The Coolest Drum Gadgets You Didn’t Know You Wanted

We’ve all seen the “top gifts for drummers” and “essential gear” articles, but I haven’t seen many articles listing the uniquely useful drum gadgets. Some of these you have probably heard about but I’m willing to bet you haven’t heard of all of these. I use almost all of these regularly and I plan to eventually buy all of them. I just couldn’t wait to share all of the cool drum gear that you didn’t know you needed with optional drum hacks!

Tama Cobra Clutch (DISCONTINUED)

The Tama Cobra Clutch is a product that has solved a problem for double bass drummers ever since Louie Bellson brought them to the bandstand. When you move your foot from your hi-hat to your second bass drum pedal, you relinquish the control of the hi-hat foot pedal and how much you want the cymbals open or closed. This clutch allows you to set your hi-hat at any level of openness with the push of a pedal. You can have your hi-hats tightly closed or slightly open for a sloshy sound while you play double bass.

Regular hi-hat clutch users, such as myself, have long desired having an option for the amount of slosh when playing double bass. Most drummers remedy this by setting their hi-hat to slightly open and never touching it. This is at the sacrifice of not having the option for a hi-hat wide open nor a loud 'chick' sound when using the hi-hat with your foot. At a hefty price tag, you can solve these problems with the Tama Cobra Clutch. This pedal sits to the side of your hi-hat pedal to easily set and unset.

Drum Hack
I think their needs to be a more affordable product to achieve the slosh sound when playing double bass. Long before this even came out, I came up with my own drum hack that literally costs around a dollar. Simply buy a strong spring that can fit around your hi-hat shaft. Most hi-hat stands have a 1/4" shaft so you would need a 3/8" spring like this one: 3/8" by 3/4" spring. Cut it to length and place it in between the two cymbals. This will hold the top cymbal up slightly when your regular hi-hat clutch is dis-engaged for a slosh and still allow for your pedal to work when the clutch is engaged.

However, this only gives you the option for slosh when playing double bass. Gavin Harrison likes to have the option for slosh or tight as he explains in this official Tama video:

Meinl Cymbal Tuners

A lot of people talk about the Meinl tuners​​ in articles like this so you have probably heard of them. There are mixed reviews on these and I think there's a couple things that need to be said about them. First of all, they don't just make you cymbal quieter. They transform your cymbal into a different but more quiet cymbal depending on where you place the magnets. I like the sounds I can get out of these, but it does depend on the cymbal you are using. I would urge your local drum shop to keep a set of these in the cymbal room so you can test them on different cymbals.

So, yes, these do make your cymbals more quiet at the expense of sometimes wanted overtones. If you want quiet cymbals, you really need to learn to play them more quiet with finesse. This is an important skill to work on especially when you're in the studio. If you are playing your cymbals too loud, it will bleed into the other microphones requiring you to gate or use other production techniques. It can also completely take over your overhead mics forcing you to turn down the overheads at the expense of losing bulk and essential overall room sound. Keep that in mind if you buy this product.

Drum Hack
There are some cheaper options to achieve this but they may not work as well as the Meinl tuners. I used to put duct tape on the underside of the cymbal but it left a nasty residue. Then I heard about these super strong neodymium rare earth magnets online for a fraction of the cost. You just need to put some sort of adhesive felt on them so they don't scratch your cymbal. I have not tried this but have heard that they work just as well. Comment below if you have tried this!

Gibraltar Shock Mount Cymbal Adapter

I usually have more cymbal stands sitting around rather than mic stands. This is perfect for that. It mounts to most cymbal stands. This product is intended for use on a cymbal stand when you have a cymbal mounted as well, that is why it also has shock absorption. It also absorbs the shock when you mount the stand on a rack.

I have wrapped tape onto cymbal stands so I could mount mic clips on them but this only works for a while until they fall off, damaging your microphone. I was definitely happy to find this product! I see the reviews aren't very good but that's because the rubber piece, which absorbs the shock, breaks...just be careful!

Drumgees

Drumlites

These Drumlites are amazing! I have an acrylic "see-through" drum set but these also work great with wooden kits. The remote control allows you to pick a bunch of different presets and colors. I chose to buy the Global DMX Controller so I could have the lights react to my music. This is definitely the way to go because with DMX control, you can do anything.

I will mention that the Global DMX Controller only allows you to show the same color on all the Drumlites you have (hence the name global). However, the Independent Controller with DMX Function allows you the ultimate control to do anything...at a really hefty price tag!

They also sell Drumlites that are triggered by sound, but they are not interchangeable or upgradable to the DMX controlled lights. I easily found a way to trigger the DMX controlled lights by sound with my setup in Ableton Live. But, in order to use it on each drum separately, I would have to buy the independent controller. That's where the triggered Drumlites are much more affordable. I still chose the Global DMX Controller for now with hopes to eventually upgrade to the independent controller.

