Hi-Hat Placement

[DrummerCafe]

Awhile ago there was a thread discussing hi-hat placement in the drumkit. I said I would post a picture of my YAMAHA Recording Custom kit set-up, in which I use the YAMAHA Cable Hi-hat as my primary hi-hat.

 

Here's a photo from a recent recording session I did. The complete kit is not shown, but it gives you an idea of my hi-hat placement.

 

http://home.swbell.net/sondage/index_files/images/Kit01.jpg

 

I sit so that my right leg is behind the kick drum, not my entire body. I am centered with the snare in the middle and my 10 inch tom is at the 12 O'clock position. The cable hi-hat is at the 11 O'clock position, raised and slightly tilted towards me (kind of difficult to see).

 

My arms feel very relaxed when I play; my elbows are down at my side. This is nice in that I have plenty of room to my left for a secondary snare, mounted tom and my drumKAT when I need it. I really like this open, relaxed placement.

 

http://home.swbell.net/sondage/index_files/images/Kit02.jpg

 

I also use a X-Hat on the right, which is set at the same height and angle as the Primary (cable) Hi-Hat. In the photo above, the top cymbal of the X-Hat is missing because I was in the middle of changing out the cymbal as well as some crashes when I took the photo.

 

 

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Bart Elliott

http://bartelliott.com

 

This message has been edited by Bartman on 09-14-2001 at 08:15 PM

[DerekDrums]

How is the response on remote hi-hats? Is it alot different than a standard hi-hat stand? I have some X-hats on my right too (in a way, I just got my new ones last week and moved my older ones to the right, I have them mounted kinda strange because it was all I had to work with, but they are basically x-hats), but I'm thinking about eventually down the road adding remote hi-hats on my right. How much of a difference from regular stands is noticable in your experience? Thanks,

 

Derek

 

http://www.mp3.com/DustinDerek

[DrummerCafe]

Well, I think anyone who says that Cable Hi-Hats feel just like the "regular" hi-hats on a stand ... is not telling the truth.

 

It takes a little getting used to for certain. I feel that I can do everything on the cable hi-hat that I can with the regular hi-hat stand, with the exception of foot splashes. The response is a little sluggish for this, but mostly the problem (for me) is the noisey foot pedal when I drop my heel to splash the hats. It works, but it's too noisey for recording. If I am playing a gig (ie. jazz or fusion) which might require some foot splashes ... I use my conventional hi-hat stand.

 

From those that I have talked to, the Yamaha Cable Hi-hat is the smoothest on the market, but this could probably change very quickly since new products and improvements are being made on a regular basis. The Yamaha system beat out the DW system amongst my drumming colleagues.

 

 

 

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Bart Elliott

http://bartelliott.com

[felix stein]

Pretty tight set up with nicey nice heads. You don't play a double pedal do you. That's cool.

[DrummerCafe]

I use a double pedal from time to time, but it's not set-up right now. To be Frank (but my real name is Bart), everything I need to do ... I do with a single pedal.

 

Using the cable hi-hat sure makes it easy to place the double pedal. There are no stands to get in the way, etc. I also use several Gajate pedals for cowbell, wood block, tambourine, etc. Typically I don't use these in the studio, tracking all the percussion separately for more mix control. There have been times when I record everything at once for a particular vibe, especially when I create a freaked out set-up with unconventional instruments. Most producers like having the control of mixing in or taking out the percussion stuff. It just depends on the situation really; there are no hard/fast rules.

 

 

 

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Bart Elliott

http://bartelliott.com