Tightscrew review

[Deathmetalconga]

I've been using Tightscrew tuning bolts for several months (www.tightscrew.com) for my set at http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=18719. They are like regular tuning bolts, except they have a groove cut into the side and a strip of nylon plastic pressed into the groove. The same technology has long been used on helicopters to keep critical parts from vibrating loose.

They work as advertised - they absolutely do not loosen up. And I have the worst possible scenario for detuning problems: my drums they are very fussy to tune and sound bad if even slightly out of tune; triple-flanged hoops; tube lugs, which amplify and transmit vibration; and I like very loose resonant heads, in some cases only finger-tight. I'd sometimes have tuning bolts unscrew completely and fall to the ground. WIth tightscrews, even the loosest resonant tom screws stay put and even the most ferocious rimshots have no effect on snare tuning.

The drawback is that changing and tuning heads is more laborious, as you have to crank a lot harder to get the bolts in or out. However, I have to fuss with the bolts a lot less than I used to. Tightscrews have saved me a lot of effort and my drums sound much better.

The person who runs the company, Carl Scott, is a great guy to deal with and very focused on customer satisfaction. I wish they had a wider range of sizes, but I think he has to buy the bolts in large quantities and some of the more unusual sizes wouldn't be profitable.

My drums still need occasional touch-up tuning. I think that's because of the heads, lugs and shell responding to temperature and humidity differences. My drums are extremely sensitive so this sort of thing might not affect other kinds of drums.

I did my own mod with Tightscrews. I have always had a problem with my hihat pull rod loosening. I got a few extra Tightscrews so I pulled the nylon insert out of one of them, cut a groove in my pull rod with a Dremel and pressed the nylon insert into the pull rod with pliers. No matter how hard I play my hats, the pull rod won't loosen and I think the pull rod is under a lot more stress than tuning bolts.

[sticksnstonesrus]

Thanks so much.

I've been sitting on whether or not to go this route. I have the same issues on loosening lugs. My main issues is the snare because I play the rim mostly and de-tuning is an issue.

I'll probably go with them now and give them my own review too. Thanks again.

Andy

[ermghoti]

They sound awesome. My drummer (in the band I play guitar in) has a nifty olg Gretsch snare that practically goes out during songs. I'll give him the link.

[Red Hawk]

This is one of those products that you see and think "that should come with every drum."

That guy should be marketing to manufacturers, not individuals.

[harryconway]

Just the name...sounds dirty....and I like it. Or a good name for a back-up band. Live and on stage, Deathmetalconga and the Tightscrew Review. Has a nice ring to it.

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

So, the little plastic strip in the rod becomes threaded once you thread it into the lug, right? Do you think this will damage the lug threads at all over time? That was my only concern with them.

[Red Hawk]

i doubt a nylon insert will ever damage metal threads. It's just there to make the whole thing tighter.

Every time I look at this I'm that much closer to getting 3 or 4 of them for my snare. I've had rods right under where i do rimshots come pretty loose, like way looser than finger tight in a matter of 4 tunes at a live show... Kinda scary when you look down during a tune and see a couple of rods rattling around in the lug.

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ

So, the little plastic strip in the rod becomes threaded once you thread it into the lug, right? Do you think this will damage the lug threads at all over time? That was my only concern with them.

These could not possibly damage your lugs, no way. Nylon is much, much softer than metal and the metal threads cut into the nylon. In fact, if anything will wear our your lugs, it's the constant in-and-out of tuning and de-tuning. The metal threads wear each other down when they rub against each other, although it's not a huge issue for most people. But if your drums never de-tune, you never have to tune them, and your lugs and bolts should last indefinitely, with the only wear and tear coming from changing heads.

I'd advise you to use these as much as you can. I got like 70 to do all my toms and snare. I'd do my bass drum but he doesn't carry the size I need.

[sticksnstonesrus]

70...all the same size? And what size were they?

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay?

Andy

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by sticksnstonesrus

70...all the same size? And what size were they?

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay?

