the box. Combine this with the drumkey base and I may have lost a couple of days of my life in total setting it up and taking it down!

Never had an issue with the 2 legged stand though. Many a times has it helped in tight situations.
 
Stitch Kaboodle said:
To be fair, the plate (and velcro strips) make the pedal rock solid on carpet floors. No annoying slip that you sometimes get with other pedals.

That said I've had 5000 series hardware for 12 years now and I feel your pain. The bigger issue I had was trying to fit the DW HH stand in my 'Hardcase' hardware box. It's marginally too long when in one piece. This means I have to separate the upper part from the lower just to fit it in the box. Combine this with the drumkey base and I may have lost a couple of days of my life in total setting it up and taking it down!

Never had an issue with the 2 legged stand though. Many a times has it helped in tight situations.
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Yep. That's me. I have some old school trap cases, and I break my stuff all the way down when packing. Having to deal with the foot plate on the hi-hat stand just added time to an already lengthy set-up or strike. I'm not into having to use tools to break down or set-up stands (the drum key they supply with the hi hat has to live in the case).

I know lots of people who have the two-legged hi-hats and they love 'em and some are solid. But for me it's a geometry thing. The strongest structure is the triangle, and the tripod stance of a drum stand is very strong. But when you take one side of the triangle away and replace it with a pedal on a plate, you've compromised the triangle. When I attempted the DW5500 two-legged hi-hat years ago, I could never set the stand up completely flat, I had to lean it towards me just a bit to make it rock solid, which I didn't like because I like my hats flat. And there are more times for me when I'm not playing on a rug - what's with all the velcro? I like how DW just assumes you'll be playing on carpeting. There was a time when they put rubber on the bottom of the pedal plates too. Nowadays I peel the velcro off and glue on my own rubber.

I swear, it's like DW is telling you how and where you're gonna be playing. I remember when DW was this little company in El Monte, CA, actually dedicated to solving individual drummer's problems. Now they're telling me I won't have problems if I play like this ;)
 
Bo Eder said:
I swear, it's like DW is telling you how and where you're gonna be playing. I remember when DW was this little company in El Monte, CA, actually dedicated to solving individual drummer's problems. Now they're telling me I won't have problems if I play like this ;)
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Man: Doctor, it hurts when I do *this* (Cracks neck to the left, hops on one leg and falls over)

Doctor: Don't do it then.
 
mediocrefunkybeat said:
Man: Doctor, it hurts when I do *this* (Cracks neck to the left, hops on one leg and falls over)

Doctor: Don't do it then.
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Shhh-ding sir! You're right. My rant has become a whine. I'll stop now. And though it all, I still like the DW hardware. Unfortunately, it's not the top of the line stuff that's sleek and sexy. It's the 3000 and 6000 stuff. Damn ;)
 
mediocrefunkybeat said:
And this is why the most complicated piece of hardware I own is my DW5000 pedal (or my old Pearl P-100 Double Pedal). I believe that drum companies have been throwing on overly-complex engineering 'solutions' for too long at the expense of reliability, flexibility and ease of use. It drives me mad!
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I completely agree. If it can easily be transported and holds up during a gig it's fine by me.
 
Is this really all over an extra minute in set up and break down.?
 
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