Every once in a while you stumble across something so simple and so useful, you just stop and ask yourself: why didn’t I think of that? Straight from the fertile mind of William “Bill” Feldman, comes a simple accessory that almost rivals the paperclip, and it’s just for us drummers. PinchClip was designed to replace wing nuts and other conventional “nuts” for cymbal stands, accessories, and hi-hat clutches. In just about any situation that you’re using some sort of screw-nut or have a lip to attach to, you can apply a PinchClip.
Just squeeze the PinchClip together with your fingers and place it on the threaded rod of the cymbal tilter and forget about it. Not only will it cut down on the time spent messing around with a wing nut, it will also allow you to properly adjust the space between the “nut” and the cymbal. This small detail will allow you to decide on the fly, how you want that plate swing, or not to swing. PinchClip grips so tight I literally picked up the stand with the plate attached, by the PinchClip, and took the entire assembly for a walk around my studio! No problem!
The next little trick I tried came directly from Bill. He suggested I attach the PinchClip to the bottom of the hi-hat clutch, replacing the screw nut. One thing I really don’t like is having the bottom nut of the clutch work its way loose in the middle of a tune and fall off. You know the game: the top plate stops moving and you no longer have hat control. This worked really well for me, and when it was time to set up and then tear down, the task was done in a moment. You can also apply it to the top position of the clutch, essentially replacing that nut as well.
Bill Feldman is a working architect who studied product design in college and just thought there was a better way to set up and tear down his drum set and save time in the process. PinchClip works very much like a binder clip and is made of specially treated spring steel and is available in a vinyl coated red or black color. At some point in the future, I would expect additions colors to become available.
I must say, I think this is one of those little gadgets that’s very much worth your consideration. Not only did it work as well as advertised, it looks really cool, too. Anywhere you use a conventional nut, you could probably apply a PinchClip. Just think: no more wasting time and effort searching for those dropped wing nuts concealed in the dark and cluttered mess of a stage following a gig. You might even save enough time tearing down to beat the singer or even a horn player out the door for change!
From Lancaster County PA……Thoughts from the Shop.
Brian Hill