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Author Topic: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat  (Read 3062 times)

Offline Akira JUMBO

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Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« on: May 19, 2007, 10:05:24 PM »
For those of you who have used drop clutch's, could you please share your experiences..are they good or a pain? I have heard different opinions on this and wanted a bit more.. :lol:

was thinking of getting a drop clutch or double hi hat setup..which would be better in your opinion? :?
« Last Edit: May 19, 2007, 10:07:06 PM by Akira JUMBO »
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Offline cs_mapper

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2007, 01:28:47 AM »
one thing i noticed when using drop clutch the sound of the hi-hat ain't good
enough for me if i'm doing some double bassin stuff underneath.
i wanted a washy sound cymabls during double bassin as i ride on the hi-hat.
so i simply put some kind of spring and some spacers underneath the top hat
so once the top hat is disengaged i get that wash effect.

in the long i didn't use the drop clutch that much since the ride
cymbal or even the crash cymbal are good enough for me to ride
on during those double bass segments i used to do.

Offline Harpoon

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2007, 01:29:36 PM »
Why not have both? Virg uses a drop clutch and i think 1 or 2 xtra hats. You'll have different sound sources for ride patterns or effects. But if budget is an issue, I suggest you buy first a drop clutch and if you're still not satisfied then buy an extra hat.

Offline Akira JUMBO

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #3 on: May 20, 2007, 02:29:12 PM »
Why not have both? Virg uses a drop clutch and i think 1 or 2 xtra hats. You'll have different sound sources for ride patterns or effects. But if budget is an issue, I suggest you buy first a drop clutch and if you're still not satisfied then buy an extra hat.

@Harpoon..

Nah! I don't want both..will opt to get only one depending on the further feedbacks.. :lol:

Have you actually used both? :?
« Last Edit: May 20, 2007, 09:24:12 PM by Akira JUMBO »
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Offline drumster

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2007, 06:18:04 PM »
I used to have a drop clutch.  I think it's a nifty invention.  Though I didn't really get to use it that much, because I rarely had the opportunity to use it in our music and on live situations.  But during my individual practices, I fooled around with it.  Kaya lang, we can't really get a tight closed-hat sound with the drop clutch in the "off" position. 

I prefer having a second hi-hat on my right side, in a permanently closed position.  I can ride on a closed hat when I'm doing double bass grooves.  And it gives me the opportunity to do some interesting licks, such as double hi-hat grooves and fills.

When I'll have a second hat set-up, I want its sound to be noticeably different from the main hats.  For example, if my main hats are dark-sounding, I want my secondary hats to be brighter-sounding.  This gives me an alternative hi-hat sound option.

I'm even having an idea of trying a third set of hi-hats...  Maybe a small pair of hats (say, 10") in a closed position, or a pair of hats operated by a remote pedal.  I'm amazed with drummers like Thomas Lang and Marco Minnemann.  They have at least 3 pairs of hats in their drum set-ups, and they can do so many creative and interesting sounds with all those hats.  I want to try that someday.
« Last Edit: May 21, 2007, 02:23:14 PM by drumster »


Offline markdelacruz

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2007, 07:20:31 PM »
Ako, based on what i've observed and heard, the drop clutch is easy to use pero, it's hard to get it back on top daw, lalo na pag bago ka pa lang na gumagamit. Pero pag nasanay ka ok na. Pero, pag fast ang transitions ng shifting between double pedal and hihat na kailangang nakaangat na ang hats mo, mahirap mag adjust uli, so it entirely depends on your diskarte or whatsoever. Ayun.
There are only two kinds of music, the good and the bad. ; There's no need to classify as long as you can play. -Buddy Rich

Offline autoexec

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2007, 12:49:57 AM »
Ako, based on what i've observed and heard, the drop clutch is easy to use pero, it's hard to get it back on top daw, lalo na pag bago ka pa lang na gumagamit.

Di ba tinatapakan lang yung hi-hat pedal para bumalik yun??
...

Offline Akira JUMBO

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2007, 01:33:17 AM »
@autoexec..yes bro tinatapakan lang para mag engage ulit yung clutch :lol: btw TIP lang bro..yung message mo sa labas ng "[/qoute]" mo ilagay para hindi nasasama sa original message  :-D
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Offline autoexec

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2007, 01:36:41 AM »
Ahaha yes bro alam ko mejo inaantok lang ako ngayon.. Salamat sa correction.  :lol:
...

Offline jeva

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2007, 07:06:03 PM »
ever considered the Iron Cobra Clutch? mga 7.5K ata un.

Mahal ano? 9k lng ang used n HHX hats. I believe its a mantter of preference. If you will ask me which one, I have two answers, based on cash value, Id go for the Tama IC clutch, its cheeper, coz if you get another hat, you need a remote hat, na mas magpapamahal pa, right?

Sound wise of course dun n ko sa isa pang hats, it will give you more sound.

