Cymgard Cymbal Protection

Something new! Cymgards are elastic rubber edge protectors and dampeners for cymbals. They have three basic purposes;

1. To dampen the sound of the cymbal for quiet practice,
2. Cymbal edge protection, and,
3. Cushioning for the cymbals in shipment or transit.

They are available in three styles: Cymgard Standard and Cymgard Lite for single cymbals, and Cymgard HiHats for pairs of hi hat cymbals. The Standard is a heavy weight rubber that can absorb heavy impact. They are designed to fit, cushion, and shield the edges of your cymbals from damage due to impact and falling. They are available in sizes from 12” to 24”. The HiHat model is the same weight and will accommodate a pair of hi hat cymbals from 13” to 16”. The Cymgard Lites are, you guessed it, a lighter weight model with a thinner profile that is good for less dampening than the Standard, as well as for protection in transit or storage. They come in sizes from 6” to 24”.

While the Lites go on easy, there is a little bit of a trick to getting the Standards on the cymbals the very first time, but once you learn the simple pull and snap technique, it takes no time at all. The Cymgards will break in and eventually mold to the cymbal over time which is great since there can be as much as a ¼” difference between manufacturers’ sizes. They are made well out of a quality rubber that will stand some abuse and not deteriorate.

Performance:

I tried both the Standard and the Lite versions on a 20” medium ride cymbal and an 18” medium thin crash cymbal. When playing the cymbals with the thicker and stiffer Standard Cymgard, they made the cymbals completely dead as one would expect, BUT the feel of the stick rebound off of the cymbal was about the same as an undampened one – very natural. Crashing with the shank of the stick on the side of the cymbals gave a dead “gonk” sound with no sustain, very similar to the sound and feel of hitting a rubber electronic cymbal pad. Perfect for playing with padded drums or a practice pad set. The Lites were my favorite for practice because they allowed some sustain when riding or crashing, though not really louder. The Standard HiHats are not designed for practice, just storage and cushioning. I also accidentally found a different use that was not described by the manufacturer. I placed a smaller Cymgard Lite loosely on top of the ride cymbal and thought "hmmm....what does that sound like?" it let the cymbal ring even a little more and allowed me to crash the natural edge too.

Protection:

I tried dropping and throwing a couple of old cracked cymbals on the ground. The Standards kept the cymbal edge from bending and cracking. I also tried a stand mounted cymbal, tipping the stand over until the cymbal fell and hit the ground. Same protection; no damage. This could come in handy in those bars or gigs where you have to leave your kit set up where a cymbal might get bumped into.

Cushioning:

I tried storing both the Standards and the Lites in my hard cymbal case and in my soft cymbal bag. The Standards take up more space but I would probably use them if I were going to fly the cymbals in checked baggage. I liked the Lites better for storing in the cymbal bag because they serve as dividers that keep the cymbals from rubbing against each other and don’t take up as much space as the Standards.

The manufacturer has a good video on YouTube that demonstrates all of the applications. My score for Cymgard is a solid ten. They do what they are designed to do and the multi purposes make it worth the investment. I can see no negatives. It's nice to see an innovative product that is designed well, manufactured well, and helps us drummers do what we need to do.

Prices range from $11.95 for the smallest 6” to $28.95 for the largest 24”. This is a product that could pay for itself in the long run as it can possibly save a cymbal from cracking or bending, necessitating a new cymbal purchase. Cymgards are sold at the www.cymgard.com website.

Snare Kick Riser Stand

I and probably ten thousand other drummers have had the idea of a pedal operated snare drum. Of course Rick Allen of Def Leppard has been playing an electronic snare trigger pedal for years, but I am not aware an acoustic snare drum stand with foot pedal attachment made by any of the major drum hardware manufacturers. Well, it took a guitar player to actually make a commercial model. Jim Darnell is a guitarist and the owner of Side Kick Drums. The Snare Kick Riser Stand is simply a metal stand that holds a snare drum on its side and has a “lip” to attach a foot pedal to.

