Hihat tilt direction?

pinstripe

Active Member
I searched but didn't see this discussed. What is the right direction for the tilt of the lower hat? You can set the orientation of the tilt by where you position the adjustment screw. Right now I have the support collar turned so that the screw is positioned away from me. This puts the high side of the lower hat away from me, and puts the larger gap between the hats towards me. Is this how it's usually done?

Also, where is the snare throw-off usually positioned? Right now I have my snare turned so that it's at about the 10 o'clock position. This makes it workable with my left hand but keeps it clear of my left knee. Is this the right spot for it? Thanks!
 
No encyclopedic measurements apply to these questions. You may tilt your hi-hat and orient your snare however you wish. Comfort and efficiency should be your objectives, and the specifics of those conditions will differ from player to player. Exploring various hi-hat/snare adjustments until you pinpoint positions that please you is the ultimate solution.
 
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I dont currently have the bottom hat screw in use. I see maybe 1/16" of hat sticking out so it's a non issue.

My snare stand is super old. It's not of the clamping basket type, rather the swiveling and sliding arms type. I start with the throwoff at the 6 o'clock position, but the collars roll pin is broken so it rotates to about the 4 o'clock position slowly as I play.
 
I put the tilt screw towards me so that the hats tilt slightly away from me when adjusted properly. The reason being that the tilt away lets the bottom hat sit slightly inside the bottom of the top hat so the top hat sort of is over-biting (if you will). If the screw is on the opposite side (away from me), when the hats tilt toward me the bottom hat tends to "under-bite" where the lower hat sticks out farther. When this happens it chews the heck out of my sticks much faster than the tilt-away set up.

This way (first picture) instead of second picture.
 

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by Stephen Clark, aka 'The Non-Glamorous Drummer' on YouTube. Admittedly (to me) a kind of odd channel name, but he actually has really solid info for beginner to intermediate dummers!
Yep, he's great -- probably my favorite YouTube drum guy. I watched a couple of his hi hat videos earlier and while he talks about hat spacing and the need for some tilt, he never goes into tilt direction. If you watch carefully you can see that he puts the screw towards the back but he doesn't explain why. I will say that I just experimented with tilting towards you vs. tilting away and am definitely seeing the overbite/underbite effect that ottog1979 mentioned. It does look like the overbite (which happens when the screw is towards you) would be easier on your sticks. I'm also noticing that it seems to give a smoother and more controllable transition from closed to open sounds.
 
I put the tilt screw towards me so that the hats tile slightly away from me when adjusted properly. The reason being that the tilt away lets the bottom hat sit slightly inside the bottom of the top hat so the top hat sort of is over-biting (if you will). If the screw is on the opposite side (away from me), when the hats tilt toward me the bottom hat tends to "under-bite" where the lower hat sticks out farther. When this happens it chews the heck out of my sticks much faster than the tilt-away set up.
Same here.
 
I put the tilt screw towards me so that the hats tilt slightly away from me when adjusted properly. The reason being that the tilt away lets the bottom hat sit slightly inside the bottom of the top hat so the top hat sort of is over-biting (if you will). If the screw is on the opposite side (away from me), when the hats tilt toward me the bottom hat tends to "under-bite" where the lower hat sticks out farther. When this happens it chews the heck out of my sticks much faster than the tilt-away set up.

This way (first picture) instead of second picture.
Exactly how I set mine :)

Snare Throw I usually have at about 8 o clock.
 
I searched but didn't see this discussed. What is the right direction for the tilt of the lower hat? You can set the orientation of the tilt by where you position the adjustment screw. Right now I have the support collar turned so that the screw is positioned away from me. This puts the high side of the lower hat away from me, and puts the larger gap between the hats towards me. Is this how it's usually done?

Also, where is the snare throw-off usually positioned? Right now I have my snare turned so that it's at about the 10 o'clock position. This makes it workable with my left hand but keeps it clear of my left knee. Is this the right spot for it? Thanks!
My understanding is when the hats are pressed together, they are no longer at an angle.

The purpose (I thought) of a cup tilter, not cup, is to prevent the air locking of the closed/closing hats.

