And the sickness continues!

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
As Karl Crafton has noted in a past post - my sickness is continuing with this gear overhaul I've been going through.

To recap - I tried flat based hardware, and for safety reasons, that didn't work out. I went back to my Tama RoadPro stuff and the Pearl 900 series. Very stable and relatively heavier.

Just starting at the end of January, I've been in these festival situations where you set up in one place, move your stuff into place, then move it off stage when you're finished. So far, I've been doing this two times a week, sometimes setting up and striking twice a day, with at least two rehearsals during the week. So the mileage and handling on the drums is adding up rather quickly. I'll be in this pattern until the end of May.

However, now my back is beginning to complain about the weight. So - it was my birthday yesterday and the wife suggested (among other things) shopping around for some lighter stuff. Well, remember the stupid deal I found for the Tama Camco pedals for $50 new? I got one of those and de-modified it with a cam and strap.

Just this evening, I found and bought these. Look at these prices:

Yamaha CS-650 straight cymbal stands: $44 each on Amazon.com (bought 2)
Yamaha HH-740 hi-hat: $60 new on eBay (45 plus 15 for shipping)
Yamaha SS-740A snare stand: $42.50 new on eBay (39 plus 12 for shipping)
Yamaha DS-550 light drum throne: $39 used from a guy on eBay (free shipping)

These prices include shipping so as you can see, I didn't end up spending much. I've checked them out at various shops in the past and the Yamaha stuff is always built well, and this stuff is light. The spread on the cymbal stands is sufficient to keep them from falling over on their own, and I thought it was time to replace my old Tama Stagemaster hi-hat stand I've owned now for 15 years (my other 'light' stand). And the nice thing with the Yamaha snare stand - they use pliable rubber on the basket tips and my 9x13 tom sings in it (as opposed to other stands that choke it).

I am taking a chance on the lightweight Yamaha throne that uses a memory lock on the height adjustment pipe as opposed to a threaded spindle, but I must try it to find out. In reality, the throne (because of me) is the heaviest thing I carry. If I can cut that weight down by 75%, that's eliminating about 30 pounds from the trap case. It would be cool to find one of those canister drum thrones that can store light items, but I won't find one for under $400, so that option is out.

So this has been yet another compromise in my quest for secure playing yet easier on the load-in and strike. I know many of you swear by the Yamaha stuff, and they too, have stuff that weighs a ton, so I know this stuff will be sufficient. I'm looking forward to having this stuff for next weeks' adventures. I'll suffer this week though - one more time ;)
 
The Yamaha single-braced stands are quite good. The Tama and Gibraltar single-braced stands are also quite good. I prefer all of these to flat-based stands. You made a good move. Peace and goodwill.
 
good deals, you didnt spend a lot and got all the hardware you need. Yamaha is good stuff, i dont know about those lines personaly but they dont seem to make crap.
 
I own or have used every item on that list, and you won't be let down. No pun intended.
 
Yamaha, Yamaha, Yamaha.

One of these days, I'm going to buy a complete set of Yamaha hardware. I'll keep a heavier stool though (oh the virtue of being 250Ibs+) just to be on the safe side.

I've really cut down on the weight of my hardware in the last year. I'm using a bass-drum mounted cymbal holder, a lightweight pedal, two single-braced old Pearl stands and a lightweight Mapex hi-hat stand. The only heavy part is my Pearl DN-1000 'Roadster' stool - which was actually sold to me by a guy that wanted something lighter!

It makes a huge difference having lighter hardware. I'm able to carry all of mine at once in a small holdall. It's brilliant.
 
I use the single-braced Yamaha stuff and it's all great. I was lugging around heavy duty stands for years, and for no reason at'all. Good move !
 
Nope....it never ends..... :) :)
Happy Birthday!

Yamaha has always had great quality, road worthy gear, so it's a good move with that line. The seat should be fine too, if the padding is enough to keep you comfortable for as long as the set time is. The memory lock on the tube would be fine to me too. You could always put two on the tube if it was a slight concern.
AND you got great prices on the stuff!

I did put back up the medium DW hardware we talked about, but I went back to the Atlas stuff after about 3 days.
I figured, I don't have to worry about wind, or people knocking into things. My biggest obstacles are cords on the floor, and the Atlas feet raise the legs up high enough, so I may as well save the extra lbs (per stand) the DW's have over the Atlas gear. Besides, I LOVE the Atlas FB hi hat stand. No reason I can't mix hardware, but my sickness goes pretty deep hahahaha!

One crazy thing I found was, the DW double braced Medium (now called 3000) stand actually weighs exactly the same as the single braced 7000 stand!!

I still gotta try that strap Cam on my Camco pedal like you talked about.

I'm going to PM you the name of someone who could make you a canister seat for a good price. He does GREAT work, and has done a bunch of stuff for "name" guy's....and he's still friends with me haha!
 
I never considered a light-weight throne. Does this one turn / rotate ?

Well, yes and no. Light weight thrones are basically set-up like regular stands with a memory lock. The worry is if the memory lock doesn't hold, or the regular wing nut doesn't hold, it'll slip down. But as I recall, as a kid, I had one of the mid-70s middle Tama thrones that operated on a memory lock like that and it never slipped. But back then I was also under 110 pounds. I'm a bit heavier now, but I saw a bigger guy using a throne like t hat just recently and it didn't budge, so I might be good. If you were pushing 300 pounds maybe you want the traditional spindle throne.

