Single braced VS. Double braced cymbal stands

Swexx

Senior Member
Hi!

I'm longing for some Tama hardware, and I've noticed that when buying their cymbal stands, you can choose either double braced legs or single braced legs. The double braced cost a little more.

I'm just throwing the topic out here; is it worth to pay 10 extra bucks for double braced legs when buying a boom stand for 80 bucks? Are the single braced legs really that unstable?

Looking forward to your tips and opinions.
 
Its not that the single are unstable its just that the double are stronger and more durable but are heavier too. I use Dixon double braced stands and have been gigging with them for about 15 years now with no problems or repairs and I have an 8 piece kit with 5 of the drums and 8 cymbals plus jam block, cow bell and a tamborine attached to 4 stands so they needed to be strong to support all that weight as well as the wear and tear of setting up and tearing down that comes with using only one kit for gigging, practice and rehearsals. If your kit is gonna see a fair amount of use and abuse then the extra $10 is probably money well spent.
 
I have used single-braced stands exclusively for the past 15 years and had no issues with them, no matter how much stuff I piled on. At one point I was suspending 14" and 16" toms, a 20" heavy ride, an 14" and 20" china, and an 18" crash from one Yamaha single-braced stand. It swayed just a bit but was otherwise sturdy and solid. I can imagine that in exchange for the extra weight, the sway would go away. You might also benefit from added peace of mind, knowing that the stand was engineered to hold a Sherman tank.

If you gig a lot, weigh the benefits in your mind - slightly added gear stability versus added weight.

One of the stands I use is a Yamaha double tom mount in a Tama single-braced stand base, and for what it's worth, it's more than adequate.
 
I have been using single brace stands for the last few years. They are holding up and reduce the gear weight to move. Easy to over and helps get and out in of the gig. Denis
 
Look at your cymbal array, then buy. If you've got cymbals 5 feet off the floor at weird angles, yeah, a double braced stand might be required. If you run your cymbals low, with very little angle to the booms, or just straight, you can probably go with just single.​
 
What Harry said. Other than extremes? Single braced FTW IMO.

I always thought the double bracing was redundant. To me it doesn't look like it does anything. It's the diameter of the stance of the legs that gives you your real support.
 
I'm going to carry it around a lot and gig with it in a medium loud indie rock/progressive rock setting. I'm a medium hard hitter.

Are the double braced really that much heavier? If there really is that much of a difference in weight, single braced is probably the best choice for me.
 
At one point I was suspending 14" and 16" toms, a 20" heavy ride, an 14" and 20" china, and an 18" crash from one Yamaha single-braced stand.

Lol.. That's quite insane.

I would like to see that.
 
You guys know me, I think there might be a time and a place for using single-braced or double-braced. And that includes the over-engineered DW stuff too. But it really depends on what you're doing. As some have said, if you're going to hang all kinds of stuff off of your stands, big double-braced would be the way to go just because it is more stable with that amount of weight on it. But, if like me, you only use straight stands just to hold up a cymbal, you can get away with flat-based cymbals and save your body from having to move around a ton of extra weight.

I currently have these Pearl double-braced monsters for my straight cymbal stands and I do like the stability - especially if you're outside and the winds blowing hard enough, and other people are grabbing your stuff to help you move it around. But when I'm working hauling my own gear and I'm in one place all night, those Gibraltar flat-based stands are great. I also used Tama single-braced Stagemaster hardware and Yamaha's single-braced 7-series stuff and those hold up to all kinds of abuse.

If you want a testimony, I noticed that my traveling hi-hat, a Tama single-braced Stagemaster one, has survived seven years of abuse so far - it sees more action than my bigger double-braced Tama RoadPro one!
 
This just about my favorite drum topic because I love single-braced stands: Yamaha, Tama, and Gibraltar (even some older Mapex and Pearl). Most drummers would be fine with good single-braced stands, even with drums and more than one cymbal on them. It is somewhat market hype that made many feel as though drummers need double-braced stands. But as said above, if you need to put stuff high and/or at odd angles, maybe double-braced stands are needed. Peace and goodwill.
 
The stand I'm about to buy will be set up at a pretty low height, hold one 18" crash (or maybe a 21" light ride, but not at the same time) and will be carried around a lot. I'm looking at the Tama Stagemaster series and I think the single braced boom version is the best choice for me.

Please, keep the advices coming, though. It's always nice and helpful to get other people's input on things.
 
