Gibraltar Hardware

TheIronCobr4

Senior Member
So currently I have both a gibralter cymbal stand and a throne. The throne totally sucks and the cymbal stand is decent....yet I hear Gibraltar being praised all the time. Am I just having a bad streak with this brand or are they really as bad as I've come to know. I really hope they aren't that bad because they are one of the most convient and inexpensive hardware distributors. Any information about Gibraltar/alternate hardware choices would be greatly appreciated.
 
As with most manufacturers, Gibraltar hardware comes in different series, with some being more heavy duty than others. That said, I have some of their low end stands, and it is better than a lot of the cheap stuff out there. Their more expensive, high end stuff is top notch. What series/model is your hardware?
 
As with most manufacturers, Gibraltar hardware comes in different series, with some being more heavy duty than others. That said, I have some of their low end stands, and it is better than a lot of the cheap stuff out there. Their more expensive, high end stuff is top notch. What series/model is your hardware?

yeah i was going to say the same thing. They do make some great stuff.
 
I'm pretty much "done" buying Gibraltar stuff. All my cymbal stands, I've pretty much switched to Yamaha 600/700 single braced stuff. Same with my snare stands. If I ever buy another rack, it'll be a Yamaha or a Pearl. My Gibraltar pedals, broken and retired, legless hi-hat - sold, replaced with a used Tama legless. I'd buy the flat based Gibraltar cymbal stands over the flat based DW stands because I like the way they look (better), not because they are (better).
 
Racks, clamps= Superb. I am ordering a v-rack with "all the fixin's"

Pedals: excellent , but with the exception that the hoop clamp sticks up too high, and can interfere with footboard travel. I have a direct-drive in my spares room that works as well as other major pedals under $400, except for that silly high clamp.

Thrones: agreed with the above

Tom arms: superb.

Cymbal arms and other accessories: varies from mediocre to excellent.
 
I use their Brake tilter mini boom arms on my Pearl rack. VERY awesome and durable.

I also have a couple of double-braced straight cymbal stands which are great. I can't vouch for their hi-hat, pedals, or thrones though.
 
i use all gibraltar hardware and it is awesome. The 9600 series brake tilter cymbal booms are the best out there, super heavy duty. I also use a gibraltar rack and when buying arms or accesories you can buy just the upper section of the stand or just the part you need. you can see th 9600 boom brake tilter in the following pic
 

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A company that specializes in just hardware is obviously going to make a good product. It just depends on what series you want to buy from. Just because people worship Zildjian K Customs, doesn't mean you're going to get the same quality from Zildjian ZBT's.
 
I have a Gibraltar bass drum mount for my LP Black Beauty cowbell, haven't had any problems with it. But then again, my definition of good hardware is only that it does its job, doesn't break, doesn't come loose, doesn't fall over, and doesn't damage my drums/cymbals. Other than that, I don't really care. I just buy whatever I can afford that meets those guidelines. Which would explain why my hardware is a bunch of mismatched brands. Besides the Gibraltar cowbell mount, I have Ludwig, Pearl, and PDP hardware on my kit.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I guess I'll just go with some uber end Gibraltar stuff next time to give them another shot is all. I do have a question though. Does Gibraltar make something, not involing a rack, to mount a tom off of a cymbal stand? I would need it to be pretty sturdy and just have one mounting arm.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. I guess I'll just go with some uber end Gibraltar stuff next time to give them another shot is all. I do have a question though. Does Gibraltar make something, not involing a rack, to mount a tom off of a cymbal stand? I would need it to be pretty sturdy and just have one mounting arm.

Here is the retail price/parts list:
http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/pdf/pricelist_gibraltar.pdf

I have since added a direct-drive 9700 series/ 2 legged HH stand with drop clutch to my Gibraltar setup.
 
I've had a Gibraltar rack, which is super nice. I have about a million of their cymbal clamp arms so that I can hang more than one cymbal on a stand. They take all sorts of abuse and keep doing great. I now also have a single tom mount, which is ok. It came used on my new kit, and it's been played HARD. It holds the tom in one position extremely well, but won't hold higher than that- slips back down into the old position. I think the ball has been damaged by over-tightening.

The new kit also came with a broken Gibraltar throne, which I still use- very comfy (somehow this guy broke the metal locking clamp that locks in the height setting). One of these days, I'll pick up another tripod for it. Again, though, this guy rode his gear HARD. I'm glad he only had these particular shells for a year, or they'd be trashed, too.

I've been very impressed by their midrange kick pedals - great feel for a low price. Same thing goes for hi hat stands. Do they stand up to DW5000 or 9000 series? No, but for things that I don't *play*, like snare and cymbal stands, they're high enough quality that I don't have to worry.
 
