Best Hardware Manufacturer - Poll

[Rich K.]

I love Tama but could be happy with any brand except DW. Their stands are too heavy, over engineered and are unbalanced. Their 2 leg hi hat stands wobble like crazy and their heavy duty snare stand is the worst I've ever encountered.
That being said, for those of us that buy and sell gear, DW hardware sells quicker than any other brand by a long shot.

 

[robthetimekeeper]

Whether or not Yamaha is the best manufacturer, I can't say, but it is my favorite.

 

[Vistalite Black]

I haven't played nine different brands of hardware. I doubt more than a handful of Forumites have.

 

[TheDrummerFromAmsterdam]

Its funny about the mentions of Yamaha. Yes - they are very well built and I own some of the new Aluminum stuff and love it. Also have some of their drums (Snare, Concert toms) and they are awesome. But maybe not so much on their pedals?

Quick story - my local drum shop is a huge Yamaha dealer. So they get a lot of Yamaha endorsed artists coming through for clinics. Im friends with the owner and he lets me help set up and take care of the musicians (transportation, green room, etc.). I wont mention the artist - but a very well know player and huge metal band. He is a Yamaha endorser, but while I was helping him set up, I noticed he didn't have the Yamaha pedals. He had the Tama Iron stuff. I asked him about it - he said it was one of the few things he couldn't use of theirs. Felt they were flimsy and always were falling apart. Thought that was funny...

Its probably more about personal feel then things really falling apart, because that is so not Yamaha in general.

A lot of artists use different pedals then the brand they play as full kit.

 

[Houndog]

I don’t even know who made half of what I use ….

 

[drumbum91]

My Pearl gear has never let me down. I voted based on the reliability and I bought the hardware pack for practically nothing. My only complaint is my hardware bag is heavy..

 

[TrickRoll]

I have had hardware from every company on that list except Mapex.

Only DW and Ludwig have failed or been defective.

 

[hsosdrum]

I haven't played nine different brands of hardware. I doubt more than a handful of Forumites have.

Since 1984 I have personally owned and used hardware by DW, Tama, Ludwig, Yamaha, Pearl, and Rogers. The only ones listed that I have no experience with are Gibraltar and Mapex. If I were forced to use a single brand for all my hardware it would be Ludwig (although if Rogers currently offered collet plates for use with their tom holder arms I'd strongly consider Rogers as my single brand).

Before 1984 I personally owned and used hardware by Walberg & Auge, Ludwig, Slingerland, Rogers, Premier, and Camco. Back then, if I had been forced to use a single brand for all my hardware, hands-down it would have been Rogers.

So over the decades I've personally played ten different brands of hardware. It doesn't make me an expert, but when I talk about hardware there's lots and lots of experience behind my words.

 

[5 Style]

Yamaha and DW for me... Their stuff just seems to be well designed and well made. Though I'd love to have a set of high end Yamaha drums too, for some reason I'm less inspired by DW drums. it's a bit of a unfair prejudice, I guess, but I've always thought highly of their hardware...

 

[kevmill70]

I have Pearl hardware from the 80s that I still gig with 2-3 nights a week. They have held 14" and 16" suspended toms, 2 or 3 cymbals off one stand, clamp on accessories, and many other things in their 30 year existence. Haven't even had so much as a rubber foot fall off.

 

[What It Is]

I really enjoy Canopus hardware. Second would be Tama. Extremely functional and lightweight for what I need (which isn't much).

 

[Targalx]

Yamaha hardware is why I started playing Yamaha drums. Before I had anything Yamaha, I had a random assortment of Tama, Ludwig, Pearl, DW and even some CB700 hardware. I owned a few kits from various brands, too (including Tama and Ludwig).

Once I started using Yamaha hardware (and kits) as backline and rentals at venues and studios, I realized everything just worked so well. The stands have this silky fluidity moving up and down. Wingnut bolts don't need to be torqued hard on stands to keep the height adjusted. Everything is compatible (the "Yamaha System Drums" idea), well built, and of reasonable weight.

So, I thought, why am I torquing down that Ludwig stand so much? Why does my DW stand weigh a million pounds? Why did the wingnut bolt of the tripod on my Tama Stagemaster Pro stand strip?

Also, I wanted to buy one brand and stick with one brand all the way through. With drums, stuff isn't always compatible between brands (like diameters of floor tom legs, tom mounts, and whatnot), so I wanted one brand that does it all well, with plenty of options and parts availability.

I gave up, sold off all of the other brands' hardware (and most of the other brands' kits), and went with a full complement of Yamaha hardware. Then I thought, well, I like playing those Yamaha backline and rental drums, and if their hardware is good, the drums should last too. So I started buying their kits. Now I have too many Yamahas. The end.

 

[cobaltspike]

I like the Ludwig Atlas Pro stuff but it is heavy. My hi hat stand has to be the heaviest I have ever come across. The only complaint I have is the double tom stand has a cymbal arm clamp on it that is useless and the cymbal arm tube will collapse if you really crank down the clamp.

 

[LAViking]

I’ve had a 7 pc. Tama in the past. Now I’m playing a 7 pc. Pearl kit with 930 hardware (Cymbal boom and Tom stands) with 1050 redline hat stand and pedal. I think Pearl is more innovative and their 930 hardware is rock solid. It is also elegant with nice lines. Not blocky and over engineered. I can’t recall the Tama series I had [it has been years], but the Pearl HW is the best I’ve used so far.

 

[evolving_machine]

I bought the Yamaha light weight aluminum hardware package that I use with my Gretsch jazz kit. I am trying to keep things light to carry like the aluminum snare stand, and two aluminum cymbal stands. But that hi-hat stand feels like they forgot to install the spring in there to lift up the cymbal. I purchased a Mapex hi-hat stand for that type of situation. But, for practice at home, with my Pearl Masters kit, I am using a Tama two legged stand that allows me to bring the Pearl Demon pedals closer to the hi-hat stand. I am also using an older Rogers double bass drum hi-hat clutch to allow the top cymbal to fall easily. At home I have mostly Pearl cymbal stands, but found a DW bass drum mount for the cow bell to be very good. I like the Pearl lifetime warranty on their items so that brings me back to them, but some of the other companies do have some interesting designs and features.

All the major companies and even some new start up companies come out with interesting unique hardware once in a while and that is what drives us to those new ideas. We don't like carrying a ton of stuff that makes our backs go out just before we have to play, and sometimes there is a unique idea that actually makes us sound better.

It seems like some of the larger stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash that only have at their stores a limited selection of items and don't want to sell what is the best or the most unique items. It seems like they only want to have at their stores the items that gives them the highest profit. And that makes this web site a place to explore those other options.

 

[mfk252]

I have used all of these except Mapex. Each company has their standout features (such as Pearl's gyro tilters for cymbal stands and snare - tough to go back after having them). My little gigging 4 piece with 2 cymbals has Tama, Pearl, DW, Yamaha, Gibraltar and Roc & Soc components.

 

[TillM]

I have Tama, Pearl, DW, Yamaha and Gibraltar hardware and I can’t say, that I prefer a brand more like the other.
For Hi Hat and Bassdrum pedals I must say, Tama fits the best for me and I play the Iron Cobra for 20 years daily without any issue.

 

[EssKayKay]

I've only played Ludwig, Tama, Yamaha, and DW. I voted for Tama but really have no complaints about any - just had choose one. Ludwig would probably be the weakest but still no complaints.

 

[nickrobotron]

Yamaha for the win.

 

[Jml]

Yamaha, then Tama, then DW.