Keyholed Hi-hat

When adjusting my hi-hat settings and whatnot I went off on a tangent and ended up pulling the hi-hat clutch apart and inspecting it.

To do that I removed the top hi-hat cymbal and discovered that the hole in the middle was slightly keyholed, one side was worn slightly.

Okay, no panic, I have to take a look at the clutch that holds the cymbal.

Unlike my other Tama cymbal stands which have sleeves or cymbal bottoms to avoid metal-on-metal contact the hi-hat clutch had nothing at all to avoid this.

NOTHING!!?!?!

The clutch wasn't worn out, there was no protection for the cymbal in the first place!

A solution (or so I thought) was getting some plumbers seal tape (that white tape that plumbers tightly wrap around tap screw and nuts to avoid leakage and wear and tear). So the tape is placed where the cymbal sits on the clutch.

I put the cymbal back on the clutch over the protective tape.

I look at the clutch again (after probably a few months of playing) and the tape is worn out. Not going to work!

Is there any solution to stop that top hi-hat cymbal from wearing out through keyholeing?

Any one encountered this?

Might you need to inspect your hi-hat clutch yourself?

I've never seen a hi-hat clutch with any "protective" sleeve or anything on it. They've all been bare threaded shafts with a felt that goes under neath for the bottom nut and one felt on top for the top nut. I've never had a problem with keyholing. I use 14" New Beats from Zildjian. What kind of hats are you using and how tight or loose do you have them on the clutch?

I had exactly the same problem with my old hats. I simply got some thin plastic pipe from the iron mongers, which work perfectly! Alternatively the rubber sleeving from a pen works in an emergency.

I've never seen a hi-hat clutch with any "protective" sleeve or anything on it. They've all been bare threaded shafts with a felt that goes under neath for the bottom nut and one felt on top for the top nut. I've never had a problem with keyholing. I use 14" New Beats from Zildjian. What kind of hats are you using and how tight or loose do you have them on the clutch?

Click to expand...

It shouldn't matter what hats I'm using (because of the standardised sizes and whatnot), but I use 14" Paiste PST 3 medium hats.

I have the top hat tightly fitted between the felts.

When it comes to the distance between the two hats, I normally have them closed and semi-tight or open (so I can "click" the hi-hat down with the foot).

Currently my top hi-hat cymbal hangs lopsided because of the keyholing.

I had exactly the same problem with my old hats. I simply got some thin plastic pipe from the iron mongers, which work perfectly! Alternatively the rubber sleeving from a pen works in an emergency.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try that.

BassDriver said:

It shouldn't matter what hats I'm using (because of the standardised sizes and whatnot), but I use 14" Paiste PST 3 medium hats.

I have the top hat tightly fitted between the felts.

When it comes to the distance between the two hats, I normally have them closed and semi-tight or open (so I can "click" the hi-hat down with the foot).

Currently my top hi-hat cymbal hangs lopsided because of the keyholing.



Thanks, I'll try that.

Click to expand...

Actually it can matter what hats you are using, cheaper hats made of weaker cheaper materials will be more prone to damage as they are not as strong.

Actually it can matter what hats you are using, cheaper hats made of weaker cheaper materials will be more prone to damage as they are not as strong.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately I'm not in any position to change hi-hat cymbals from my current cheap selection.

I'm not getting anywhere, I can't find a protective sleeve from a pen that is wide enough to fit around the screw.

...I tried winding a rubber band around the screw as a barrier but it got chewed up over time...

...any other ideas?!

BassDriver said:

Unfortunately I'm not in any position to change hi-hat cymbals from my current cheap selection.

I'm not getting anywhere, I can't find a protective sleeve from a pen that is wide enough to fit around the screw.

...I tried winding a rubber band around the screw as a barrier but it got chewed up over time...

...any other ideas?!

Click to expand...

Vinyl electric tape... stretch it on