Hardware socks?

jim_gregory

Senior Member
I recently got some new cymbal stands and other hardware. I like keeping things clean and unscratched so I made some socks for my hardware. I fit everything into the socks individually so that there is no metal on metal. Then I jam it all in my hardware case and off to the gig I go. I have not seen anything like this on the market and I'm wondering if I should do it. I have everything in place to do it. Our seamstresses in Cebu could knock these things out in a heartbeat. What do you think? My feeling is that being that they don't exist maybe they shouldn't exist. I may be overly anal about my equipment..dunno.But I do know I hate scratches, dents and rust.
In that rolling bag I have 2 BC900 stands both with add on holders for 4 pies total, throne with seat, snare stand, Iron cobra hat stand, Floor tom legs, Pearl tom arms and tool/spares kit. Thats everything I take to gigs. My IC pedal travels in it's own case but I used to jam my pearl pedal in there too. That bag is full and heavy! I USED to bring my DW air ride throne but that just put the weight over the top. I keep that monster home now. Plus the gigantic seat needs it's own snare bag.

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It looks pretty but the socks are extra work. Where did you get them?

I keep my cymbals in a bag where they touch each other and have never experienced scratches. Dressing up hardware is a bit excessive to me. However, to look pretty, one must suffer :)

Definately extra work, about 1 minute per piece on the outside.
Yes excessive agreed, but I did it for me. Actually for me it's not excessive but that's another topic.
I made them myself. It's sunbrella acrylic cloth made mostly for the marine industry. I'm a sailmaker so I whipped them up one saturday morning.
 
I'd say go for dude. I'm sure some people will want these, especially those with valuable, expensive or cherished gear. As long as they're not overly expensive that is. Set up an ebay shop, try and get some local music shops to stock them, a little bit of advertising and bobs your uncle.
 
I have thought about this a lot and it's a good idea. I do it somewhat by putting pedals, cowbells, etc. in pillow cases before tossing them into the trap case. I like to keep my hardware looking nice and I think it's good you had someone make these prototypes. I would suggest velcro tab closures instead of drawstrings, as strings will snag on the bags' contents and on any other hardware going in and out.

I would like some of these also for my PA stands as they are painted and get scratched easily going in and out of the bag.

It's better to be anal retentive than anal expulsive, I always say!
 
Great idea! I'm looking for a new gear bag and was hoping to find one with built in individual "socks". Kind of like a golf bag with the dividers in it.
Another vote for velcro.
 
My gut feeling, based on 8 years of working in drum shops, and seeing many inventions come and go over the years:

I'd say there IS a market for such things. They would sell.

But I'd also say the market is probably small, and you won't sell a ton.

Many drummers are like you, and want the ultimate protection for their gear.

But keep in mind a big segment of the drum buying market doesn't play out very often, if at all. I'd say 1/2 of all the drums and cymbals I've sold never/rarely leave the house.

Some guys will say, wow I just spent 5 grand on my nice kit, I need these socks to protect my investment.

Some guys will say, wow, I just spent 5 grant, I'm not spending a penny more!

So go for it, they will sell, just don't expect to get rich over it.
But extra income is never bad thing. :)
 
Cool stuff.Not for everybody.BUT theres a market for it im sure..Try Ebay and see what kind of intrest you get.Maybe Take some to a GC and see if they will try selling some.Great product,just not a big market,and dont quit your daytime job.....
 
I have thought about this a lot and it's a good idea. I do it somewhat by putting pedals, cowbells, etc. in pillow cases before tossing them into the trap case. I like to keep my hardware looking nice and I think it's good you had someone make these prototypes. I would suggest velcro tab closures instead of drawstrings, as strings will snag on the bags' contents and on any other hardware going in and out.

I would like some of these also for my PA stands as they are painted and get scratched easily going in and out of the bag.

It's better to be anal retentive than anal expulsive, I always say!

Velcro was my first choice and I made one with velcro but hated it. It wasnt a one size fits all. The tubes and strings are dead simple and one size does fit all but I think I would do shorty's for throne and snare. I was using pillow cases and blankets etc. and thought I could do better..
I have used these bags now for about 6 or 7 gigs and havent had any issues. Couple of hundred more should be telling. By then I'll be dead though!

And I didnt have them made I made them myself. They werent prototypes they were just bags. They are becoming prototypes as we speak!
Hey I have cordura speaker stand bags made by gator or kaces or someone. Nice two compartment zipper bags too. Was cheap and I toss in some mike stands as well. I dont get so worked up over the mike stands.

I will look into pricing. See what it would cost me for say 50 of the things. Problem is the nice sunbrella fabric is expensive. I would do them in black I think. I'll look into pricing this week.
 
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Interesting concept Jim. Like others have stated, I think there'd be a market for them. Why not advertise, see what interest you get out of it, take a few orders, do a test run and go from there.

Personally, I'm too much of a lazy bugger to bother with it. I just chuck my hardware into the traps case and off I go.....

But, there's no doubt that there are people out there that this sort of product would appeal to. No harm in trying, but take your orders first and then proceed rather than over capitalise first up.
 
Looks like a great idea to me also.
Is it tedious to slide the socks onto the stands at the end of the night? Or do they go on kind of easy?
 