As a vented hat person, there’s no need for the tilter, hats are always default to parallel with no need to adjust.

I use the AA fusion with 2 air vents around bell, and AAX fast hats, which have flattened bottom with 3 air vents on body of cymbal to counter the air locking by accelerating air escape through vents.

Both are amazingly chick accented with tight, clear, and crisp chick, absolutely no air locking.

Snare throw is underneath my hats around 7-8 o clock.
 
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I put the tilt screw towards me so that the hats tilt slightly away from me when adjusted properly. The reason being that the tilt away lets the bottom hat sit slightly inside the bottom of the top hat so the top hat sort of is over-biting (if you will). If the screw is on the opposite side (away from me), when the hats tilt toward me the bottom hat tends to "under-bite" where the lower hat sticks out farther. When this happens it chews the heck out of my sticks much faster than the tilt-away set up.

Same reasoning here. Also the tilt screw is in easy reach if I ever decide to adjust it during the course of a session.
 
My understanding is when the hats are pressed together, they are no longer at an angle.

The purpose (I thought) of a cup tilter, not cup, is to prevent the air locking of the closed/closing hats.

As a vented hat person, there’s no need for the tilter, hats are always default to parallel with no need to adjust.

I use the AA fusion with 2 air vents around bell, and AAX fast hats, which have flattened bottom with 3 air vents on body of cymbal to counter the air locking by accelerating air escape through vents.

Both are amazingly chick accented with tight, clear, and crisp chick, absolutely no air locking.

Snare throw is underneath my hats around 7-8 o clock.

Right, when the hats are closed there's no angle between them. Instead they both sit at the angle of the lower hat, whose position is fixed. The screw sets the tilt angle and the cup, which rotates, sets the tilt direction. And of course when they're open the angle between them is determined by the tilt of the lower hat.

As far as I can tell, the main reason for the tilt is to avoid air locking like you said. But it also seems to affect the sound, since it changes how the hats hit each other. When there's no tilt, the hats immediately come into contact along the full circle of their outer edges. But when there's some tilt, they first touch in a point or small area which then grows to the full circle with more pressure.

So the tilt gives a more progressive engagement that's controllable by the pedal, and this control allows expression. Some also say you get more sizzle since the initial contact is focused in a smaller area.
 
I've always tilted the bottom cymbal toward me. Everything else on the kit is tilted toward me, so I figure the hats should be also.

The angle is usually the minimum to avoid air lock, but I also prefer the sound of my 16" Sand Hats when I can hit the bottom cymbal, opposite to what Otto said. My sticks always die in the middle first (from rimshots) anyway.
 
I've always tilted the bottom cymbal toward me. Everything else on the kit is tilted toward me, so I figure the hats should be also.

The angle is usually the minimum to avoid air lock, but I also prefer the sound of my 16" Sand Hats when I can hit the bottom cymbal, opposite to what Otto said. My sticks always die in the middle first (from rimshots) anyway.

I tilt the hats toward me as well. As in Ottog1979's second picture example. No reason other than it is what seemed natural to me. My crashes and ride tilt toward me, so the hats to me should follow suit.
 
I do not understand the big dilemma here, this is no Starsky & Hutch episode.

The thumbscrew under the bottom hat should be closest to you. The slant created by the clutch height above is dictated by the style of music.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here’s 2,000 worth.
 

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So that's 4 who tilt the bottom hat away, 2 who tilt it towards them (plus the YouTube guy), 1 who tilts it perpendicular, and 3 who keep it flat.
It’s a mad world, there’s simply no accounting for those who are off kilter 🤷‍♂️. It’s whatever works best for you.
 
I put the tilt screw towards me so that the hats tilt slightly away from me when adjusted properly. The reason being that the tilt away lets the bottom hat sit slightly inside the bottom of the top hat so the top hat sort of is over-biting (if you will). If the screw is on the opposite side (away from me), when the hats tilt toward me the bottom hat tends to "under-bite" where the lower hat sticks out farther. When this happens it chews the heck out of my sticks much faster than the tilt-away set up.

This way (first picture) instead of second picture.
This. Also, with the screw on my side of the stand, I can play on the closed side of the hats.
 
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