Drumming hardware can be a bit confusing and challenging. For amateurs, it can be hard to know the whole system at once. But professionals understand the details of their drums, including hi-hat clutch, triggers, and several others. The standard hi-hat clutch is an essential part of the drum. Without proper setting of the clutch, the drums cannot function normally.
Maybe no one will ever notice the type of clutch you use. But for your benefit, make sure that you have selected the optimal clutch for your environment. Do not change the way you drum to fit into the accessories that you have. It would be best if you were the leader, and the instruments will follow you. Thus, this article will give you full details on hi-hat clutches.
What is a high hat?
A high-hat is a pair of cymbals and a pedal that is operated by a foot pedal. It is an electronic genre that emphasizes the very high part of the top-mid range of tracks to feature a standard kit’s hit hat. It is part of the standard drum kit that is used by drummers in many genres of music.
The high hat comprises two cymbals facing each other and small to medium-sized hat cymbals attached to a stand. The bottom high-hat is fixed while the top is attached to a rod, thus moving the top hat cymbal towards the lower one when the drummer steps foot on the clutch.
How to set up a hi-hat
To set up your hi-hat stand, you need to know how the features work and the mistakes that could be done while setting it up. These are the steps to follow when setting up the high-hat;
- Make lose the T-bolt and fold out the legs. Ensure that the pedal anchor does not touch the ground or is too high on the floor. Thus raise the legs correctly
- Screw-in the rod. Fix the clutch and tighten it to the rod so that the screw can get enough leverage during tightening.
- Check the bottom cymbal onto the seat. Fix the washer first, then fix the belt.
- Slide the bottom hat cymbal onto the seat. Several pairs of high-hats consist of a thicker or heavier bottom cymbal.
- Mount the top hat cymbals to the clutch. Install the lock nuts so that the flanges are far from each other. The non-loose nut goes on after the cymbal and second small felt.
- Slide the clutch onto the rod together with the cymbal. Make tight the T-bolt when the cymbals reach the required distance between each other.
- Make the necessary adjustments to the upper tube to find the desired height. Leaving the clutch T-bolt loose will help you make slight tune adjustments. Push the pedal down or up, then set up the T-bolt correctly.
- Move the stand to a comfortable ground with your snare and other instruments. If your legs swivel on the lower tube, you can move them to make it stand well and comfortably.
How to assemble a standard hi-hat
- Remove the screws from the hi-hat clutch wing nut and remove the hi-hat clutch from the hi-hat rod.
- Turn the lower-pitched cymbal upside down, thread it through the rod. Then, place it on the felt washer.
- Then, please turn to the clutch assembly and start unscrewing the retaining nut, remove it, and lower the felt washer.
- Turn the clutch assembly upside down and make the high pitched cymbal upside down onto the felt washer.
- Place the lower felt washer so that it rests on top of the upside-down cymbal.
- Mount back the hi-hat clutch wing and screw the nut until it is tight. There is an extent at which the nut will not turn beyond.
- The two locknuts used can be adjusted to lock more or fewer objects tightly against the felt washer hence allowing the cymbal to have a greater or lesser degree of freedom. Never forcefully fix the felts together strongly against the cymbal.
- Make the necessary replacements to the clutch on the hi-hat rod and lower the cymbal to rest on top of the lower cymbal.
- Depress the foot pedal about one and a half inches to two inches before tightening the clutch wing nut. Have the desired distance between the two cymbals.
- Make tight the clutch wing nut.
- Make the necessary adjustments to the tilt screw to the desired angle.
Choosing the right high hat clutch
You cannot just go to the market and purchase your hi-hat clutch without making some considerations. These considerations include:
Size
Size affects the quality of sound to be produced. Therefore, the clutch size affects the size of the hat cymbal that can be fixed. If you are not so busy, you can do some experiments on different sizes of cymbals and clutches.
Materials used
The materials used in the manufacture of hat cymbals and clutches are crucial. Sheet cymbals are created by an industrial process combining malleable bronze, silver, and brass, then shaped and sized.
Design
Make sure that you get a hi-hat clutch with a bottom nut used for locking. It will allow you to play with your sticks freely if you are using a double bass pedal for your bass drums. The drop clutches are meant to support the hi-hat’s top cymbal at a certain distance above the bottom cymbal even when your leg is not touching the pedal.
There are different types of hi-hat clutches that we are going to study here:
Yamaha LC-810A Hi-Hat Clutch Standard
The Yamaha LC-810A is high quality and affordable clutch. It does not cut down on support for larger hat stands. It has a feature of one locking mechanism and a secure wing that ensures that the hi-hat does not slip even when hitting the drum hard during live performance.
It allows you to perform freely and cut loose, without the worries of slipping hi-hats. You can fix this clutch to any stand without tweaking around. This feature makes this clutch unique, among other types.
Gibraltar SC-QRHHC Quick Release
Gibraltar is a well-renowned company for the manufacture of high quality and affordable drum accessories. The hat clutches from this company last for an extended time. It is a quick-release clutch meant to save time. The quick-release clutch also makes the process of unscrewing simple. You can pull down the bottom sleeve, remove the felt, attach the cymbal, and then put back everything.
In this clutch, there is no twisting and turning off any part. Also, the hi-hats are held together securely. If the hi-hats separate more than you want, then you can quickly make the desired adjustments. You need to purchase a few spares because the clutch might wear out and lose grip over time.
Remo Quick Lock
It is a fantastic product from Remo. It is a quick-release hi-hat clutch that makes it simple to lock in your hat cymbals. It keeps track of the previous positioning, thus no frequent adjustments. It is effortless to use and only needs one turn to loosen the clutch’s plastic part.
Another outstanding feature of this clutch is the large cymbal felts that function in deadening your hi-hats’ sound a bit.
Tama STDC7 Sizzle Touch Drop Clutch
Tama STDC7 is made explicitly for drummers who need to use a double pedal. It allows you to play your double pedal and drop the hi-hat down to a closed position. The clutch has a lever that can be struck with a stick to drop it down. This feature allows you to move from open to closed hi-hats and vice versa while playing smoothly.
Double pedaling means that you have to play with your hi-hats cymbals wide open thus, transitioning is crucial. This type is a bit expensive, so buy it if you have a double pedal so as not to waste its functionality.
DW SM505 Drop-Lock
DW is another famous company for the manufacture of quality drum kits in the globe. They also make the best quality hardware, which is stable and reliable. Their clutches are made for double-pedaled players only. It has a lever that you can hit, and it locks the hi-hats tightly or loosens them up.
It is among the most affordable clutches when it comes to double pedals. It can be hard to set it up but works exceptionally well when fixed well. When the lever is hit, it changes the hi-hat setting, but it makes a bit of unwanted noise. So you can move the lever quickly with your hand. The lever sometimes seems to move when the hi-hat is played.
PDP PDAX379A
This is a standard hi-hat made for all the functions.it is cheap, reliable, and easy to use. It has a very spacious wing nut that makes it simple to turn and make adjustments. It can fit all types of stands, even those made by other companies.
This is the best choice for your practice as well as the live performance.
Conclusion
Making the best choices has now been made easy by the above discussion. Make your performance and practice easy, enjoyable, and quality by picking your desired type of hi-hat clutch and hi-hats cymbals. Fixing these accessories cannot be a problem because you have learned how to do so. Enjoy your drumming, and make a living from it as well.
