Sticks…and More Aside from the nylon tip, which was introduced by Regal Tip in the
late ’50s, drumsticks have remained essentially unchanged from prehistoric times until today. Of course, variations on the basic theme have ensued over the years, including shafts that are square or feature bulges, various textured grips, and even lighted tips. As rock drummers hit ever harder, stick breakage became a
concern. Enter the synthetic model. Brands and materials came and went from the late ’70s on. Riff -Rite graphite sticks, Duraline Kevlar sticks, and Veri-Sonic aluminum-and-nylon sticks were notable
among these, but they ultimately didn’t last. The two that did are by Aquarian (May ’81; made of special composites and graphite) and Ahead (April ’92; aluminum shafts with replaceable nylon tips and sleeves). Wire brushes were developed in the ’20s for low-volume playing.
Plastic variations evolved from there. But then came “unplugged” performances by rock groups in the ’80s. Sticks were too loud; brushes weren’t loud enough. The answer was something in between: bundled dowels wrapped with tape. The January ’85 issue of MD carried a small ad for Branches—which withered under that name. But when Promark introduced the same item as Hot Rods in January of 1987, the implements instantly became indispensible for all kinds of medium-volume situations. Today multirods are off ered—in many varieties and with many deriva- tions—by every stick manufacturer.
Hardware
Nowhere has there been as much drumming-related innovation as in the area of hardware. Big and small items of every descrip- tion have been created to improve the way drumkits are assembled, supported, and played. Given the sheer number of choices—and meaning no slight to those not included—here are the four that we deem the most important. Memriloc. The Rogers Memriloc system (shown in the January
’77 MD) featured special fi ttings that mated in order to secure the height and angle of stands, booms, and mounting arms. This enabled drumkits to be set up, broken down, and set up again quickly, with everything in the same place. The revolutionary concept was eventually adopted by every hardware manufacturer. R.I.M.S. The Resonance Isolation Mounting System (October/
November ’79) allowed any brand’s drums to be suspended from their holders without anything penetrating or connecting to the shells. Volume and projection were increased dramatically, and “isolation mounting” soon became another industry-wide feature. Double bass drum pedal. The fi rst device for playing one bass
drum with two feet to appear in MD was the Sleishman Twin pedal, from Australia. It featured a footboard on either side of a centrally mounted beater yoke, thus also centering the drummer directly behind the bass drum. It debuted in the October/November ’80 issue and is still sold today. The Zalmer Twin (August/September ’82) was the fi rst to put
two beaters on a “master” pedal and link it to an outrigger-style “slave” pedal—which in this case was connected by a heavy but fl exible cable. But it was the DW-5000 double pedal (February ’83) that popular- ized the double-pedal concept. Initially this model featured a totally
separate yoke fi tted with a bent-shaft beater to strike the bass drum closer to the center. The slave pedal was connected to the yoke with a solid universal-hinge axle. Later DW models—and dozens of others—connected the axle directly to a second beater on the master pedal. Drum rack. The fi rst product designed to simplify the mounting
of drums and cymbals was the Collarlock system. Starting with 1"-diameter tubular horizontal bars connected to existing cymbal stands, then later adding freestanding legs, the system debuted in Canada in 1978 and was fi rst advertised in MD in the February ’85 issue. In late 1982 drummer Jeff Porcaro and drum
tech Paul Jamieson collaborated on a totally freestanding rack that incorporated rectangular bars with special clamps to hold cymbal-boom and tom-holder arms. Pearl quickly picked up the design, and the DR-1 drum rack debuted in the August ’93 issue. Between these two systems—and all of their
descendents—drummers gained a way to simplify complex setups, neaten up their stage look, and lighten their hardware bags.
50 Modern Drummer January 2016
Toto’s Jeff Porcaro helped plant the seeds for an important trend in drum hardware with a prototype drum rack co-designed with tech Paul Jamieson.
Rick Malkin
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