Andy

Yes, they were all the same size, 35mm. All of my drums have the same lug system but the bass drum takes longer bolts. I think it came out to a little more than a dollar per bolt, plus shipping. I spoke with Carl and he offered me a discount and he may do that for you as well if you're buying in quantity.

Like I said, I also wanted bolts for my bass drum but he didn't have the size I needed. I think he will carry more sizes, or whatever sizes are in demand. He would probably like to hear from drummers as to what they need.

It's been money well spent as I don't have to mess with tuning. My drums sound great right out of the case for every gig. Occasionally, I have to tweak one or two bolts to compensate for temperature expansion of the shell or hoop, but that is only because my drums are unusually sensitive to tuning and I am unusually sensitive about how they sound.

I can't compare Tightscrews to those things that clip over the bolt square and hold it in place. I've never used those. But I can't imagine how anything could do a better job than Tightscrews.

[sticksnstonesrus]

I think I only need them for my Maryland snare. I don't know if it's the spacers on each lug or what, but it's the only drum that has a backing-off issue.

So that would be 20 for me...

Thanks Bro...

Andy

[masonni]

I think I am going to have to pick these up as well. I have such a hard time with my snares. I always have tension rods falling out of my snare. Both top and bottem heads..

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by masonni

I think I am going to have to pick these up as well. I have such a hard time with my snares. I always have tension rods falling out of my snare. Both top and bottem heads..

Carl has told me Tightscrews now has a discount coupon for Drummerworld members (well, I guess anyone else could use it, but the code is only being put here).

Enter 030504002117 in the voucher code at checkout to get 20 percent off your next order. Carl says it's good until April 31. I have all my drums screwed tight or I'd get me some!

[Deathmetalconga]

Here's a mod I did. Since they didn't have screws in the size I needed for my bass drum, Carl was nice enough to send me a few inches of the nylon insert.

I used a Dremel to carve a channel into the bolt, then used needle-nosed pliers to force a quarter-inch strip of nylon into the channel. I did this with 16 bass drum tuning bolts.

The mod bolts work okay, some better than others. Because this was done by hand, the quality is inconsistent - in some cases I cut the channel too deep and the lug threads don't "bite" into the nylon as much as they do in a factory model.

Top is an example of my work, bottom is a factory-made Tightscrew.

[Joel-K]

This was very useful for me, as I am thinking of getting tightscrews for all my toms. Only thing I wonder is for how long these would work as intended?

[KarlCrafton]

I got these for all my toms & a couple snares too!
I got them maybe 4 months ago now.

They work great, and the nylon seems like it will hold up for a long time.

I put them on all my toms tops (& bottoms...just because).
No backing out at all, and the only time they need tweaking is if you want to change the tuning.

The only drawback is that they are harder to put in, but if you use one of those drill bit things, it's easy.

You don't have to worry about going too far becaue they'll go in slow enough to prevent that, unless you aren't paying attention.

Recently,I did take them off my toms (because I didn't have any problems with the toms at all in the first place) so I could put them on all my snares, and have a few spares.

The 13" tom used the shorter rods, and those fit on my 5" Acrolite, the rest work great on my 6.5's tops and bottoms.
My snares now sound excatly the same from home, to gig and back. Yay! Once you get "that sound" on a snare, you want to keep it.

The only other thing that was different about them is you have to get used to how they feel when you tension the drum, but I did find the drums seemed to need less 'turning' per lug to get it where I wanted it to be.

These are a great product, and anyone considering them should 'take the plunge' for doing at least the number of problem lugs. One pack isn't that much money after all.

Those lugs won't be a problem anymore!

[Les Ismore]

the quality is inconsistent -... 'somewhat' on the factory TS's too.

I've gotten 2 tight screws where the insert has fallen out, they were quickly replaced by Tight Screws no problem though. Some factory TS's fit tighter than others, all the inserts/bolt cuts are not 'exactly' the same size. You really notice this on tube lugs which are pretty consistent in their size compared to lug nuts.

Any slightly stripped or worn threads in the lugs or lug nuts will cause looseness, so don't worry if some TS's turn easier than others, it doesn't take much resistance to keep tension bolts from loosening.

