I needed the weight (Crosstown discussion)

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
So I used the complete set of Yamaha Crosstown hardware on a gig yesterday (which included a FP6110 bass drum pedal and their lightest throne) and it was super cool to get all those pieces into a large speaker stand bag weighing in at 25 pounds, but once the gig started, I was paranoid the throne would slip (it is NOT a spindle throne), and the hi hat did become wobbly on me with 17” hi hats, and the bass drum pedal performed flawlessly but every now and then it became loose on the hoop and had to be re-tightened. Maybe I play really hard? Nah....

So today in the picture I went back to my spindle-d throne (solid), and went to add a 9500 hi hat to match my 9000 pedal. The Crosstown cymbal stands and snare stands are awesome! I have three cymbal stands and two snare stands and they don’t mess around! But me being the heaviest piece of the kit, a proper throne is mandatory, especially when I don’t want anything to happen during a gig!

But the weight of the Yamaha Crosstown hi hat is such a treat! It’s almost 4lbs! Whereas the DW9500 with three legs comes in at 14 lbs without cymbals! Oh well. Stability wins this round ?37B356AA-7117-4BC1-B7D9-E085154C953D.jpeg
 
When I gig (when......) I will use my normal throne (Ahead Spinal G) & also my Mapex Falcon 2 legged Hi-Hat Stand. As, like you, I like the stability of these. I have yet to use the Crosstown Hi-Hat Stand as it is impossible to use my double pedal with it :(
 
When I gig (when......) I will use my normal throne (Ahead Spinal G) & also my Mapex Falcon 2 legged Hi-Hat Stand. As, like you, I like the stability of these. I have yet to use the Crosstown Hi-Hat Stand as it is impossible to use my double pedal with it :(
I think the Crosstown hat will perform better with 14” hats. I’ve yet to try it since I’m always using the 17” hats. It is too bad they didn’t engineer it for double pedal players.
 
I think the Crosstown hat will perform better with 14” hats. I’ve yet to try it since I’m always using the 17” hats. It is too bad they didn’t engineer it for double pedal players.
I was reading somewhere that the roll pin or set screw can be removed and the legs rotated to desired position, then the pin/screw re-esembled. I haven't got my set yet, so can't validate, but that may be an option for those with double pedals. i'm sure the v.2 version will be out a day after my MF 45 day return option expires and there will be a new HH stand with a wider stance, rotatable legs and new cymbal booms. It's usually how it goes when I buy something, so you can all thank me in 46 days.

Bo, I have a PDP throne without spindle, and with memory lock. It weighs a ton (I don't) and still won't stay put cranked down as tight as I can make it. No surprise a light throne wasn't confidence inspiring.

I'll see how the HH stands works out. My left leg/foot is pretty active when I play (time keeping thread). If it ends up walking around with the 14" hats, I'll likely add a 700 series stand. That'll be a bit over double the CrossTown, but still weigh almost half of my current one.
 
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Absolutely; keep the beef where you need it. I use a a Yamaha 700 hat stand with 15” new beats, and it’s rock solid. Never tried the crosstown hat stand but could see how large hat cymbals might overwhelm the stand. I use all single braced Yamaha stands these days, EXCEPT for my throne which is a very heavy Pork Pie model. Weight savings are great, but some areas require heavy duty support.
 
I can't do a lightweight throne - I'm not a lightweight person - so I need my big ol' Roc'n'Soc....bad seating is the one thing I can't deal with for a long gig.

Technically there's no crosstown throne - so just picking their lightest throne isn't really fair since the construction is totally different and it doesn't necessarily relate to the crosstown stuff at all - same for the pedal.

I have 14" hats and they've been great now for about 6 shows and I know there was people in the other threads that have popped up that have had them for a year or so and had no problems with hats - but no one was rocking 17"s. I can't imagine needing more stability for 14" hats and I don't have anything bigger to try.

They've also held my cymbals very well - which are a 21", 23" and 18" all set fairly high.

Still loving them - much to the chagrin of the Gretsch/Gibraltar family who I think would prefer to see my flat based Gibraltar in these shots...but I just can't get over how light and easy to move they are. plus the look is growing on me.
 

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It’s threads like this that I love - and dread. I’m seriously considering getting the Crosstown hardware, but I’ve seen stuff about the snare stand moving around and being too light, and the hi hat stand slowly creeping. Not to mention the need to use sleeves to protect them from scratching. Seems like there are enough minuses to make me hold off for now. But the weight savings for gigs keeps pulling me back in!!!
 
