Good hi-hat stand for gigging?

Duck Tape

Platinum Member
I am tired of my heavy old hi-hat stand which feels like crap to play.

What's a good replacement?

I have to carry and setup this stand (along with the rest of my kit) at least once a week.

I'm open to single braced but I also play a double kick so it will need to fit a pedal under the leg.
 
I am tired of my heavy old hi-hat stand which feels like crap to play.

What's a good replacement?

I have to carry and setup this stand (along with the rest of my kit) at least once a week.

I'm open to single braced but I also play a double kick so it will need to fit a pedal under the leg.

I'm using a Gibraltar UltraAdjust hi hat stand. It offers a lot of options for placement and comes in a no leg version if you have a rack. Best hi hat I've ever used. Also the leg base rotates 360 to accomodate different pedal setups.
 

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I've used a couple Yamaha hi-hat stands - I don't know if there are different models but it was single braced, light, smooth, mega-sturdy, adjustable, classy, plus the Yamaha clutch is the best I've ever used.
 
A friend has that Gibraltar stand but I just want a straight one. Not sure what that footboard is like without shoes either?

I had a go on a stage custom last week and I loved the lightness of the hardware. Seemed well built too. Maybe the Yamaha then. I had Tama in mind too..
 
I use a Pearl H1000. Its not so heavy, very adjustable spring, and lots of height adjustment. The legs twist so you can use it with a double bass pedal. It doesnt have a full base plate, so it folds up nice in a hardware bag. I really like it!
 
I have a light weight Yamaha that I really like. I think it's a student model and has double braced legs but the tubing is small so it's not heavy and bulky. It is plenty sturdy and well built. No surprise there, being a Yamaha.

It didn't have a rotating base for double pedal but I took care of that pretty easily by just removing an allen screw and replacing it with a wing screw.

I also recommend the Tama Lever Glide. Smooth light action and quick return. Two things that are usually mutually exclusive on normal stands.
 
Yamaha 800 series hi hat stand is very stable, and not too expensive. The only thing is it has three legs.

DW 5000. It's the way to go.

gr82bagn how's that Perfect Balance pedal?
 
I sit in on a guys kit fairly regularly that has a Yamaha stand. It's light and responsive. He can wail on things and has never had trouble with it. Only thing he pointed out the other day was that the pull rod is a unique size and you have to use the Yamaha clutch.

I have a Pearl cam action stand and love it. It's heavier than my friends Yamaha, but very stable and the action is great. It's a bit lighter than the similar DW9000 stand.

I used to have a DW5000 stand which felt good. It wobbled around more than the Pearl if you were tapping heel up on it. But it broke on me. Fortunately at home and not on a gig. I took it apart to see if I could fix it and was dismayed at how the bottom of the pull rod is put together. There is a hollow rod that the top pull rod screws into which is a nice heavy duty way to do it instead of having multiple threaded collars in the stand. The bottom of this tube bears against the spring. Another good idea rather than something stuck to or drilled though the rod and taking the brunt of the spring force. Another 1/4" rod is threaded into the bottom of this tube and goes though the spring and out the bottom to attach to the pull chain. All well and good, except that to keep that rod from turning and loosening up, there is a roll pin that goes though both the tube and rod. Which wouldn't be so bad except that they put the pin at the bottom where all the load is. There is maybe half a thread before the pin cuts the cross section of the rod in half. The rest of the threads above that do nothing for the strength of the system. The pin and the weakened section of 1/4" shaft bears all the load every time you step on the pedal. It would have been so easy to have a slot in the top of the shaft and a pin only providing turning resistance. The middle tube has plenty of material to manage the hole for the pin without being weakened. I wrote DW about this when I inquired about how to get a replacement part. In the meantime I put a new lower rod in that I cut and threaded myself and left the roll pin out. I thought about drilling the middle tube higher up, but I just needed it back together for a gig. Put Loctite on it and it was fine for the month or so it took to get a replacement. The replacement was the same way. So I put it back together and sold it. I told the guys at the consignment store about it to warn them about other DW5000 stands they might take in. I've heard of some other folks having these break on them. Simple problem, easily solved. DW has this bulletproof reputation, and the other DW hardware I have has been fine. It was just disappointing to find a stupid design mistake in a place where you couldn't see it like this.

I should mention that I'm an engineer by day and have worked on airborne stuff where we tested it to death on giant shaker tables and the like. So I'm familiar with stress concentrations and reliable hardware design.
 
My DW 5000 hi hat stand last me 12 years, no problems. It would've lasted me another 10 but I wanted something different.

This is not to say that they never break, or they always break. You play what you like. if you don't like it, you play something else. Simple.
 
ive got both a gibraltar 5600 series hi hat stand that i used to use (now its just at home) and a tama speed cobra stand... the speed cobra has 2 legs but is super sturdy and extremely smooth. gibraltar is just a standard normal feeling hi hat stand.

ive also got an 80's tama titan hi hat stand laying around somewhere around here, its still pretty good for its age!
 
I think in the light and responsive with swiveling legs department would be the Tama StageMaster hi-hat stand. It's single-braced, the legs swivel, and is alot lighter than the next step up Tama RoadPro model (which I also own). Come to think of it, I've had mine for about eight years now and it's still fully functional and feels great. Pretty cheap too.
 
Yamaha 800 series hi hat stand is very stable, and not too expensive. The only thing is it has three legs.

DW 5000. It's the way to go.

gr82bagn how's that Perfect Balance pedal?

The PB is proving to be very helpful. It seems to react to every move of the foot and as a young self taught drummer I spent 17 years developing bad habits. I can see these bad habits come through in the pedal (if that makes sense). Coming back to drumming after 20 years off the kit I've opted to improve and learn better technique so the pedal has been very helpful in this area. Now after a few months with it I'm enjoying it more and more each day.
 
I'm just going to simply say Yamaha single-braced stands are the way to go.

Well made, reliable, lightweight and very responsive. When I upgrade my hardware, it's all going to be lightweight Yamaha gear. I've been using a lightweight Yamaha strap-drive pedal for the last eight months or so and it's great - only cost me £17 too!
 
tama-hh905n-vero-glide-hi-hat-stand-large.jpg


this is a babe
 
I never have had a problem with either my 700-series Yamaha hi-hat stand, or my PDP 802 hi-hat stand. Both with swivel legs; the PDP has two, and the Yamaha has three. Both very light and responsive.
 
I've got two of these Yamaha hi hat stands - no complaints, fairly lightweight, single braced, relatively inexpensive, tension adjustable, swivel legs, and looks and feels good: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/drums/hardware/hihat-stands/hs740a/?mode=model



.... Only thing he pointed out the other day was that the pull rod is a unique size and you have to use the Yamaha clutch.

I have a Pearl cam action stand and love it. It's heavier than my friends Yamaha, but very stable and the action is great. It's a bit lighter than the similar DW9000 stand....


Ya - I wondered about that. I've also got a very inexpensive Pearl hi hat stand. I don't like it as much as the Yamaha's, but I keep it around because I've got a drop clutch on it.
When I put the drop clutch on the Yamaha stand, there's a little play in it. The Yamaha rod is slightly smaller diameter. I'm not sure which one is standard, because I haven't
compared them to other brands. Knowing Yamaha though, they're probably going their own way with a non-standard size.


.
 
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Actually, I change my mind. The Tama Road Pro hi hat isn't that much heavier than the Stage Master one I have, yet it's more stable and tougher. Plus, it handles 17" hi-hats much better than the StageMaster.

So, if you're rockin' the 17s, go for the RoadPro ;)
 
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