When you get your TS's, check and make sure all the green nylon inserts are tight and not loose, if you lube, the loose ones have a good chance of 'maybe' coming out of the channel.

Recommended!

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by Les Ismore

the quality is inconsistent -... 'somewhat' on the factory TS's too.

I've gotten 2 tight screws where the insert has fallen out, they were quickly replaced by Tight Screws no problem though. Some factory TS's fit tighter than others, all the inserts/bolt cuts are not 'exactly' the same size. You really notice this on tube lugs which are pretty consistent in their size compared to lug nuts.

Any slightly stripped or worn threads in the lugs or lug nuts will cause looseness, so don't worry if some TS's turn easier than others, it doesn't take much resistance to keep tension bolts from loosening.

When you get your TS's, check and make sure all the green nylon inserts are tight and not loose, if you lube, the loose ones have a good chance of 'maybe' coming out of the channel.

Recommended!

I had a couple of the nylon inserts come out. Just get some pliers and force them back into the groove.

[sticky.widget]

Deathmetalconga, that's an excellent idea for the hi-hat pull rod. Think I'm gonna try it. Mine always comes loose...sometimes makes hitting my drop clutch almost impossible. I was going to try lock-tite but I might try this instead. Thanks for the tip.

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by sticky.widget

Deathmetalconga, that's an excellent idea for the hi-hat pull rod. Think I'm gonna try it. Mine always comes loose...sometimes makes hitting my drop clutch almost impossible. I was going to try lock-tite but I might try this instead. Thanks for the tip.

Glad to help. But do yo have a Dremel to carve the groove? Where are you going to get the nylon insert - from an existing Tightscrew? You could probably take the top half of a nylon strip from an existing TIghtscrew and leave the bottom half in the existing bolt (the donor Tightscrew should work fine with only its lower half insert). Then you could press the donated top half into the groove on the pull rod.

Really, you could use these inserts on any threaded bolt on the drum set that comes loose.

[jbsg02]

I just ordered 20 rods (since 20 was only a few more dollars than 10 was) for my black beauty, which is way out of tune after an 11 song set. I hope they solve my problem!

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by jbsg02

I just ordered 20 rods (since 20 was only a few more dollars than 10 was) for my black beauty, which is way out of tune after an 11 song set. I hope they solve my problem!

You will not be disappointed! If you have the cash, get them for your entire set, batters and resos.

[rmandelbaum]

Sounds like you have have a item you can sell and make some money on, very cool idea!

[ermghoti]

Just received my order today.

130 screws.

I've only done my Musashi (it and the Supra are getting new strainers), and haven't had time to beat on it yet. I'll report my findings.

Looks like a cool product. On the flipside, is a product called "bolt tight" from www.canopusdrums.com.

[Green_Shoes]

Tempting but de-tuing is that big a problem for me and postage to the UK would be high. Maybe one day, great idea though - like it.

[ermghoti]

Originally Posted by ermghoti

Just received my order today.

130 screws.

I've only done my Musashi (it and the Supra are getting new strainers), and haven't had time to beat on it yet. I'll report my findings.

Supra has gone through a full practice now. It did lose tuning some, but not as bad as before (the lug to the left of the strainer would normally be rattling). The drum is from '74 or so, and the old lugs were dripping with oil. I'll clean it up with solvent and try again.

[timmdrum]

Originally Posted by ermghoti

Supra has gone through a full practice now. It did lose tuning some, but not as bad as before (the lug to the left of the strainer would normally be rattling). The drum is from '74 or so, and the old lugs were dripping with oil. I'll clean it up with solvent and try again.

Might that have been the problem- too much lube in the lug receivers?

I can definitely see how this would be a great thing for rock drummers. That deep sound is such a big part of it, and low-tensioning combined with hard-hitting could definitely cause your drums to de-tune. What a great idea.
It's cool, isn't it, the way someone will come up with these kinds of solutions. Part of the evolution of the drum kit.

[ermghoti]

Originally Posted by timmdrum

Might that have been the problem- too much lube in the lug receivers?

I'll find out once I clean it up.