Nylon Tension-Rod Washers?

JerryTheCat said:
Hello everyone,
First off, this is my first post on the forums and I am excited to talk to all you awesome drummers!

So, I was looking on the Guitar Center site and found nylon tension rod washers. I was wondering if anyone had experience with these and what the advantages/disadvantages were compared to the metal ones.
Here's the link:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/GIBRALTAR-Nylon-Tension-Rod-Washers-101489896-i1394348.gc

Thanks
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Nice upgrade, they're used in conjunction with the stock metal washers, nylon goes under metal, next to the hoop.

Shop around, there's ABS washers on ebay sometimes, also sleeved nylon washers which have gotten good reviews here on the forum, search.
 
Where I life, i saw a pack of gibrtaltar nylon washers and they were 10 dollars for 12.

I went to the hardware store and got a box of 100 for 4 dollars. I needed 92 for my kit.

They are identical in function. There will be many different nylon washers, just go find the right size, bring a tension rod with you. It's a great upgrade.


I just had a look at your link, and that is a complete and utter ripoff from gibraltar. That is literally worth like 50 cents.
 
Okay, so they are an addition... Do they keep your drums in tune longer? Perhaps make the tension rods smoother when tuning?
 
No, if anything, they will let your drums detune more easily than with regular steel washers, as the friction co-efficient is lower with nylon/steel than with steel.steel. But i am sure you will not notice this at all, at least not in terms of de-tuning of your drum. There is no difference in rate of de-tuning, or negligible.


I like it because, like you said, it smooths out tuning, and i like the look of it a lot more as well. But the main thing for me is the ease and smoothness of tuning. Never snag on anything anymore, thats just in the past for me now.

Someone below said they fit below your metal washers. For my tension rods, since they are very old, the metal washer was removable, so i was able to simply replace the metal with the nylon one, i think this is the best thing, if that is an option for you,

Very many newer drums have washers that are integrated into the design of the rod.
 
I use nylon washers on every drum that I own. I feel that a drum both tunes and sounds better with them. It is all a matter of personal preference of course so I suggest that you try the washers on one of your drums and see for yourself.
 
dzarren said:
Where I life, i saw a pack of gibrtaltar nylon washers and they were 10 dollars for 12.

I went to the hardware store and got a box of 100 for 4 dollars. I needed 92 for my kit.

They are identical in function. There will be many different nylon washers, just go find the right size, bring a tension rod with you. It's a great upgrade.
Click to expand...


The material will differ. The hardware store washers a softer IMO, and usually thinner. They'll work, but depending on tension your results/life may very. Might be hard to find M5 (5mm) plastic washers at a hardware store, which is what the GIBRALTARS are.

Putting nylon washers under stock metal washers allows for more contact, more tension area on the hoop/rim.
 
My kit came with stock nylon washers.

I use these now though. The white ones, but they are really nice and affordable. These eliminate metal on metal contact and are supposed to have multiple benefits. Completely agree with Bobdadruma about nylon washers.
http://sleevedwashers.com/sleeved-washers/custom-colors/

I recently got these to put on top of the hendrix washers, and I think it's the best tuning and such ever. No real sign of detuning either. Maybe the best of both worlds?
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Tama-Steel-Washers-20-Pack-102131653-i1131091.gc
 
As Les said, plastic, silicone, first then the metal washer on top. Depending on the brand the metal ones do not come off. As for tuning, yes to me it makes the lugs turn easier, however mine have as yet not detuned because of them. Recently I got the sleeved washer for the top of my snare. There is no metal to metal from the lug to the rim. whether this is significant, I do not know but to me they just feel better
 
I use white nylon washers on my snare drums and they work quite well in the tuning dept. I haven't had detuning problems with them yet. Like everyone else has said metal washer first, then nylon under.

im gonna replace the ones that came with my dw kit with some fresh new ones.
 
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