It works and it is very simple and well made.

The popular Mumford & Sons with their lead singer/acoustic guitarist pumping a bass drum is responsible for the sacrilege of solo acoustic guitarists playing a lone bass drum with their right foot. Now this gizmo will give them something to do with their left foot!- but I think the biggest market for this Snare Kick Riser Stand may be drummers who want to free up their left hand to do other things. I can see this catching on quickly.

The stand is made of steel that is powder coated black. The two circular cradles for the snare have a firm foam rubber bumper glued to isolate the snare from the metal. The rear cradle is fixed in position while the front cradle is adjustable back and forth to accommodate different depth snare drums, up to 10”. The cradles will accommodate 14” and 13” diameter drums. Even though the drum just “sits” on the cradle while flanges in front and back hold the drum in place, the snare drum is pretty secure without excessive tight clamping. There is a 16” piece of thin flat metal in the rear that serves two purposes; it acts as the “hoop” for the pedal to attach to and acts as a “stabilizer” to keep the drum and stand from tipping over on the site. The spurs in front are adjustable and are attached to a nice front piece that has the company name laser cut into it. This is a well designed piece of gear, made of sturdy but light metal.

I tried it with several different size snare drums. It was very stable and it produced the desired effect despite my weak left foot... :-)

The Snare Kick Riser Stand is available from the manufacturer for $109.99 at www.sidekickdrums.com. They also make specialty snare drums and bass drums. Dealers are welcome too.

DrumClip - External Ring Control

This is a nice simple little tone control device that solves a lot of problems. Head treatments over the years, for the most part, have been everything from home made duct tape concoctions to rocket science Rube Goldberg type mechanisms to plastic rings. This product, to me, is the most logical device yet. No moving parts, sleek design, low profile and low maintenance. The idea for DrumClip may have come from the plastic clips on clip–on drum microphones. It can be called a muffler, but overtone controller is a better description.

DrumClip is made of a flexible plastic that snaps securely onto the hoop of a drum. It won’t come off unless you take it off and it stays in place. The broad surface that interacts with the drum head is strategically aligned to put only slight pressure on the head, which is enough to cancel the vibrations in the outer two inches of the head where most of the ringing happens. It comes with two different optional stick on pads; one felt and one rubber pad, that can be applied to the unit to further dampen the head.

What I like about the way DrumClip works is that it isn't attached to the head like plastic do-nut rings, duct tape, wallets, etc.

It stays in place and the head vibrates against it (or doesn't vibrate against it depending on how you want to look at it). DrumClip is small enough that it can stay on the drum when in transport in a case or bag, or thrown into a stick bag or cymbal bag. It can be detached on the fly for those times when you don’t want ring control. There are two models; the Regular DrumClip for toms and snares 12” and larger, and the Small DrumClip for toms 12” and smaller as well as larger toms. Both models can be used on bottom heads as well.

I played on drums outfitted with a variety of DrumClips at PASIC last month and they work great. I’ve been experimenting with the Regular DrumClip on my snare drums and really like the variation in controlling overtones that I can get with the different pads.

DrumClips can be ordered from the manufacturer’s website www.thedrumclip.com for $6.95 apiece plus sales tax and shipping.

NOMO Finish Protectors

This is just another great example of the famous Plato adage, “Necessity is the Mother of Invention!”  Steve Ives saw some of the same “drum needs” that many of us have become all too well aware of, and he actually did something about it.  That something became a line of products that are now known as NOMO.  Some of these “little fixes” became drum finish protectors, designed to keep your drums from scratching or otherwise damaging each other from contact or rubbing; others, are just intended to be helpful in getting the job done in a neat, stealthy manner.  Each NOMO is designed to be used “as is” or custom augmented for each drum or purpose.