Shucks. I’m kinda bummed it wasn’t a perfect experience for you. The wobbly hi hat is a real disappointment. Is it a 3-leg stand?
 
It’s threads like this that I love - and dread. I’m seriously considering getting the Crosstown hardware, but I’ve seen stuff about the snare stand moving around and being too light, and the hi hat stand slowly creeping. Not to mention the need to use sleeves to protect them from scratching. Seems like there are enough minuses to make me hold off for now. But the weight savings for gigs keeps pulling me back in!!!
I only have the CrossTown snare stand at this point. Had my hesitations, so I started there. Have my 12" tom on it, which is extended higher than the snare would be and it hasn't moved at all. In fact, with the legs being the way they are, it's actually more stable than my previous much heavier stand. The HH stand conversation has me worried, but plenty of reviews saying it works better than expected. Maybe 17" hats are just too much? I'll know more this afternoon or tomorrow, after I get my set.

With respects to walking, Every HH stand I've ever played, including the beastly DW 5000 has liked to walk away on hard surfaces if not on a rug. As mentioned above, my left (HH) foot never stays put, so we'll see how the CrossTown hat stand will work.
 
It’s threads like this that I love - and dread. I’m seriously considering getting the Crosstown hardware, but I’ve seen stuff about the snare stand moving around and being too light, and the hi hat stand slowly creeping. Not to mention the need to use sleeves to protect them from scratching. Seems like there are enough minuses to make me hold off for now. But the weight savings for gigs keeps pulling me back in!!!

I have a 6.5X14" bronze snare and it hasn't moved around on me at all - in fact as I recall in the other threads - people were concerned about it moving around but there was no actual reports of it moving around.

There was another member that had them for like a year and didn't use the sleeves and didn't have scratching. I personally like the sleeves - less rattling when it's in the back of the car and it's like an extra 3 seconds per stand to slide on.

Shucks. I’m kinda bummed it wasn’t a perfect experience for you. The wobbly hi hat is a real disappointment. Is it a 3-leg stand?


It is a 3 legged stand. Do you use big hats? Because I'm not a light player in the context of the band I've used them on and I haven't had any wobble with heavier 14"s.
 
I haven’t tried the Crosstown yet, but I did go back to (some) medium weight hardware after a few incidents where the super light stuff either wobbled, fell, walked around, or got bent up.
 
I can't understand how the Yamaha Crosstown hi hat stand set up properly, on a rug, using the two screw spikes, would wander away while playing it. I think not using the two screw spikes and not adjusting the legs properly will cause any hi hat stand to wander.
Yeah ok it might not be stable enough with 17" cymbals. I've never tried 17" hi hat cymbals.

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The snare stands and cymbal stands are great. No bouncing with the snare and I bash my 22” ride pretty hard and the cymbals don’t budge. The hi hat stand probably isn’t as wobbly as you’re imagining, even with 17’s, and I could probably live with it, but am choosing not to.

RegArding the finish, I left the CrossTowns in their set-up lengths and put them all in a Long speaker stand bag without sleeves and on this first trip out they suffered no scratches, and this bag even held the throne and the bass drum pedal, so we’ll see how much actual scratching is going on. So far so good.
 
I can't understand how the Yamaha Crosstown hi hat stand set up properly, on a rug, using the two screw spikes, would wander away while playing it. I think not using the two screw spikes and not adjusting the legs properly will cause any hi hat stand to wander.
Yeah ok it might not be stable enough with 17" cymbals. I've never tried 17" hi hat cymbals.

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The hats aren’t walking away. The way it wobbles when I bash away with the 17’s is my thing. I’ve been using heavy stands up until now so I’m not ready for side-to-side rocking. The DW9500 solves this.
 
I just bought the Yamaha 700 series hi hat and snare stand from recommendations on this forum. They will be my “heavy” hardware for gigs, like an outdoor one next week. But for indoor gigs, I’m still jonesing the Crosstowns....
 
The hats aren’t walking away. The way it wobbles when I bash away with the 17’s is my thing. I’ve been using heavy stands up until now so I’m not ready for side-to-side rocking. The DW9500 solves this.

Yes, I get it. It makes sense. I was responding to others who complained about wandering hi hat stands. One of these days I'm gonna try some 17" hi hats. Sounds like fun !!!

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I was reading somewhere that the roll pin or set screw can be removed and the legs rotated to desired position, then the pin/screw re-esembled.

Unfortunately not. This was the very first thing I tried. The Footplate is fixed unfortunately & can't be moved. :(
 
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