The Worse and Most Shameful "Quick Fixes"

[Anto]

Anyone ever need to fix a broken piece of kit in a hury or cheaply? I know I did!

Here's a pic from when the snare strainer on my snare broke.

I use 42 strand snares, so to keep them tight, the strainer need to be tight as hell,

unfortunately, this slowly wore the thread on the tightening screw, and eventually it didnt hold

anything anymore..



Surprisingly, this held up for quite a while, and the snare didn't actually sound that bad!

[JohnPloughman]

Tying up your snare drum with shoe strings, because your snare stand is 70 miles away in the other hardware case, is pretty hard to beat..

[bermuda]

Back in the day, we 'fixed' cracked sticks with electrical tape!

Bermuda

[Lovetadraw]

Originally Posted by Anto

Anyone ever need to fix a broken piece of kit in a hury or cheaply? I know I did!

Here's a pic from when the snare strainer on my snare broke.

I use 42 strand snares, so to keep them tight, the strainer need to be tight as hell,

unfortunately, this slowly wore the thread on the tightening screw, and eventually it didnt hold

anything anymore..


Surprisingly, this held up for quite a while, and the snare didn't actually sound that bad!

I had a fix like that not too long ago, one of the bolts on my snare-butt broke, used a LOT of tape. Then I got a replacement bolt.

[Swexx]

I have a tradition of, just like Bermuda, duct taping sticks that are cracked / about to get cracked. It is actually a great way to make a pair of sticks last longer, if you're just gonna practice with them. Though it looks and feels cheap as hell.

Peace

[Anto]

Originally Posted by bermuda

Back in the day, we 'fixed' cracked sticks with electrical tape!

Bermuda

Funny that you say that actually, the nearest drum store from where I live is about 40 miles away,
so when i ran out of drumsticks last week...

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by Swexx

I have a tradition of, just like Bermuda, duct taping sticks that are cracked / about to get cracked. It is actually a great way to make a pair of sticks last longer, if you're just gonna practice with them. Though it looks and feels cheap as hell.

Peace

I've tried that and the sticks lack correct feel and rebound and it gets adhesive all over your drums and cymbals.

Stay far, far away from duct tape.

[Fuo]

Originally Posted by Deathmetalconga

I've tried that and the sticks lack correct feel and rebound and it gets adhesive all over your drums and cymbals.

Stay far, far away from duct tape.

+1 I think I'm some sort of OCD adhesive-ophobe. That gumminess everywhere would drive me nuts.

[Swexx]

Originally Posted by Deathmetalconga

I've tried that and the sticks lack correct feel and rebound and it gets adhesive all over your drums and cymbals.

Stay far, far away from duct tape.

Yeah, I know there are a lot of different opinions out there about duct tape. I for one think taping your sticks feels OK if you're just gonna practice with them. But I ain't the boss of what the rest of the world thinks.

Cheers

[dmacc]

Originally Posted by Anto

Funny that you say that actually, the nearest drum store from where I live is about 40 miles away,
so when i ran out of drumsticks last week...

This is great! I haven't seen a picture like that in a million years it seems. I did it all the time.

Back in the day, I had rocks from the backyard holding up flat based cymbal stands that would want to tip over easily.

I'd give anything to have a picture of it but I don't.

[audiotech]

Sticks are cheap and they're one of the items in a drum kit that wear out. If I find that a pair of sticks become unusable they get thrown out. The only repair I ever made was to nylon tipped sticks when the tips came loose on good sticks. Now since I don't use nylon tips anymore, there are no repairs. I probably have at least 100 pairs of sticks because many are given to me and I'm always trying something new, but usually I rely on the same three or four models.

Dennis

[Anto]

I use Masking Tape, a tape made with a pretty weak adhesif, used to hold pages to boards, and then take it off without ripping the page, i only resort to using that if i have no other sticks, i this, case, i didnt. The sticks feel super heavy and way out of balance, not to mention there is absolutely no bounce.. Drum rolls are a definite no!

[Nickropolis]

I know a bunch of people have done this and it's not so shameful, more creative in my eyes, but it does solve a lack of gear problem. I cobbled together a tom arm, splash clamp, hi hat rod and clutch to make an X-hat.

It seemed a little silly to spend almost 100 bucks (I live in Nova Scotia, not the biggest place and music stores are kind of expensive here) when, with a little deconstruction/destruction/reconstruction I could get something of similar quality. It'd be great if I had a proper set of smaller hats but making due now with, as of 5 seconds ago, what I will call Smash Hats.

*edit* I just remembered I once hockey taped a cowbell to a cymbal stand.

[THC]

Not really an emergency repair, but I bought a floor tom project drum that needed longer legs among other things. By the time I got a hoop, some rods, new heads and a new finish job, I didn't want to put any more money into it for new longer legs until I used it for a little while, so I made some 4" extensions out of wood and some black paint.

[Swexx]

Originally Posted by audiotech

Sticks are cheap and they're one of the items in a drum kit that wear out.

That doesn't mean they're cheap to me ;)

I am one of many here on Drummerworld who is/have been eating only beans or noodles for 10 years just so that I can afford sticks, cymbals and heads. Duct taping the sticks is, for me, an acceptable way to make sticks last a little longer = save a few bucks.

Alas, duct tape don't come cheap eather....

[audiotech]

Originally Posted by Swexx

That doesn't mean they're cheap to me ;)

I am one of many here on Drummerworld who is/have been eating only beans or noodles for 10 years just so that I can afford sticks, cymbals and heads. Duct taping the sticks is, for me, an acceptable way to make sticks last a little longer = save a few bucks.

Alas, duct tape don't come cheap eather....

To me, this is very similar to a writer not being able to afford paper. Taping up your broken sticks will do no good for the feel or technique of your playing. If I were you, I would look for a second job, if you already have a first, so that you can eat more healthier and better enjoy your hobby.

Dennis

[Anto]

Originally Posted by audiotech

To me, this is very similar to a writer not being able to afford paper. Taping up your broken sticks will do no good for the feel or technique of your playing. If I were you, I would look for a second job, if you already have a first, so that you can eat more healthier and better enjoy your hobby.

Dennis

Or I'd suggest buying sticks in packs of 12 pairs, it comes down to about $5 per pair depending on the brand, as opposed to $12 if you're buying them single

[LukeSnyder]

Tape on sticks for longer life? Check! I stopped doing that when I was about 12, however, haha. I've also repaired a split bass drum head with duct tape. Lots, and lots of duct tape.

[mcbike]

I broke my snare strings that hold the wires to the throwoff and I replaced them with a pair of cocktail straws from the bar. They actually sounded pretty good.