In short, hindi ko rn talaga alam kung alin ang mas ok... hehehe

But I do hope the insight helps

Offline Akira JUMBO

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2007, 12:23:09 AM »
@jeva,

actually bro I don't plan to use a remote hat if ever..just a fixed closed hat attatchment  :lol:

Thanks bro..your insights do help  :-D
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Offline Harpoon

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #11 on: May 22, 2007, 02:48:19 AM »
Why not have both? Virg uses a drop clutch and i think 1 or 2 xtra hats. You'll have different sound sources for ride patterns or effects. But if budget is an issue, I suggest you buy first a drop clutch and if you're still not satisfied then buy an extra hat.

@Harpoon..

Nah! I don't want both..will opt to get only one depending on the further feedbacks.. :lol:

Have you actually used both? :?

Yup I tried both. Sometimes I bring an xtra hihat & hihat stand to gigs. Mine's a 12" hat so I use it as my secondary hat while the one on the gig, normaly 14", I use as my primary. Assuming your  right handed on a right handed set-up and playing the hihat (w/c is on the left side) with your right hand w/c  is normal for right handed players, when you play the 2nd hat on the right, you open up a lot of possibilities coz you're not crossing over your arms as we always do when playing the hihat on the left. So the left hand is free to do anything. You can play accents on the toms or  cymbals or open/close hihat accents on the off beats with the primary hihat while playing straight 8th notes w/ the 2nd hat. Things like that. Secondly, as I mentioned on my earlier post, sound-wise, you have another choice of sound for ride patterns or effects. For me, I'll prefer a 14" china topped with a 12' crash/ splash or hihat in closed position for a trashy, staccato sounding effect. So there's a lot of difference in sound not just pitch-wise but the character itself between the main hat and xtra hat. Like the one Jojo Mayer has for his auxilliary hat. Another thing, if you are into recording, you can pan the sound of the 2 hats on the left or right side of the mix. (Stereo hihats). Which I think would produce cool effects in your groove.

About the drop clutch, I really did not paid much attention to it coz I had problems using it (atleast for me).
1) To use it you have to release the top hat by tapping the lever holding the top hat with your hand or stick hence you have this extra motion to do while playing a groove. So coordination-wise, you have to do this without disrupting your groove. Another thing, sometimes  before going to play a double bass pattern (w/c is why we use a drop clutch anyway) I tend to forget to release the drop clutch. So instead of playing the hihat I move to the ride w/c is nomally we would do anyway. :lol: Anyways, this is just a minor problem. With practice, one can pretty much remedy this.

2) If you're looking 4 that closed, staccato sound from your hihat when the drop clutch is in its off position (as sir drumster said), well you can not get that sound coz first of all there's no pressure pushing the top hat on to the bottom. It just sits there. (pwera na lng kung nasa ibang planeta ka na may mas malakas na gravity pull) :-D. So we get that washy sound unless of course you want that sound then its ok I guess.

3) When switching back to normal positon, you step on the hihat pedal for the lever to slide back onto the holder of the top hat. Depending on how hard you step on the hihat pedal, sometimes when I get back on playing the hihat, the clutch becomes out of position. The mouth of the hihat becomes too big. Which I guess happens also on regular hihat clutches. Lalo na kung makinis ung steel rod na pinagkakabitan ng hats. So you have to really tighten it.

Well anyway, this is just my own opinion from my own experience. So like I said on my earlier post try first a drop clutch coz anyway its way more cheaper than buying an xtra hat. And still you can use it if your not satified. Atleast may xtra ka pang hihat clutch. But if you ask me and I have the moola, I'll go with adding an xtra hat.

Sorry for the long post,bro. (walang magawa eh. he he) Hope this helps. :-D Peace out!
« Last Edit: May 22, 2007, 02:03:45 PM by Harpoon »

Offline drumster

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2007, 03:06:15 AM »
That's another good idea...  We can use a pair of trash hats or stacks and mount it on a closed hat attachment.

One cool thing about most auxiliary hat hardwares is, it has this adjustment where in you can set the pressure between the two cymbals.  We can set it to super-tight or half-open, depending on the sound we're looking for.

Offline Akira JUMBO

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #13 on: May 22, 2007, 12:12:18 PM »
Thanks for the input Harpoon..helpful indeed :lol:

Good thing the hihat attatchment I was planning to get has a pressure adjuster from below.. (like drumster said; thanks for pointing it out :lol:)

hmm..if ever double hats would be the path to take for me though I was still eying on 14s..so I could still cook it up and interchange with the current 14s I have..hehe..but I do recognize the fact that It would be better to have the 2 hats distinct from each other  :-D
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Offline boytambol

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Re: Drop Clutch vs. Double Hihat
« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2007, 11:18:17 PM »
yaman niyo naman....  buti pa kayo...  huhuhuhuh...