Jazzman Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 OK.......... If you had an opportunity to invent something for a drum set what would it be? What would you like to see happen with the set. What bothers you enough to invent a solution to this dilemma? Has anyone out there invented something for kits, non electronic equipment please. I started to think about this and wanted to see if there has been any activity out there in this area. For example, cymbal types, drum components, tuning devices, drum structures, quick disconnects, new type of drum, etc. etc. What would your invention be like or your fix be? Or better still ..... "I wish I had a _______.", or I wish someone would come up with a _________." I myself have invented something for environmental stack testing related to work many years ago. It had taken me 1/2 of an hour to get the idea and three years to patent it. I have the ribbons to show for it. Whats out there in the heads or on the drafting table? Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 I wish they would nail down infinitely configurable drum ergonomics. In other words, wherever you want a particular instrument in the kit to be, it's precisely there. You see things like double kick pedals, and remote hats with the Borg style cabling, hat stands that angle toward you, angled toms cause your kick's too big, reaching one arm over another to play the hat... I've seen more than a couple topics 'round these parts about placement of instruments in the kit. I doubt many of you out there are 100 percent thrilled with your set configuration. For me it's aways compromise. So I want zero-gravity hardware... or maybe some type of mysterious mass of invisible goo that you place your drums into and then you sort of shift them around perfectly and then hit the save button. sorry, going a bit out there... but yeah, ergonomics and drum hardware need an evolution. so I'd like it if they got to working on that a bit. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlhubley Posted November 13, 2001 Share Posted November 13, 2001 Here's a CRAZY idea: How 'bout stonger alloy for all of the screws, thumbscrews, tilts, etc. I am tired of watching $100+ strip out. This obviously makes the stand either less stable, or useless. SO you go try to find the part and it has to be shopped from Taiwan, and is only sent by boat. Well, 5 weeks later, they are re-shipping it because the package fell into the ocean and a crazy shark ate it. 15 weeks later, you might get the right part. No, this didn't happen, exactly. But, I do hate watching good equipment go to waste because the company is too cheap to use a strong alloy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KikkyMonk Posted November 23, 2001 Share Posted November 23, 2001 I really like this thread but I can't think of anything anyone? Dave I like the drumframe idea cuz I got a bum back but its really expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted November 23, 2001 Share Posted November 23, 2001 how about an american made piece of hardware?...one would think somebody smart could make the stuff cheaper here...but there is not alot of money in hardware...so that keeps me out of it. We went thru this awhile back. I would like a machine where while I am playing my drums, time stops...so then I always have lots of time to practice, jam, whatever....And I would like it for a 1000 bucks or less, but I would probably pay 50X that if I had to. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted November 24, 2001 Author Share Posted November 24, 2001 Could any of these have merit for production? If it were manufactured, would any of you buy it? Do any of these make sense? It is hard to break away from the norm, but that's how other people get rich. 1. How about a device that could replace the standard screwed wing nut to capture the cymbal to one that has a friction component that when two external ears are squeezed together slides over the cymbal stands top affording this to be a quick disconnect fitting. Would save time, could adjust to be tight to the cymbal or as loose as you would want it to be. No fumbling around and loosing the wing nut on stage. 2. How about simple rods that would attach to the drum throne to the bass drum, and a rod from the throne to the hi-hat. This would stop the bass drum and hi-hat from moving away from each other and the throne, no need for any floor covers, you could use just the rubber tips of thr bass drum adjustible feet. You could have a rod from the hi-hat to the bass drum too. The rods could be adjustible but have the ability to snap in place at each device. This could be a quick set up for the rest of the set. 3. How about a drum stick that has screwed on "plastic" locking tips? Or a drum stick that has two types of tips, one on either end of the stick. You could have plastic tips on one end, and on the other end wooden tips, or anything else for that matter. 4. How about a slip on trigger that would fit over the drum head ring that when hit could create a different percussion type sound. The trigger only needs to be 8" long, so you still could use the metal ring as was original for a rim shot. The shape could be that of the looks of a car door edge protector. 