My cowbell mount

Someone posted a thread on bass drum mounting a cowbell, and over the years, I've found the right parts to do it safely with not alot of pressure exerted on my bass drum hoop. Let's face it: if you play cowbells 5" long and shorter, you could get away with those light-weight hoop mounts you can find for $10. But as soon as you want to use a bigger bell, you need a better mount. Many companies make nice hoop-mount cowbell holders these days, but I stumbled on this years ago when I was rummaging around Pro Drum Shop one day. I found a hoop mount bracket, like what Neil Peart used to mount his smaller splash cymbals to the outer bass drum hoop, and simply added a short 'L' arm to mount the cowbell to. It's incredibly solid and distributes the weight better so you don't have all the weight hanging off the hoop towards you.

I think other companies offer something like this, but the pictures attached show you the same one I've been using for 20 years now. It's totally solid. The black bass drum hoop mount made by LP but I don't remember what they were selling it for. When I added the L arm it became my cowbell mount for a long Mambo cowbell - my bell of choice!

I have one of these, it works great!
I use this one to move around with on back line kits, sitting in, etc...

I also have a more "permanent" mount on a few bass drums using DW's cowbell mount, when I use my own different kits.

I use the Meinl 8" Aronoff Bell. It's stainless steel and a little heavy but the Meinl mount holds it well with no wear to the hoop.

Great mount, but if you play 2 rack toms, you'd have to keep them a little further apart to allow space for the bell

I use the same Meinl mount. Really nice rubber piece for the bass drum so it won't harm the paint. I mount mine a bit differently. I turn the L-Rod the opposite way. I put the long end in and mount the cowbell further away, that way it barely sticks over my bass drum hoop and I can mount it lower to where it almost touches the top tightening screw. I hate having a cowbell up high and almost next to my snare. This mount allows me to use a fairly long cowbell and mount it comfortably for my playing style.

TTNW said:

I use the Meinl 8" Aronoff Bell. It's stainless steel and a little heavy but the Meinl mount holds it well with no wear to the hoop.

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That's the one I use for my Ridge Rider when I want to mount it on the kick hoop too. I slam the hell out of my kit, and it's never moved even the slightest.

I usually mount it on the far right cymbal stand though; I just find that position to suit me better.

The Meinl is cool, but being short as I am, the LP bracket I have has the wingnut off to the side so I can drop the cowbell onto the mount for maximum lowness. That's was imperative for me -to really replace the old skool vertical rod used for cowbell mounts.

Bo Eder said:

The Meinl is cool, but being short as I am, the LP bracket I have has the wingnut off to the side so I can drop the cowbell onto the mount for maximum lowness. That's was imperative for me -to really replace the old skool vertical rod used for cowbell mounts.

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I'm the other way around. I have very long legs, and the Meinl mount (along with all other kick mounts I've tried) is actually a tad too low for me. I don't hit my knee on the cowbell, but I'm not far off.

Might be better now though, since I've moved from a 22" to a 24" kick. I'll have to try it out next time I'm behind my kit.

Naigewron said:

I'm the other way around. I have very long legs, and the Meinl mount (along with all other kick mounts I've tried) is actually a tad too low for me. I don't hit my knee on the cowbell, but I'm not far off.

Might be better now though, since I've moved from a 22" to a 24" kick. I'll have to try it out next time I'm behind my kit.

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It's like you're some kind of viking from Norway or somethin'

Hey Bo, that looks pretty slick for a rim mount, but I really don't like the thought of mounting a cowbell to my bass drum. You gotta have a cowbell though! Right?, so I got one of the Pearl mounts. It seems quite solid and the mount is very versatile.

I love these mounts. Ended up combining a Pearl cowbell to bass drum mount with a boss-head and retort stand clamp to make a hi-hat stand clamp which doesn't shake-rattle and roll the entire rack when I work the hi-hat (as you may have guessed i don't have the sturdiest rack in the world).