My drum transcription video of "Moon" by Little People shows the first time I programmed my Drumlites in sync with the music. Check it out here: Moon by Little People - Drum Transcription by Robin Rapsys

Here are a couple official videos from Drumlite with Coop3rDrumm3r explaining their setup and uses. The second video shows their "triggered" version which cannot be interchangeable with the DMX controller. Like I said, with a little setup, you can easily do this with Ableton and a DMX controller. I will be releasing some videos on how I do this soon.

Trick Drums Cymbal Quick Release

The Trick Drums Cymbal Quick Release is by far the best of its type. There's a reason they're so expensive! They screw onto almost any cymbal stand, include felt washers, adjust for tightness, and of course...quick release when you pull on the top. And trust me, they do not "accidentally" pop off.

The KickStrap - Bass Drum Creep Solution

Meinl Cymbal Bacon

The Meinl Cymbal Bacon is a pretty well known product to create a sizzle effect on your ride or crash cymbal. I found this one to work the best because it's not so bulky and the built-in washer fits right on top of your felt washer. I didn't like the Pro-Mark Sizzlers because they were too bulky. The built-in felt and plastic piece didn't fit on some cymbal stands too.

Drum Hack
Of course, you can always take a necklace and drape it over you cymbal stand. Sometimes you need a piece of tape or something to secure it to the cymbal stand. I found that the "dog tag" style necklaces create the best sound which is the same material as the Cymbal Bacon. However, most necklaces will cost more than the Cymbal Bacon and require an extra step to secure it. But, if you have an extra necklace lying around, it could be a quick solution.

Zildjian Anti-Vibe Sticks

Have you seen the Zildjian Anti-Vibe Sticks before? They've been around for a while, but they've come a long way. They now offer them with colored dip grips, birch, natural, or maple and nylon or wood tips. There is a little nub on the back end that drastically reduces vibrations from coming down the stick which can cause wear on your wrists, elbows, and shoulders. They feel really nice but the rebound is very different and they take some getting used to. If you have any sort of pain in your hands, wrist, or arms, these sticks can help with that. I think the vibration reducing sticks will become more common in drumming. Anything to prolong the ability to play drums is a good thing!

Pearl Drum Key (Multi-Tool)

I used to keep a little ziplock bag in my stick bag with allen wrenches, screwdrivers, drum keys, etc. This Pearl Drum Key Multi-Tool alleviates all of that. Vic Firth, Tama, and Zildjian all make a similar version of a multi-tool but Pearl's design is better. It has more allen wrench sizes, more screwdriver sizes, and longer shafts. CruzTOOLs also makes a very similar product that is great, but Pearl 'one-upped' them by adding a bottle opener and a couple more screwdriver sizes. I prefer using this to tune my drums as well because the grip is better than any standard drum key. Definitely the best drum multi-tool on the market.

Tama Tension Locks

Tama Tension Locks lock your tension rods in place so your drums don't go out of tune while you're playing. There are a bunch of other products out there for this issue but these are the best ones. Why? Well, some of the other products out there wrap around the tension rods underneath the drum hoop which make tuning and changing heads a complete headache. The products that snap onto the top of the rods (Gibraltar Lug Locks, Pearl Tension Keeper, Tuner Fish Lug Locks) are easier but Tama Tension Locks are the only product that allow you to tune the drum while they are installed.

They just push onto the top of your troublesome tension rods and the O-ring allows you to tune the drum while they are on. These are probably one of the more expensive products of this kind but that is because they are the best! You don't need to put these on every rod of every drum either. Only install these on the lugs that seem to fall out of tune due to rim shots.

Evans Torque Key

I am a big proponent of tuning your drums by ear. Recognizing pitches and overtones is an important skill for any musician in general. That is why the Evans Torque Key is the best aid in getting your drums close to "in tune" followed by fine tuning by ear. The DrumDial and Tunebot are so much more expensive of a product when you are only using them to get close.

To use the Torque Key, just turn the bottom dial to a desired tension and turn the key on the tension rod until it clicks. After tuning that same tension on every rod, the drum should be very close to in tune. Record your "tension number" when you find the best tuning for each drum.

I will mention that the Torque key only works well with higher quality drums and tension rods free of rust. Lower quality drums will tend to have inequalities in their tension rods that can lead to uneven torque.

Thank you for reading! I hope the products and/or hacks were helpful in simplifying your drumming life. If you haven't checked out some of my other helpful articles, do so below!

Part 2 of this series:
The Coolest Drum Gadgets you Didn't Know You Wanted - Part 2

Other articles that may interest you:
Everything You Need to Become an Online Session Drummer - Part 1 – Getting Gear
Definitive Drum Practice Guide from Beginner to Advanced - Part 1 - Scheduling and Gear
Definitive Drum Practice Guide from Beginner to Advanced - Part 2 - Practice Session

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