Is it necessary to have great hardware?

I don't mean pedals. Of course high quality pedals are a must. I'm talking cymbal stands, snare stands. What's the point? I've had mid-line hardware under two of my cymbals and my snare for the past few years now. No problems. Why spend $150 on a straight stand when a $50 will do the same thing? If anyone is curious, I use Ludwig 400 series.

Don't get me wrong. I am not against more expensive hardware. I just don't see the point yet. I also don't believe in swiv ball joints that give you "the best angle ever". It isn't that hard to place a cymbal.

Thoughts?
 
If your kit is in the garage, basement, music room, and rarely gets broken down and set up, mid grade hardware is fine and will last forever.

It's when you move it around a lot that threads strip, metal shears, plastic inserts crack, shafts bend, rivets come loose. Much of the time, the gear breaks in the car (load in/out), and not on stage.
 
Kamak is correct. When you transport is most likely the time things will break. I've had all kinds of things break when I was younger and starting out. Cheap stuff ultimately won't hold up to constant abuse. About the lightest I would go is Yamaha 700 stuff. Avoid cheap knock-offs made in China and stay with trusted brand names. I use Pearl 900 and DW 9000 stuff now and don't see it breaking down any time soon.
 
I'm from the same school of thought. I constantly window-shop online checking out new drum ranges, hardware - not so much.

I play a fairly minimalist set up for cymbals - hats, ride, 2 crashes and my cymbals are mounted no higher than shoulders level. My toms are kick mounted and generally my stands are only required to support one cymbal.

For my needs most mid range hardware is more than up to the task - personally I see no point in upgrading, if I had to mount a forest of cymbals and toms on stands - I'd probably take the rack option.
 
I think that appropriate hardware should always be the priority. Sometimes that means it's light, or heavy, or expensive, or a bargain, and it may or may not be the same brand as the drums.

In my local travels, I use a mix of hardware. Because I'm not playing too hard, I can use lightweight stands. in fact, I use old Ludwig 1400s for cymbals and the snare. Obviously the throne needs to be more heavy-duty than something from the '60s, and I need more stability from the hi-hat, so that's a medium-weight stand. A happy advantage is that combined, the hardware is fairly light, and easier to carry as my age slowly advances. :) So everything is appropriate on a few levels. I could certainly get an amazing deal on all-new Ludwig hardware, but their lightweight stuff is still heavier and more bulky than the 1400 line. So it still makes sense to have more of an investment for the right stuff.

Bermuda
 
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If you're going to be an active gigging musician, then YEAH it pays to have great hardware. You don't want to get cheap on yourself. Read the reviews, do your research. Don't pay for crap that won't last. If the reviews say it's crap, stay away from it.

If it says it's $50 bucks and the reviews are great, take a chance on it. But do your research. You get what you pay for sometimes.
 
I think that appropriate hardware should always be the priority. Sometimes that means it's light, or heavy, or expensive, or a bargain, and it may or may be the same brand as the drums.

In my local travels, I use a mix of hardware. Because I'm not playing too hard, I can use lightweight stands. in fact, I use old Ludwig 1400s for cymbals and the snare. Obviously the throne needs to be more heavy-duty than something from the '60s, and I need more stability from the hi-hat, so that's a medium-weight stand. A happy advantage is that combined, the hardware is fairly light, and easier to carry as my age slowly advances. :) So everything is appropriate on a few levels. I could certainly get an amazing deal on all-new Ludwig hardware, but their lightweight stuff is still heavier and more bulky than the 1400 line. So it still makes sense to have more of an investment for the right stuff.

Bermuda

I hate it when you make sense. Stop it. We're here to sell stuff. Play the game.

;)
 
Bermuda is absolutely correct. You should invest in the "appropriate" hardware. Sometimes, taking double braced heavy duty stuff on tour is the only right option, e.g. if you are playing lots of rock gigs in a year. But sometimes, lightweight single braced (flat) hardware is the way to go (e.g. if you play the local jazzclubs in NY and have to carry your stuff in a cab).

I do have e.g. as a backup a Yamaha 600 Hihat. Not impressive at all (compared to my Iron Cobra), but it does its job and is really lightweight. Haven't had problems in terms of stability with it, either. It's just less luxurious/comfy.

Same goes for the foot-pedals. Use what works best in that situation. I do have a "cheapo" Iron Cobra Jr. Pedal as a backup (I usually play the Yamaha 9500D pedals). That Iron Cobra is basically okay, sturdy and doesn't cost much. It will probably last very very very long, although it has only one chain. From Rock to Jazz, you can play everything with it. Again: Less comfy. But it works.

The only thing where you definitely should(!) invest money, is your seat. For health reasons.
 
About the lightest I would go is Yamaha 700 stuff.

And Yamaha's 700 stuff is made as well as their 900 level stuff. I've had my 700 series stands for coming up on 20 years now, with hundreds of gigs on two continents and no issues.