The flagship product in the line is the NOMO protector that started it all.  Steve saw that the rim of his snare drum was coming in contact with the finish of the underside of his rack tom and scratching it.  He took a piece of durable material, double-sided it, stitched a loop across the top and ran a piece of leather cord through it and tied it off on each side to the drums tension rods.  The Finish Protector now hangs out of sight between the two drums, keeping them from making contact with each other.

Steve also has larger Finish Protectors that protects the bass drum from toms mounted on snare stands. Many of us have found out the hard way that this is also a good way to scratch the finish of your vintage or custom kick drum.  Simply place your NOMO on the kick drum in the area of the “danger-zone,” tie it off and stop worrying about it.

With NOMO, the only limitation is YOUR imagination.

The NOMO Kick Hoop Protector guards against the tight grip of bass drum pedal clamps.  Many (if not all) kick pedals seem to use hard clamps that squeeze down on both sides of the counter hoop…….marring the finish of even the most resilient drum hoop.  This NOMO is made of a single sided piece of the same durable material as all NOMOs, and ties the same way around the drums tension rods, folding around the outside rim of the hoop and coming between both sides of the hoop and the pedal clamp.  If the pedal ever slides on the hoop (as some guys kick harder and some finishes could have a “slippy-er” finish than others), some sort of “tacky”material can be glued on the inside of the NOMO material to get a tighter bite on the hoop.  Again, fully customizable!

In experimenting with the NOMOs , I found a great new use to combat an unforeseen problem with one of the toms on my kit.  It seems that the 16” suspended tom has a “RIMS-like” suspension bracket that apparently has slightly fatigued over the years and was now making contact with the drums lacquer finish as well as making noise.  I took one of the NOMO Kick Hoop Protectors (as it is single ply and thin) and custom cut it with a pair of scissors and fit it between the drum and the suspension bracket, again tying off the leather lace with the tension rods.  Mission accomplished! This incredibly easy and effective fix is so stealthy that it’s hard to notice, just like all the NOMO products.

I usually only use a few pair of sticks, mallets and brushes when I play.....never one to like the idea of taking 20 pairs of sticks to a gig. The other issue I have is I don’t always use a kit that has a free-standing floor-tom to attach an average size or larger stick bag to. The larger, hanging/suspended toms I use much of the time won’t support that type of weight.  Steve Ives seems to have come up with the perfect solution for this with the NOMO Stick Caddy.  Each one holds two pair of whatever sticks or mallets you are using.  It attaches the same way as the other NOMOs by simply tying the leather lace around the adjacent tension rods. They can be hung on the low-end toms (or any other drum for that matter) and even work well laying across the top of the kick drum for a quick grab at a stick.

One evening I thought I would get a little creative with the Stick Caddies.  I decided to see about anchoring them to the lower end of the drum shells, thus providing two points of contact with the drum.  To accomplish this, I merely took a pair of scissors and poked a small hole on each side of the center stitching about a quarter of an inch inside, and parallel to the bottom tension rods.  The next step was to thread a piece of the leather lace through the holes and tie it off to the tension rods.  I then repeated the process again for the next tom, adjusting for depth.  What I like best about these stick holders is that they stay on the drum when it gets packed away in the case; just like all NOMOs, it folds up with the drum.

The final NOMO I “played” was the NOMO Set List Holder.  Made of a heave-duty, clear material, it ties anywhere you want it.  Fold your set list in half and insert into your NOMO, now your set list is protected and exactly where you what it:  only an arm’s length away.

All NOMOs are available in black or clear material.  I have NOMOs all over my kit and they are hardly visible as they are designed to do the job without detracting from the drums. They are easy to adapt to your particular configuration or custom need.  With NOMO, the only limitation is YOUR imagination.  Steve also welcomes your requests for custom orders and ideas.  In short, I really have to recommend these things, you should probably have at least a half dozen for yourself……they’re cheap, they’re simple, and they really work!

From Lancaster County PA, Thoughts from the shop………. Brian Hill