Gibraltar rack setups... seeing a trend

[alparrott]

Please don't construe this as a slam against Gibraltar, I think they make some fantastic, innovative products. But I'm wondering if they've only got one guy working in the artist relations/creative consultant position in their drum rack division.... three out of every four pros using rack setups pictured on their Facebook page, well, looks like they are perching triumphantly on a giant spider they just killed.

OK, yes, you can use curvy rack parts with boom extension adapters on top of them as cymbal arms. Got it. Moving on now.

I think this is the twenty-teens version of the "drum cage" cliche of the mid-80s... What say you?

 

[Lovetadraw]

Made me laugh with the thing about the spider, I can't unsee it.

 

[konaboy]

Yup but from a marketing standpoint people see it and want it. The way those are setup would seem to make you spend more money because of they way they are setup, looks like you need more of the cross bars and bases, which turns into more profit for the rack companies. Me personally I don't see the appeal of the spider look

 

[Bretton]

I think it's pretty cool. I did something very similar to create a mic stand that would be out of the way of my flailing arms.

 

[Naigewron]

It's got nothing to do with brands; all the rack manufacturers do the same thing (except Pearl, because square tubes are more limiting).

Here are some Yamaha racks:

 

[inneedofgrace]

Dang - I have to add some curved pieces to my boring Gibraltar rack. I wonder how much harder it is to pack and transport the curved pieces?

 

[harryconway]

Yeah, to some degree, the 80's never left.​

 

[konaboy]

Dang - I have to add some curved pieces to my boring Gibraltar rack. I wonder how much harder it is to pack and transport the curved pieces?

Other than if you put stuff in a case it's the same, doubt curved pieces probably won't fit in a standard road case. Just added weight with more pieces to transport if you are not taking any of the straight ones off your setup.

 

[BabyBob]

Yea it's the new trend...though personally I dislike such ranks...too distracting :\

 

[Eyamsiyu]

I still remember when I first saw Luzier's kit he was using, with the DW racks...

I think I'll stick with either Pearl/Yamaha rack and keep it basic, or just use normal cymbal stands: less stuff to carry from gig to gig.

Plus this looks like it will only look cool if you have a lot of stuff to mount. Which I also don't.

 

[sd9er]

Here's a case FOR a playing with a rack;
From a working drummer's stand point, when I started to do more gigs, one inescapable fact was made clear to me: most real estate that the band had to set up on was too miniscule for the amount of stands I needed to haul to a gig. The footprint of regular stands just won't work on a stage that has to accommodate you and the bass player...or sometimes just the rhythm section alone. Upon seeing another drummer who had everything on a rack changed my way of thinking. The drummer was using an older Gibraltar rack with the two vertical support pipes close enough to the bass drum to leave about a 2" space from the shell. The drummer had 5 toms and 8 cymbals hanging on the entire rack, much like you see in the picture of one of my kits (...and yes, that's a 14" and a 16" tom hanging from the left rack arm, no sweat). Sound techs love my kit on this rack because they can position mike stands where they need them. Break down and set up is swift and easy and mostly everything ends back up where you played it last. I would never want to haul, setup and break down a rack as in the other pics in this thread, unless I had a roadie of course... and nothing against having a gorgeous Yamaha rack, either. Hey, I'm just a gigging drummer.
My two cents.
~CHEERS

 

[Andy]

Here's a case FOR a playing with a rack;

Real estate is a good reason to use a well designed rack. Another one is fast changeovers. I can have my kit positioned side stage, &, with the exception of the bass drum + snare, can be lifted on/off stage in one go. C/W mic's too, so literally plug & play

1st picture = my gigging rack. Small footprint, sturdy & practical.
2nd picture = my recording/home rack. Note use of curvy pieces, but not as cymbal arms. Again, (take away all the recording mic stands, etc) a clean & compact rack.

 

[alparrott]

Here's a case FOR a playing with a rack

Never said there wasn't a case for playing with a rack, thanks. I did it myself for many years.

The point of my original discussion is how many racks you see nowadays with the upswung vertical curved bars. The first time I saw it (and yes, I think it was one of those Yamaha HexRack pictures) I thought, "that is cool and strinking and innovative". Now I think "oh wow, we're running out of seats on this bandwagon."

@sd9er, KIS: You both showed pictures of straight, conventional racks with no overheads and argued the merits of racks. I appreciate your input and would like to present you with this:

(no malice intended)

 

[Andy]

@sd9er, KIS: You both showed pictures of straight, conventional racks with no overheads and argued the merits of racks. I appreciate your input and would like to present you with this:

(no malice intended)

Hahaha, non taken, & yes, I did miss the point. One tiny detail though, both of my racks consist entirely of curved horizontal sections, & the Yamaha has curved upright sections too No curved uprights used as cymbal stands though, that's just too much hardware for me.

 

[drumdevil9]

Although this is not my cup of tea look-wise, I can appreciate the visual statement it makes. I guess there are two schools of thought when it comes to racks. Some see it as a way to make a kind of visual art with their kits and others view a rack more in a utilitarian way. There's some middle ground as well with some liking the aesthetic of the classic rack as well as its functionality.

I use a Gibraltar Stealth which aims to put the focus more on the drums than the hardware. To each his/her own.

 

[drumhedd]

While the "spider" design is striking/memorable and makes a statement, it completely turns me off to everything Gibraltar racks are supposed to be: compact, efficient, sturdy ways of holding more gear with a smaller hardware footprint. I'd be more intrigued by a picture of a large double bass kit with a creative use of smaller Gibraltar components, rather than some showy nonsense.

 

[Otto]

Not sure I see the point of a rack...unless you are not intending to move your set or you can afford a roadie.

I would hate to lug the thing around.

Well placed drums on other solutions are very solid and impose far less weight. I can interplace enough stands to control foot print on my 6 piece 7 cymbal set (I have multi-items on each stand..and keep my bass free standing...no mounts on it..and even suspend my lower toms).

I like the trend to move the cross bars far lower...gets em out of the way...

The curves do appear to be style oriented and not so much functionally oriented...like racks in general, IMHO...

 

[KarlCrafton]

I like the REO Speedwagon kits look, the others not so much. The spider comment made me laugh.

I do appreciate how everything can be set up in the same spot, but I have never had a use for any racks--especially for what is going on with this stuff these days. Every 10 minutes it seems that Gibraltar is posting a pic on FaceBook of someone else they "suckered" into buying a ton of pipes and clamps.
Hey, it's all about the joy of playing drums, and having fun with the set up too I've customized a lot of stuff myself, so I'm not going to say it's stupid or don't do it. It's just not what I'd want to do.

These can kinda look cool, but Audie Desbrow's (from Great White) Yamaha kit, with the "wave" of curved tubes coming over to hang the cymbals was about the coolest one I ever saw. I tried finding a pic, but couldn't...

 

[drumhead61]

Not too much a fan of that look, but what I did like seeing were all those Yamaha Oak kits caught up in that web! Now that was some good looking stuff there!

 

[Lunar Satellite Brian]

I don't think this has anything to do with Gibraltar really, it's just that they have the hardware to make one and artist do it themselves.

But yes, they are completely stupid looking, and I'm sure the road crew hates it too.