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I can't recall if I've owned a single braced stand in 40 years. When I bought my first kit in 1965, I bought all flat based stands and not long after that, I couldn't wait to get something a bit more substantial and braced better to give the top of the stands more support. It was in the early 70's when I started using double braced stands and I still do today. I really like my over engineered DW 9000 stands along with my Tama, Yamaha, Pearl, and Ludwig double braced stands. If you really don't like the word "heavy" associated with cymbals stands, stay away from the new top of the line Ludwig Atlas stands, lol.

I really like the extra stability in a double braced cymbal or hi hat stand. I'm only sixty, maybe in another twenty years I might start appreciating the lighter weight of single braced stands, but for right now, I'm staying where I am.

BTW, this might go against everything that I believe in but, I was looking and comparing the DW flat based stands to the Ludwigs flat based stands on a few occasions... only looking. Maybe they'll still be manufacturing them twenty years from now, lol.

Dennis
 
Lol.. That's quite insane.

I would like to see that.

Wishing is getting, around here. In the first pic I have both toms, the 18" on the main stalk, with a china and an x-hat attached, using a Gibraltar rack tube.

In the second photo you can see the 18" crash, an 18" O-Zone, and my 20" K Custom, plus the 14" on the same stand. By this time the 16" was on legs.
 

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The older (wiser) you get and the more gigging (moving equipment) you do, the more weight becomes an issue. IMO, single braced every time and as few stands as possible.
 
Yamaha 7 series. Single-braced, lightweight, excellent stability, reasonable price.

I used double-braced everything since I got my first decent (used Tama Imperialstar) kit when I was about 9. I just bought right into the hype, thinking that single-braced stands were weak and inferior. Then, about 6 years ago (at age 30), I joined a cover band, and we quickly worked our way up to 100+ gigs a year. Loading, unloading, and setting up your gear that frequently (with essentially no help from the bandmates) certainly makes you rethink some stuff. For one thing, my kit got a good deal smaller. But the switch to good quality single-braced stands was the biggest forehead-slapping "DUUUHH" moment in my drumming life that I can recall. It took me 3 years in that band to finally just TRY the single-braced stuff. Seriously, unless you're mounting half of your 8-piece power tom behemoth (with cymbals) on one stand, or you hit like a gorilla, or BOTH, those overweight, overpriced, over-hyped double-braced stands are nothing more than an almost guaranteed future trip(s) to the chiropractor.
 
I only ever had single braced for my big kits in the 70s and 80s. Never a problem. When buying my kits in this decade, never gave it a thought and bought double braced. Because of the weight I wish I had bought single braced and any replacements I buy will be single braced. Put it this way, John Bonham played with single braced stands.
 
The Yamaha 700-series stands are great (I own a few). The thing is, yes, they are lighter, but not that much lighter than my Pearl 900-series double-braced stands. Anyone who thinks the single-braced 700 will only be 50-60% of the weight of a double-braced stand is in for a surprise -- I'd say they're more like 80-85% of the weight (which, I suppose, is why the 700 series are such sturdy, dependable stands).
 
The Yamaha 700-series stands are great (I own a few). The thing is, yes, they are lighter, but not that much lighter than my Pearl 900-series double-braced stands. Anyone who thinks the single-braced 700 will only be 50-60% of the weight of a double-braced stand is in for a surprise -- I'd say they're more like 80-85% of the weight (which, I suppose, is why the 700 series are such sturdy, dependable stands).

^^Agreed. I own both Yamaha 700 series and Pearl 900 stands, and there isn't really a difference in weight. There may be some difference in space savings when you pack everything into a trap case, but that's negligible too.

A strategy that I've been using to great success is to have my travel hardware cased up in the garage ready to go, so I'm really only packing drums to go to a gig. It makes like much easier. I'd have an entire complete kit ready to go, but I really like the drums I'm playing and will also practice on them too.
 
A strategy that I've been using to great success is to have my travel hardware cased up in the garage ready to go, so I'm really only packing drums to go to a gig. It makes like much easier.

Ha! I've taken this one a step further (since the dang hardware bag weighs 60-70 lbs.)! Since I drive a large SUV, I never even take the hardware bag out of the truck -- I just leave it in there. The alternative would be to haul it up 6 steps from the garage into the house, then haul it down a full flight of steps into the basement...no thanks!
 
The difference in weight stand-for-stand is not huge, but definitely noticeable when you combine them... Well, I certainly notice a difference when I'm lifting my hardware case into the back of my car.

Another small plus... If you have multiple stands in a small space, you get a liiiittle extra maneuverability space with the single-braced legs.
 
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