I ordered a Gibraltar 8600 flat base cymbal stand on line without seeing it first.The up side is that it fits nice and close to the bass drum like an old school stand. And it is much sturdier than my vintage stands.The giant downside is that the nut that the cymbal sits on is too think for my 60's Zildjian cymbals. I took off the plastic sleeve that it came with and tried to use the one from my old stands. The nut is too thick for the sleeve. What were they thinking ? .There is no easier way to destroy a cymbal than to have it so tight on a stand that it can't breathe.
 
I use two 9600 series boom stands. There's no better deal for the price. I plan to buy another in the near future. I'm also going to upgrade to all brake tilter boom arms. Gibraltar is one of those companies that I stand by, because they have never done me wrong. I recently upgraded from my Gibraltar throne. It was a decent throne for the money, but nothing compares to a Roc-N-Soc.

One of my favorite Gibraltar products is the quick release hi-hat clutch. It's incredible. It has never failed me, and now I can break down and pack up my hats in 20 seconds.

The one product that I don't like of theirs is the quick release system for other cymbals. It just doesn't work that well. I use Tama cymbal mates, and they're incredible.
 
Sorry to necro this old thread, but I didn't think it prudent to start a new one.

I picked up the Gibraltar 9600 series hardware 'pack' from GC for $450. Overall the hardware is nice, and it seems to be worth the money. My complaints are:

1: It comes with two booms and one straight. The two booms convert to straight just like every other boom has done for the last two decades. I'm not sure why straight-only stands are still manufactured, or even exist.

2: In case the casted logo doesn't tell you that Gibraltar made the equipment, you'll be able to tell by the name casted into each and every wing nut. If you missed that, there are two adhesive Gibraltar medallions on each stand, and one wrap-around Gibraltar sticker. Each stand also had two paper logos tied to it. All stickers are attached with an adhesive that does not dilute with goo-gone or any other terrestrial solvent. Again, in case you somehow missed it, these stands are made by Gibraltar. GibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltar.

3: The hi-hat stand is nice. It has a nice feel to it. It comes with the stock feature-free clutch in order to entice you to purchase one of Gibraltar's feature-full clutches. The direct drive joint 'looks' like I'm going to break it. Time will tell. I hope I'm wrong.
 
I've had success with Gibraltar stuff, well, the racks at least. The only issue I'm having now is with the Gibraltar Stealth. Not sure if you've ever seen this, it's pretty cool, low to the ground and out of the way. I like the way my drumset looks with it. the problem is with the left side. My friggin' ride cymbal takes up all the real estate. There's no room for anything else...

Good luck with your 9600 stuff, I think you'll enjoy it. Gibraltar is solid..
 
2: In case the casted logo doesn't tell you that Gibraltar made the equipment, you'll be able to tell by the name casted into each and every wing nut. If you missed that, there are two adhesive Gibraltar medallions on each stand, and one wrap-around Gibraltar sticker. Each stand also had two paper logos tied to it. All stickers are attached with an adhesive that does not dilute with goo-gone or any other terrestrial solvent. Again, in case you somehow missed it, these stands are made by Gibraltar. GibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltar.

Wow, the headaches this reminds me of. I'm sorry Gibraltar, but I am not your advertising vehicle. The cast-in stuff on the clamps I can live with but the stickers just make everything look cheesy. At some points I find myself avoiding their gear simply so I don't have to deal with the whole sticker issue.
 
2: In case the casted logo doesn't tell you that Gibraltar made the equipment, you'll be able to tell by the name casted into each and every wing nut. If you missed that, there are two adhesive Gibraltar medallions on each stand, and one wrap-around Gibraltar sticker. Each stand also had two paper logos tied to it. All stickers are attached with an adhesive that does not dilute with goo-gone or any other terrestrial solvent. Again, in case you somehow missed it, these stands are made by Gibraltar. GibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltarGibraltar.

Man, that was funny! I hate trying to get all that adhesive off.
 
Wow, the headaches this reminds me of. I'm sorry Gibraltar, but I am not your advertising vehicle. The cast-in stuff on the clamps I can live with but the stickers just make everything look cheesy. At some points I find myself avoiding their gear simply so I don't have to deal with the whole sticker issue.

I am the proud new owner of a 9707 legless hi-hat stand and so far, it's really amazing. I got the QR Drop Clutch with it too (already had a non-drop version) and it's pretty good though I would prefer it have the same tightening system as most of their new clutches instead of the cheap one it has (where the outer wingnut just screws directly onto the pull rod).

Luckily, my bass drum hoop clamp goes exactly over the Gibraltar sticker so I don't have to deal with that :) I understand how they want to advertise their brand, since there's not a lot of places to advertise that aren't on cymbals, drums, heads, or sticks, but wow is the way they do it annoying at times.
 
I actually like the stickers but I can understand how some people could find them annoying. My rack sure says Gibraltar on it a lot except for one arm that's a Yamaha.
 
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