Wing nut optional?

IMO, wingnuts are confounded pieces of unnecessary metal that slows down the setting up/tearing down aspect of my gig for no real benefit.

I've never poked my eye, (is he serious?) I've never had a cymbal fall off from hitting it so hard, and I don't see the need for them since I play flat cymbals.

I use cymbal crowns, a soft rubber thing that screws down on the cymbal stand threads, acts as a felt without using a felt, protects the cymbal from the stand, and doesn't take up any lateral real estate whatsoever on my bell.. I use hi hat clutch felts on the cymbal crowns because gravity will make regular felts fall off. The hi hat felts hold tight, but you really don't need felts, the rubber is soft enough.
They cost like 5 bucks and last about a year, but it's the best thing I've found. Slick nuts are too big, I always hit them. The cymbal crowns will keep your cymbal from being blown off outdoors, or from smacking it too hard (Yikes!)

If your cymbals are way tilted, you need something. I don't like tilted cymbals. I like the edge available to me. I can get the sound I want much easier. I used to use automotive fuel line and cut it to length, much cheaper, but they don't prevent the cymbal from getting blown off outdoors.
 
I like Slicknuts.

I endorsed SlickNuts for years, and still love them on some stands, but they tend to not grip well on posts where they're free-spinning (un-threaded) at the top, designed so wing nuts don't spin completely off. I wasn't able to use them at all on my Gibraltar cymbal arms, and stuck with wing nuts until recently.

Bermuda
 
Do those screw onto the threads or is that part of the actual stand? Where can one get those?

They screw onto the threads, and are available in 8mm and 6mm. The 6mm don't work too easily on the older 1/4"-20 American stands, and I won't force them. But, I tapped those with a 1/4"-20 bit, and they didn't take much effort to make them work perfectly. I have them on my Ludwig 1400 stands that I use for local gigs & sessions.

Camber was the most recent manfacturer ofn the 'toppers', but I think they're discontinued. A number of shops are selling their remaining stock online and on ebay. I'm pretty sure Explorer's Percussion in Kansas City still has some.

Bermuda
 
i have found that using wing-nuts on cymbals 14" or bigger is not a problem but as the cymbal gets smaller the more it moves on the stand due to it being lighter. i have a 10" splash that i mounted without the wing-nut (because it was on a sonor stand and the thread is smaller and i had lost at the time my only one for it) but i hit it quite lightly and it just fell off. ohh how my fellow band members laughed.
 
They screw onto the threads, and are available in 8mm and 6mm. The 6mm don't work too easily on the older 1/4"-20 American stands, and I won't force them. But, I tapped those with a 1/4"-20 bit, and they didn't take much effort to make them work perfectly. I have them on my Ludwig 1400 stands that I use for local gigs & sessions.

Camber was the most recent manfacturer of the 'toppers', but I think they're discontinued. A number of shops are selling their remaining stock online and on ebay. I'm pretty sure Explorer's Percussion in Kansas City still has some.

Bermuda

Bermuda,

Are you sure that's the name? I googled it and came up empty.
 
I use the Tama plastic round nuts. WAY faster to get on/off if you develop the correct middlefinger/thumb continuous-roll technique

My method exactly! You can spin those off in no time.

I also put clear vinyl tubing on the screw shaft instead of the usual hard plastic tube. Not only does it seem better for the cymbal, cuz it's softer, but it also fits snugly on the shaft, and so it can't fall off and get lost in the dark somewhere when you're at a gig.
 
I don't use any wing nuts or felts on top of my cymbals. I feel that a plastic sleeve plus a felt underneath the cymbal is adequate protection because I am a light player. However, I have been in recording situations where I need to play heavier, and I'll use a top wingnut with a felt between it and the cymbal. I never clamp down tightly - it's just there to ensure that the cymbal does not come off the stand.

The only exception is splash cymbals. They come off the stands more easily and I always use a top wingnut and felt.

-sheldon
 
WOW, kind of surprising how many people do not use anything at all. In my recent years of learning drums this is an area I have neglected and now I am having problems with the wing nuts backing off and falling, especially on the splash.

I also think the sound of a crash cymbal with no wing nut or very very loose sounds hideous. Maybe it's my cymbals (A projections) or maybe my ear has not progressed in that area.

Is there a wing nut with some type of nylock or something in it? this would prevent it from vibrating off but I have not seen any in stores.

Any other adjustable cymbal toppers out there? I would like one where I can tighten down on the cymbal a little bit.
 
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I cant do cymbals on stands without some kind of wingnut or something on top of the stand.
It just looks unfinished or something!.

I just cant do it man!...Not me!...Cant do it!...Cant do it man!. ;)


I am the same way. It really bothers me when i see other people setting up like that too. my playing doesn't warrant it, but I use the full assortment of felts/sleeves/wingnuts.
 
I am the same way. It really bothers me when i see other people setting up like that too. my playing doesn't warrant it, but I use the full assortment of felts/sleeves/wingnuts.

Do they back off on you? just wondering if it's normal to have to tighten the nut a lil after a few songs
 
Do they back off on you? just wondering if it's normal to have to tighten the nut a lil after a few songs

Not at all. I play fairly softly, and my (one) stand isn't angled at all though.
 
i go topless! I don't like felts on top of the cymbals, and placing the wing nut on there is mostly pointless to me. When traveling, however, I usually try to remember to throw them on so that the cymbal sleeves don't fall off/get lost.

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