As a permanent option, I could (after I determined where my favorite height it) drill the throne and install a bolt through it, locking it at the height. But lets see if I have to resort to that.
 
When I switched from using a rack back to using stands a couple of years ago, I bought some of those (ahem) "inexpensive" Sound Percussion double-braced boom stands. Cheap and heavy duty, but now I have come to the conclusion that they are too cheap and too heavy duty. After a couple of years I have had to replace a couple of them and my back is telling me to go down Bo's route and get some lighter weight but better quality stands. In fact, my band mates refer to my hardware bag as "the body bag" because it is so heavy.

This weekend, intrigued by Bo's endorsement of the Yamaha hi-hat. I picked up a HH-740 hi-hat to replace my old one and I am now thoroughly in love with the Yamaha 700 series hardware. The hi-hat isn't much lighter than my old one but it is way less bulky and it actually feels more solid. The action is much better, too. The old one had a key tension adjustment but the new one has a dial that you lift up and turn to adjust. It's very smooth and during rehearsal it only took a song or two to get it dialed in just right. This is a well engineered bit of gear and the build quality is spot on.

I looked at the SS-740A snare stand and the 700-series cymbal stands and these will definitely be replacing my stands one at a time over the next few months.
 
Sickness indeed. We used to have to travel to a music or drum stores to satisfy our gear lust. Now it's just a few clicks away. If loved ones you haven't invited over start gathering in a group around you as you order gear - expect an intervention. LOL!

I have most of the Yamaha stuff Bo got and will say +1 for Yamaha single braced hardware. It's tough and light at the same time. If I bought flat based stands I think I might lose a few pounds over an entire hardware bag but not enough to replace the Yamahas.

The throne is my issue. I love my Roc n Soc but the base is the heaviest thing in my bag. I'm interested in how the throne works out for that reason.

I think if I could find a lighter but sturdy base with comfortable seat top I'll be good. I'm in the 200+lbs category as well so it can't be iffy.

My thought is to find a light sturdy base and then put maybe a Pork Pie or Gibraltar Roc n Soc style seat on it. Then I'd I'd lose at least 5 lbs from the throne base if not more. I could get a lighter seat but....I'd be unhappy with that toot sweet.
 
I'll chime back in. Yes, my throne is easily the heaviest piece of hardware I own... and also the worst for packing out. I own the Roc-n-Soc Lunar with backrest -- absolutely the last word in posterior and anterior comfort, but about as portable as the Eiffel Tower. It collapses exactly zero percent... somewhere on my shopping list is another throne for packing and gigging, when I get back into gigging again, that is.

As to the Yammie 700 series hardware -- I got my 700 hardware with my Stage Custom, 16 years ago. I have never seen the need to buy any other cymbal stands.
 
...I am taking a chance on the lightweight Yamaha throne that uses a memory lock on the height adjustment pipe as opposed to a threaded spindle, but I must try it to find out. In reality, the throne (because of me) is the heaviest thing I carry....


I got a bottom of the line lightweight Tama throne today - $40 brand new. http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/product/hardware_data.php?id=52&year=2013&area=2

I've got a couple heavy duty spindle thrones, but was looking for a spare so I don't have to shuffle one around all the time. When I took it out of the box, I was a little nervous about trying it, because the upper shaft looks like it's only about 1/2" diameter. What you might call very light duty.

If I was a real big heavy guy, I probably would have brought it back. But it's got a wing nut, and a memory lock. Feels sturdy enough, and I think it'll work fine for me.
It's light as a feather too compared to my other thrones.

Only thing I don't care for too much is that to be able to rotate the seat, you have to leave the wing nut loose that tightens the seat to the shaft. If you do that and try and pick it up by the seat, the seat just removes from the frame. No big deal though.

Picked up a couple extra Yamaha CS755 boom stands too. I've got one old Yamaha set that still works fine, and a couple of other brands, but I really prefer the Yamaha's, and was way overdue for some new stands.

Edit: just measured it up. The shaft that holds the seat is actually 3/4" outside diameter, with a .075 wall thickness. Should be sturdy enough to do the job. It just looks a little spindly when you're used to looking at something heavier duty.

.
 
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++ on the Yamaha 700 series. I had those stands in the late 80's, into the 90's, and it's always been great stuff.

I use Flat Base, and single braced gear these days. I sold just about all my heavy stands now. The snare stand and seat are the heaviest piece now.

A throne I had great luck with was the Tama Ergo Rider (wish I didn't sell it).
It's not marketed as a "light duty" throne, but it weighed less than other thrones I have had, was comfortable and very sturdy feeling.

The Pearl Road Pro is real nice, a little heavier than the Tama ER, but pretty darn managable.

The regular R&S Mac Saddle (spindle) has a manageable weight, but the Tama I think is nicer to sit on.

Just thought I'd throw those couple out.
 
No more cheap, lightweight thrones for me - LOL.

The Tama broke already after 6 months. A narrow part of metal around the rubber that locks the shaft broke.
Felt wobbly, so I took a look at it.
Got it sort of rigged together by putting a large washer under the lock down nut, but it's going to be used only as a second spare.

Got a heavy duty, more expensive throne a long time ago - well worth the extra cost and weight. Also bought another heavy duty one a little over a year ago. I expect that one will hold up over the years too.
An unhappy end to my short lived venture into cheap, lightweight thrones - oh well.

.
 
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