By Nicolas Grizzle

In this edition of drum news, we see new products inspired by history. One draws from relatively modern developments, harkening back a mere 100 years, while the other pulls from concepts known for about 4,000 years.

  • Hoop-mountable L-bar
  • Updated Kickbone bass drum attachment
  • Snare Stands
  • Cymbal stands

A&F Pulls From Yesteryear for New Hardware Design

A&F Drum Co. has released a new line of hardware that harkens back to drum sets of yore, with modern engineering and durability upgrades. The nickel-plated steel hardware line includes cymbal stands, snare stands, and some accessories, all with A&F’s characteristic vintage aesthetic.

The snare stands ($149-$159) operate like vintage, lightweight stands, with one arm of the basket featuring adjustable length and the arms folding together horizontally for storage. The snare stands come in two sizes: one holding 10” to 16” snares and one holding 18” to 22” snares. That larger size might seem unnecessary but if you’ve seen A&F’s Pancake or Shotgun snares, this will immediately make sense.

The cymbals stands ($169–$179) feature round, rubber feet and a 360-degree height adjustment wingnut that swivels around the stand to be reachable no matter where it’s placed in relation to your throne. Aluminum tension washers in the head and boom arm tilters are designed to be replaceable, as these parts of stands are one of the first to wear out with continuous use and adjustment in any hardware set.

Both the cymbal and snare stands have pull-pin tripod legs with three notches, for flat or angled placement. The nickel plating is designed to wear over time to develop a patinaed, worn look, like pieces from the early 1900’s.

Accessories include an update to the company’s Kickbone to make it modular, allowing it to accommodate 10” to 16”–deep bass drums. The company also introduced a bass drum hoop–mounted clamp and L-arm with matching aesthetic.

There were some hints at this release at NAMM back in January, and the company says the first production run was supposed to ship in late March. Due to Covid-19, that was delayed until late July, and now, in mid-August, the hardware is finally available.

  • Wood shell ‘Pi’ snare
  • Carbon fiber ‘Pi’ snare
  • New Mini MAG throw-off

DW Takes Math Rock Literally with New ‘Pi’ Snare

Drum Workshop has released a Collector’s Series piccolo snare drum with a depth of 3.14”, a nod to the mathematical constant Pi, which was first used around 1900 BC by ancient Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations.

The Pi piccolo snare ($600–$800) features a newly-designed, two-piece mini turret lug that houses independent lug receivers, as well as DW’s compact Mini MAG Throw-Off, 3.0 steel True-Hoops, 3-position butt plate, and 20-stand snare wires. The 14” diameter drum is available in wood or carbon fiber.

DW notes the drum’s “quick and snappy” response with “dry, crisp, clean fundamental tones” and a wide tuning range considering its shallow depth. “This drum is sensitive and has its own tonal character depending on the shell material chosen, but it’s also a shotgun! I mean this thing is loud!” said DW VP and drum designer John Good. “We’ve been wanting to engineer some new hardware that would allow us to accommodate shallower depths. Rich Sikra and his design team did an outstanding job on the new lug and Mini MAG. We even designed a new mini Collector’s badge to fit these drums.”

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