The three prized attributes of hardware are cheap, light, and sturdy/long-lasting. Usually at best you only get two of the three. Choose wisely.
 
I don't hink anything is necessary. There is however something as appropriate and practical.

Great doesn't necessarily mean heavy duty, just good quality.

I like heavy stands not just because they are solid, but they will also hold more stuff when needed. I've yet to put a splash on a separate stand.

If the point is to hold a few rides more or less flat for a jazz kit, your requirements are considerably less.

Maybe you have to carry it all yourself, in one trip, on a bus......

If you have lots of stuff, have the room and want to save time, get a rack.

Ideally, you have more than one choice and choose what works and makes life and gigging easier for you in each situation.

I almost never bring my own kit, but I do bring my cymbals, throne, hi-hat stand, pedals, snare and snare stand. I also make sure I have enough of the small essentials and a few extra accessories so my cymbals will be ok.
 
Light, cheap hardware probably isn't a great idea. Although the mid-range stuff of today is better and heavier than top-the-line hardware of many years ago.

I have Tama Iron Cobra 600 hardware, 5 cymbal stands, snare, hat and pedal. Can't imagine needing anything heavier than those. And the price isn't super high. I paid less than $800 for everything recently.

Although the Tama Stage Master's are plenty heavy enough for most and less costly.
 
I'm stupid and I've been buying crappy hardware lately.

Drums can be made to sound well even if they're not the choicest wood.
The construction, heads and tuning can usually be fixed enough for sounding just fine in a club.

Hardware however, cannot be fixed. If it's cheap stands, those things will bring you down right when you need to be special.

I hate compromising on cheap stands.
I have. It makes me angry.
I end up keeping those crappy stands around in case I feel a need to disregard some part of my psyche that thinks it's not special.
It's a bad philosophy.
Those things are an annoyance and I need to eradicate them from my idea of a happy life.

I keep buying cheap hi-hat stands in my labored misconception that a hi-hat is trivial. The stupid things slide away on me and I curse them.

I hate crappy hardware, and for that reason I will endeavor in the future to look for the most accommodating stands that won't test my nerves with slipping and tipping and generally making me feel like what I have is designed by, or for cheapskates.

Medium weight or even lightweight is fine as long as it's designed to not offend.
 
On items like a cymbal stand, the cost difference between beginner and pro is very small. You can get a Tama Roadpro boom stand for $75, or the stagemaster for $20 cheaper. In the end, the Roadpro will be a more robust stand and you only spent $20 more. Thats like a couple pairs of sticks difference in price. Its not like the cost difference between a Yamaha Stage Custom vs an Absolute Hybrid where you spends thousands more for the upgrade.
 
Kind of a side tangeant but partially related, I think the one category of 'vintage' music stuff that doesn't hold up is the drum hardware.

I had a very nice Rogers cymbal stand from the 70s, one of the best, heavy duty stands of the era. It didn't hold up to my 10 year old cheaper stock Sonor stands, and eventually busted on me (its fixable, but I've never had a newer stand bust like this one have, even though none of my 'new' hardware is anywhere close to high end).
 
I'd say reliable hardware rather than expensive.

I've had the same tama single brace snare stand for 15 years and it's seen a lot of gigs...sods law it'll spontaneously combust next time I use it Tama don't do flimsy hardware! Other than that my hardware is made up from Premier/Pearl. The bog standard pearl hi hat stand is a proper workhorse.

I've ummed and ahhed about getting some of the lightweight hardware from Ludwig/DW/Gibralter etc but as Bermuda said compared to the older Ludwig 1400s they're 1) heavier and 2) Not as functional. Plus a lot of players know how good the Ludwig 1400 hardware is so it's hard to get cheap if at all.
 
Outside of hard touring or hanging 3 drums & 5 cymbals off one stand - Yamaha 700 = job done for the next 20 years :)

This. I just upgraded all my stands to a mix of Yamaha 650 and 750 series single braced hideaway boom stands. They are fantastic. Pretty light and well made. And they can be straight stands or booms, whatever you want. I wish I'd bought them 20 years ago, but I bought into the hype that you need double braced stands for rock.
 
I have to second (of third, or fourth) the recommendation of the Yamaha 700 series hardware. I currently use the snare stand on my gigging kit and and the hi-hat stand on my home kit. The reason I use the hi-hat stand at home is I have a double pedal at home that I don't gig with. (A Pearl Demonator. Another great mid-level piece of hardware.) The Yamaha hi-hat stand has the rotating foot pedal that lets me get the positioning just right. My gigging hi=hat stand is a 25 year old (at least) Tama single braced stand. I also have a couple of 5600 Gibraltar cymbal stands. They're double-braced but are pretty lightweight.

It's a nice feeling when you don't have to worry about your hardware.
 
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