Looks like a great idea to me also.
Is it tedious to slide the socks onto the stands at the end of the night? Or do they go on kind of easy?

Hey Bob!
Everything is tedious at the end of the night isnt it?
Actually this fabric is kind of stiff and they will actually stand up like stovepipes on their own. So I fold down the extension arms for the second cymbal, flip the pointy threaded ends in (the thing the cymbal actually sits on) and slip the bag over it. Then I grab the bag and stand together, flip it over, stand it on it's head, fold the legs in and tie it like a sneaker. It takes a bit less time then it took for you to read that.
 
Let me know when you get the pricing.
I like the idea of short ones for snare stands.
A single pedal bag would also be nice.
I would say that my bass pedal does a lot of damage in my bag.
The hat stand pedal also is a nemesis!
What is the length of the single cymbal stand model that you would make? 36"?
 
Hey Jim,

Looks like some heavy-duty good quality stuff.
Looks almost like rip-stop Daycron that hang gliders are stitched out of.

Feel free to send me a price/size list if you want me to advertise them on my custom drum/percussion website--it'll cost you exactly one beer a month to do so! (That's one 12-pack a year! heh heh)
http://concretepetescustompercussion.7p.com/

Good fortune (I don't believe in "luck") with your new endeavor, and I bet they will sell.

Cheers,
C. P.
 
it's a nice idea. it's not something i would personally buy (cases are enough for me), but i'm sure some people will! good luck.
 
Hey Jim,

Looks like some heavy-duty good quality stuff.
Looks almost like rip-stop Daycron that hang gliders are stitched out of.

Feel free to send me a price/size list if you want me to advertise them on my custom drum/percussion website--it'll cost you exactly one beer a month to do so! (That's one 12-pack a year! heh heh)
http://concretepetescustompercussion.7p.com/

Good fortune (I don't believe in "luck") with your new endeavor, and I bet they will sell.

Cheers,
C. P.
I could use hand glider cloth which is actually rip stop nylon and it would be half the price of this stuff I used. Sunbrella (what I used) is used for main sail covers and boat tops, dodgers bimini's etc. It might be to expensive for this project but the ripstop may be too thin. I must look into this.
 
Velcro was my first choice and I made one with velcro but hated it. It wasnt a one size fits all. The tubes and strings are dead simple and one size does fit all but I think I would do shorty's for throne and snare. I was using pillow cases and blankets etc. and thought I could do better..
I have used these bags now for about 6 or 7 gigs and havent had any issues. Couple of hundred more should be telling. By then I'll be dead though!

And I didnt have them made I made them myself. They werent prototypes they were just bags. They are becoming prototypes as we speak!
Hey I have cordura speaker stand bags made by gator or kaces or someone. Nice two compartment zipper bags too. Was cheap and I toss in some mike stands as well. I dont get so worked up over the mike stands.

I will look into pricing. See what it would cost me for say 50 of the things. Problem is the nice sunbrella fabric is expensive. I would do them in black I think. I'll look into pricing this week.

One way of getting a velcro closure system to fit all sizes would be to have a strip of fuzzy velcro running down the length of the bag. You'd have a tab of scratchy velcro on the top flap. You would just fold the top flap over and attach it to the fuzzy velcro at whatever point you needed. As an added bonus, any excess bag material would be folded over and contained, not flopping around, and there would be no cord to catch on anything.

I keep my PA cables and cords in one one of those nylon bags that collapsible lawn chairs go in. The drawstring is constantly snagging on the contents going in and out.

I would also recommend you measure as many popular sizes of stands as possible and categorize the bags, so you could say "This bag is best for Tama, Yamaha, DW, Ludwig and other tom and cymbal stands between 26 and 36 inches," etc. This might be a little difficult because everyone adjusts the height of stands differently. It seems like light, medium and heavy duty stands all have different diameters too. Ideally, I think you'd want no more than a half-dozen bag sizes to simplify production but some research into popular stand sizes could clarify that. These bags seem like they'd be fairly simple to manufacture.

I think you could expand your product line to mic stands. They are more fragile and more people have them, although the cast iron base stands would be difficult to accommodate.

One problem I would see with hihat stands is that after the pedals are folded up they tend to flop around on some types. That would make it harder to get them in and out maybe. Maybe make the hihat bags slightly conical for a good fit.

I also suggest a simple web strap handle somewhere on each bag, but not too loose or else it might snag.

It is cool you have the sewing skills to make prototypes yourself. I like doing hardware mods and repairs and I have decent metalworking skills but I wish I could sew stuff too.
 
You guys are 'over engineering'. Pillow cases (cotton) 'are' the way to go, you can get them from dry cleaning/laundry places cheap.

It does take longer to put stands in a pillow case, but a tie/strap on top is not needed (more hassle, waste of time). Just insert stand and twist. There's no need to secure the top, the stand isn't going anywhere inside a hardware bag, at least it doesn't for me.

The only downside I've found is at hi-end gigs your dealing with light coloured 'rags' onstage and sometimes not all pattern/colour coordinated... which anywhere else can make it easier, like- you know its your stool bottom, not your heavy boom in the plaid pillow case.

Another thing is you don't need every stand in a case, just the right amount.

Pillow cases double as quick wipe down rags for stands and they're washable.
 
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