5. How about a can of liquid plastic that could be used to refurbisd the plastic tips of worn out drum sticks, or provide you with a set of drum sticks that could be turned into a plastic set? It could be like the material used to create an insulated covering for a set of cutters that an electrican would use. The material is in a can, you just dip the handles into the liquid material that you want protected, pull it out and let it dry out. 6. How about a designer set of drum stands, such as a flat black set of stands. If done correctly could make the drum stands disapear, make the drums appear to float in space, black lights, etc.etc. Don't laugh at these.........I went into a music store the other day and came across a designer set of "Goats Nails" to be used as a sort of a shaker. I wanted to buy a set, which comprised of a string of (toe) nails. But the salesman stated to me that the set was actually two strings of nails, not just one. I told him that I would have a hard time using just one set. I bet the goat didn't get any royalities for that one!!!!!!! H u m m m....I wonder if my toe nails could be a substitute for the real thing. Just a few things to think about. Maybe some of these things are already developed and in existance, and then again maybe not. You may or not think any of these are worth the time either. Keep thinking............ Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuzinit Posted November 24, 2001 Share Posted November 24, 2001 Jazzman - I really like your idea of the clip for the top of my cymbal stands. Something that would be pinch operated so that you could snug it up against your cymbal for a tighter response or loosen it up for those times you really want to just lay into it. ....and the thought of never loosing another wing clip on stage. WoooHooo!!! Great idea. If I'm behind the times, and someone out there knows where I might be able to find a product like this, please let me know!! Thanks!! cuzinit@writeme.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scream187 Posted November 25, 2001 Share Posted November 25, 2001 Someone posted something very interesting about making cheap triggers, and I tried it and it workds great so I'm posting it here! I didnt came with that, Jim did, now I'm using it to build myself a new kick tower for my electronic so I can use a double pedal without buying a new tower that costs way too much hahaha, u can even make your own pads by using those practice pad and cutting em! Here's what he wrote: *** One more item to the kick tower thread(btw, I have no problem with mine). After trying to figure out how to add a second kick to my kit I finally stumbled upon a solution. As the kp80s is really not available (nor our the dual zone pads for that matter-yamaha has some serious production problems) I found an old snare practice pad I had(the suction type-plus percussion). I cut the outer area out and cut a slit in the back to reveal a thin plate which is about 6" in diameter. I then disassembled the dtxpress kick tower removing the small kick pad and piezo element and inserted it into the practice pad, using a small drill and some sheet metal screws I attached it to the front of the tower and reassembled the rest of the tower and tested the pad for striking coverage, it worked great, so I was able to buy a double pedal and play double bass like I originally wanted, without the cost of buying extra hardware. If any one wants more detail let me know, I'll try and get some pictures. Back to my earlier thoughts on Yamaha, does anybody know of any source that has stock on the yamaha pads. Most places I have checked with say mid April is the earliest. I got tired of waiting and bought a pintech concertcast(mesh head) for my snare. The rim trigger will work on 9/10 but not on 1-8 rim trigger inputs on the dtxpress module. Any body know about the dual zone cymbal pads? will they work on the stereo inputs of the dtxpress? I'd like to add some more cymbals to the kit-two is simply not enough! Jim *** Cool uh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted November 26, 2001 Share Posted November 26, 2001 I find it interesting that most of the talk on this thread is about hardware and convenience. this tells me there are no complaints about the sound of drums (I'm certainly not). Strange thing about hardware... I recently did a HW upgrade and I found that the number of interchangeable parts and "tweak factor" to stands these days is mind-boggling. I used to have a hi-hat stand that I'd just whip together in a flash. Then I got this fancy-shmancy DW hat stand and there's like 10 different ways to adjust it, and I have to tighten 4 bolts with the tuning key just to get the damned thing set up. Is this progress? Drum hardware these days is like operating systems or software titles... they get more and more "feature rich" and much more convoluted at the same time. This shows me that drum companies aren't thinking about gigging drummers, they're thinking about development where "improved design" hurts more than it helps. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scream187 Posted November 26, 2001 Share Posted November 26, 2001 I'm not a gigging drummer yet! but I understand the problem it can be for you guys! There's a reader in the december issue of Modern Drummer saying that drum companies should include the weight of their item, cuz for gigging drummer it could be usefull, I think its a good idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted November 26, 2001 Author Share Posted November 26, 2001 We need to get back to the "K I S S" factor! Convience can be simple too. Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlhubley Posted November 26, 2001 Share Posted November 26, 2001 The "clip-style" cymbal sleeves mentioned already exist. I think Sonor makes some, and I know there is another brand that does them as well, I think they are use the same distributor as Universal Percussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaddabout Posted November 26, 2001 Share Posted November 26, 2001 I mentioned this in another thread, but I'll bring it up again. I'd really like to invent a rocking hi-hat pedal. By tha, I mean a pedal that opens and closes the hats in either direction. The only way I think it'd work would be to use a flat foot for close. I've seen gyroscopes used on wheel chairs in ways that could make this possible, I just don't have the working knowledge of the stuff to apply it myself. I know the key to this is there is no lock position, and it would require a new left foot technique to make it work, but I think the results could be dramatic. I think it could have the same impact as the double pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted November 26, 2001 Author Share Posted November 26, 2001 Gadabout, cool idea, now the idea needs to be put on paper, spend some time building one to prove out your theory, then go through the patent process. Then talk to the manufactures about the idea. And boy if that doesn't discourage you, nothing will! rlhubley, cool I didn't know that the "clip-style" device already exists. Thanks for the information, rats and I thought I had the idea first. Just goes to show you this bothered me 30 years ago, should have thought of it then, I would call it the "Jazzman Clip"! HAHA How come these guys don't advertise these things to the masses in catalogs. They will advertise 4,000 types of guitar picks in catalogs taking up space, but not a simple time saving device for drummers to use in the field. I could be wrong, but these kinds of things bug me. Thanks guys,..... OK manufacturers out there tell us drummers whats in store for us in the future. What's on the drafting table that is patent pending! This would be a good place to target the audience to find out if the ideas would get accepted or not. Now were talking......... Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrydrummer Posted November 26, 2001 Share Posted November 26, 2001 Jazzman, The Cymbal securing system that you wished for is called "Slicknut" manufactured by Samson Fastener Co. See them at: WWW.slicknut.com . Two different sizes are available for different shaft diameters on different brand stands. I've got one on every one of my stands and it sure speeds up setup and teardown. No more hunting wingnuts on the floor after spinning them off either! I bought mine at the local Mars Music and they are advertised in Modern Drummer. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted November 26, 2001 Share Posted November 26, 2001 cool invention... what an unfortunate name. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agogobil Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 How 'bout ... with all of the different types of drum heads - single-ply, coated, powerdot, half the calories, Ginger, Mary Ann, etc.,etc., etc. - why couldn't drum shops have some sort of machine or software that would duplicate the sound of the head you'd want to buy on the type or brand of drum shell that you have - much like some beautician's places where they can show the gal what her haircut will look like on her. That would save us a lot of $$$$$ .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted November 27, 2001 Share Posted November 27, 2001 Interesting idea. You know... there's a CD commercially available that's very popular with modern recording engineers. It features different preamps and they recorded the same sounds under consistent conditions. You can listen to all the samples and hear how the different preamps sound in terms of their character and quality. They should do the same with drums and heads. shouldn't be too difficult. Have some constants (same tuning, same drum diameters, same mics, pres, flat EQ) and only have the drums and heads be the variables. It would be a lot of work, but you could get all the major drum manufacturers, take all their lines of drums, then take all major drum head manufacturers and all their lines of heads and go through and record every possible permutation that exists. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted August 5, 2002 Author Share Posted August 5, 2002 Well folks I was reading Modern Drummer and the September 2002 issue had some interesting new devices in it that I wanted to share with you. Has anyone here seen or used any of these devices? 1. "Jingle Mutes" Tambourines attached to the drum stick. The ring can be muted. Check out this site: www.pernan.com 2. "Drumm Chukks" Sticks that have a spring attached about 1/4 of the way down from the tip. It is to provide some sort of a flam. Check out this site: www.theblastingzone.com 3. "Rattle Sticks" Sticks with an aluminum tube filled with shaker pellets. Check out this site: www.RattleSticks.com Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe blow Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Hey what about some kind of lighting system for your drums? I put a small light bulb and cord with an on/off switch under my snare (not too close though) and it looks pretty cool in the dark. I mounted it on my snare stand. It lights up the heads. What if there was some sort of lights that went around the drum edge and had no wires to plug in. That would be cool for giggin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 "I find it interesting that most of the talk on this thread is about hardware and convenience. this tells me there are no complaints about the sound of drums (I'm certainly not)." The sound of plastic heads on shells choked with hardware frankly sucks. Play some high grade calfskin on truly free floating shells (not what Pearl sells as "free floating" and then let's talk. It's the difference between a musical instrument and a not very musical instrument. The usual objections about the need to tune the instrument are most amusing to a player of any other acoustic instrument! Another one- cymbal stands choke cymbals. While