Sticky, Slow Hihat

cjohnsondrum

Junior Member
Hey Guys -

OK, I've been playing for about 20 years, and i've never owned a hihat stand that is not slow and sticky. Every time I go to a music store or play other's kits, their hihats are usually nice and fast and smooth. Also if I turn the upper segment of the stand, and raise it to just the right point, it's nice and smooth, but that's not where I want it. I'm suspecting my hihat rods are all bent, but does anybody have any other diagnoses? And how about cures, besides buying a new hihat stand?

Thanks,

Chris
 
Hey Guys -

OK, I've been playing for about 20 years, and i've never owned a hihat stand that is not slow and sticky. Every time I go to a music store or play other's kits, their hihats are usually nice and fast and smooth. Also if I turn the upper segment of the stand, and raise it to just the right point, it's nice and smooth, but that's not where I want it. I'm suspecting my hihat rods are all bent, but does anybody have any other diagnoses? And how about cures, besides buying a new hihat stand?

Thanks,

Chris

When was the last time you gave your hat stand some TLC? Do you play it a lot, and do you play out a lot? Do you live in a moist climate? It is more complex than the pedal and, depending on your style, may get played much more.

You should periodically disassemble the hat stand and check the rods for trueness. You can usually bend them a bit by hand to get them straight. Clean out any dust bunnies, grime and gummy substances. Clean everything with solvent or WD40 and wipe it clean. After everything has dried, oil all moving and rubbing parts with sewing machine oil, or even motor oil, and wipe clean again. When you are away from your set, release the hihat clutch to preserve the action of the spring.

When metal sticks, 99 percent of the time, it just needs some oil.
 
I think it could be that the spindle that holds the cymbals isn't straight and rubs against the base sleeve thingy lol.


Happened to me alot when I was playing.

P.S. you already mentioned that.

They are a bugger those spindles(rods).
 
This happened to me - I'd play the pedal and it would actually stick. Then I'd take out the top tube, and everything was fine. It ended up being the bottom cymbal cup - the hole was too small or lost whatever lube it had over the last ten years or so. I replaced the cup with a new one (the entire piece - if it's 7/8", then you can directly replace it with the Pearl model which seems to be in stock all over the place) and all was well! Try your action without the top tube - this will eliminate whether or not it's the top tube or something below closer to the pedal.
 
Hey Guys -

OK, I've been playing for about 20 years, and i've never owned a hihat stand that is not slow and sticky. Every time I go to a music store or play other's kits, their hihats are usually nice and fast and smooth. Also if I turn the upper segment of the stand, and raise it to just the right point, it's nice and smooth, but that's not where I want it. I'm suspecting my hihat rods are all bent, but does anybody have any other diagnoses? And how about cures, besides buying a new hihat stand?

Thanks,

Chris

Has you hi-hat got some spring tension adjustement? if so, it could be set too loose?

My hats has both spring adjustement and pedal height adjustement and it's over 20 years old and never had a problem.
 
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