it's true that a slightly choked sound can provide the kind of dry ride sound that we've become accustomed to all these years, you may be astonished to find how beautiful and full and lush cymbals can sound when they are suspended, something every orchestral player is well aware of. This is a great thread, I'll have to go back and read everyone's ideas very carefully. I am personally working on re-inventing the drum kit. Setting up a kit is usually a matter of finding somewhere to put all those triangular stand legs that stick out in your way. Those things really limit where you can put what. I envision straight vertical stands that bolt onto a base for the central elements of the kit, so no stand legs in the way, and you can roll it onto stage or to a new place in the studio with ease, every element already in place and at the optimum angle. For larger kits this would mean a couple or a few of these drum carts. These might not be infinitely configurable, but so what- we've had enough of hardware that tries to be everything to everybody, it's time for hardware that specifically and directly addresses a particular player's needs. Obviously the drummer who needs to cram it all in the trunk of a Citroen will have different needs than what I have described above. The other innovation (I'm sure it's all been done already, when drummers were inventive and original and didn't buy everything ready made from the current manufacturers, along with their ideas on drumming) I would like to re-invent is a kind of rack for suspending cymbals from, to replace all the cymbal stands for the ten or so cymbals I have hanging at any given time. Keep the great ideas coming! A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Originally posted by joe blow: Hey what about some kind of lighting system for your drums? I put a small light bulb and cord with an on/off switch under my snare (not too close though) and it looks pretty cool in the dark. I mounted it on my snare stand. It lights up the heads. What if there was some sort of lights that went around the drum edge and had no wires to plug in. That would be cool for giggin.This is a great idea! Our drummer likes to play in light bright enough to see his drums well, he doesn't know why. We told him we were going to go to a Salvation Army store and find him one of those granny lamps with fringed tassels and set it up next to his drums at every gig - on a little round tea table with a doily on it, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george costanza Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 This is strictly a showbiz idea: A device that plops out a measured amount of glitter onto a tom head (or cymbal) so that when you hit it a splash of "glitter light" erupts! I saw a drummer who set his kit up for this effect once but, of course, after the first hit it was all over! I know it sounds goofy next to these other practical notions but it does look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Lightbulbs inside calfskin drums were standard in the old days. I like the idea of colored ones. A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPCman Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 I'd like to invent silent heads with the playing feel of acoustic heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 a bass drum pedal that in addition to the usual motion allows you to damp and undamp the bass drum: bum bum booom! One way would be having heel down strokes damped, and heel up strokes wide open. A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 A light bulb inside a drum sounds like a really cool idea, but in the "old days" the light bulbs didn't have to deal with the John Bonhams and Keith Moons of the world. Seriously, wouldn't today's rock drummers shatter the bulbs? It'd have to be some kinda special bulb, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwarf Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 I'd be happy with a hi-hat clutch that doesn't slip. My clutch now is pretty good but to get it not to slip I have to tighten it pretty hard. It's not uncommon for me to have to hit it with something (SM58, small boom from cymbal stand, hammer) to loosen it. C'mon, with all we know we can't manage a good vice grip on a clutch? -- Rob I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 A solution for the "lighted drums" thing -- we bring our own stage lights to every show. One of these is a blue, 100-watt bulb in a standard clip-on aluminum work light that attaches to our drummer's drum seat. This lights him and his drums from behind and below. It also illuminates his heads from beneath, which is good because that's where he writes his set list (on the top head of his snare drum.) The "light inside the drum" thing is pretty impractical for a band that needs to pack drums in a bouncy van and transport them. \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teh dri Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 im in a breakbeat act thats mostly electronic driven but the precussion pieces we DO have have a super secret lighting secret that we secretly came up with in secret its a secret all i can say is powerful blue LEDs chained and a certain way of sensing a hit and triggering a light burst works to GREAT affect, and being in time with the music... its fantastic! less then secret... theres blue LEDs that pump the power out, and a few of them... oh yeah. as for the triggering, its not too hard to work out... but i bet youde come up with a far more complex way then we did goes to show sometimes the simplest and silliest ideas are the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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