A proper hi-hat stand can serve as an anchor for your drum set and is often an essential piece for any additional arms or mounts that you may add down the road. Recognizing the differences between different stands will go a long way in making decisions about different designs.
Two-legged hi-hat stands depart from the traditional three-leg style often used by having two-winged feet positioned around the base footboard with different hardware stands. The stand can be adjusted to different heights and will remain stable between its minimum and maximum heights. If you are tight on space and want to maintain the standard hi-hat type stand design, the two-legged build is a preferred choice.
Perhaps the most traditional stand style, the hi-hat stand with three legs, is a typical cornerstone item for any drum set. With extended games, you will enjoy high durability, and any new weapons or mounts that might be included for future expansion will have a solid base to call home. A favourite design feature is that you can change the legs more easily to suit different configurations.
Although in terms of hardware, your traditional hi-hat type stand is often a centrepiece, it is not a requirement. The remote hi-hat design, without the static limitations of a metal stand, gives you the necessary footboard-to-cymbal connection.
With a simple cable connection that provides the mechanical connection from your pedal to your hats, you will be released from a standard hi-hat stand’s placement constraints. You’ll still need to mount the hats by yourself, but most remote kits should come with the hardware you’ll need, usually in the form of a mounting arm.
Types of Hi-Hat Stand
Here we are going to discuss some of the best types of Hi-Hat stands. So, scroll down to find the list.
DW 5000 Series
The DW 5000 series hardware reflects the industry standard for medium-weight, top-quality equipment.
This hi-hat type stand provides the perfect balance of weight, toughness, road-worthiness, and fantastic performance. It is currently the best all-round player in the industry.
This DW 5000 Series Hi-Hat Stand is designed and assembled with the high quality that DW would recommend. This stand boasts innovative features that maximize its portability and efficiency.
The uni-body folding footboard saves space when packing down, and the unique bearing link connector offers the pedal mechanism a precise response to play.
The hi-hat type stand of the DW 5000 Series looks excellent to play on, and incredibly robust underfoot. The baseplate and footboard are enormous because the position is not wobbling. The pedaling mechanism is precise and responsive to all the nuances of my play.
The hi-hat pedal closes with a genuinely decisive and firm action resulting in a great’ chick’ hi-hat sound. While it’s very weighty and substantial, it doesn’t require you to push your foot too hard, and it’s smooth and dynamic.
This product wins first place overall by DW as my top recommended hi-hat pedal on the market. It is ultra-robust and built from very high-quality materials, and all the components perform brilliantly, including the locking clutch SM379. This guide is the most expensive offer, but you never need to repurchase another hi-hat pedal.
DW 3000 Series Hi-Hat Stand
First, we’ve got another high DW commodity that offers the value you’re getting from DW at an affordable price. This pedal provides excellent value for money, with lots of high-end functionality for emerging drummers at an attractive price point.
This DW 3000 Series Hi-Hat type Stand is a two-legged stand, which represents a massive bonus for this price stand. Having a two-legged stand means you can comfortably accommodate a double bass drum pedal without interfering with your feet, and it also offers fantastic stability.
The fixed base plate of steel adds robustness, and the footboard is well built and hefty. The hi-hat stand feels excellent to use, and the machine provides quick action and rapid response. It feels light yet also substantial, responding well to the motions of opening and closing.
The hi-hat stand of the DW 3000 series works well, much like the bigger stand of the brother 5000 series, and provides a smooth answer to play and excellent stability. It is a hi-hat stand of medium weight that also easily folds away for a quick and easy setup.
The best thing about this pedal is the price coupled with the considerable level of quality it offers. It does represent fantastic value for money and is a seriously good investment for the up and up drummer, in my opinion.
Tama Speed Cobra 315
This Tama Speed Cobra 315 Hi-Hat Stand was modeled on the flagship range of speed cobra products we have up for review. Playing feels excellent and has a solid consistency of construction.
Like the two previous DW hi-hat stand, this Tama Speed Cobra 315 hi-hat stands also features dual-leg construction and allows for convenient installation as well as a double bass pedal and other cymbal stands.
This hi-hat stand does not have a steel baseplate, but under the footboard, it has a small stabilizer that shifts the balance and strength towards the player. The lack of a baseplate means this is wholly foldable and highly portable.
Building this hi-hat stands is of exceptional quality, and Tama is well known for producing excellent drum hardware. This model shares a construction of similar quality as its bigger brother 915-speed cobra but at an affordable price.
The hi-hat answer is quick and accurate, and a heavy-duty on the footboard. With this stand, you may change the hi-hat between 6 specific pressures to match the pedal motion you like. You can easily set your desired tension, whether you prefer a massive action or a feather-light response.
All the parts were well designed, and this hi-hat stand in service impresses me. It gives all you want from a high-quality and for a high price!
Gibraltar 5707 Hi-Hat Stand
This hi-hat stand in Gibraltar is imposing for its price. It’s the cheapest stand in this guide, and it delivers all aspects except having three legs rather than two.
First of all, this is a weighty stand. It is constructed like a tank. Even the most brutal drummers can stand up and take a severe pounding. It’s very durable, and the components are all well built.
This Gibraltar 5707 Hi-Hat Stands is truly smooth in operation. With Gibraltar designed Liquid Drive, it features a high-quality direct lever pull for a responsive feel. The hi-hat pedal provides excellent control and exact response to my feet’s varying dynamics.
This hi-hat type stand keeps up with my playing, and it is super stable while offering a great pedaling action. I’m sure to be impressed with this quality hi-hat stand, mainly because of its budget price range.
This hi-hat stand from Gibraltar 5707 is infinitely better than all the cheap non-branded, and poorly constructed hi-hat stands you may find online. So if you’re looking for a well-built hi-hat stands on a budget, make sure you buy this one!
Pearl H930 Hi-Hat Stand
Next, we have a durable Pearl Drums Hi-hat stand. It’s incredibly robust in construction, and Pearl is so confident that they offer a lifetime warranty on it with this piece of hardware!
This hi-hat stand’s concept is quite basic, but it’s very successful. There are no clever tricks or gimmicks. It does one thing well, and for every single performance you throw at it, this works consistently.
It’s very stable, and I’m impressed with the quality of the construction on that. This Pearl H930 Hi-Hat Stand with its robust chain drive mechanism also offers a fast and smooth response to playing.
For eight years, I owned the previous version model of this exact hi-hat stand, and it never wears out at all, it was just as reliable as the day I received it, and it never let me down. The only justification I changed from this one was to purchase a hi-hat stands with dual legs. But this pedal allows you to rotate the legs with the swiveling function that helps to accommodate a double bass pedal.
You also can adjust the desired pedal tension in the stand frame, using the spring tension dial. If you’re searching for a sturdy hi-hat stand that won’t ever let you down, it’s the one you’ll like. It’s very stable and doesn’t wobble at all.
PDP 800 Series
Finally, we have a hi-hat stand created by PDP, an offshoot of DW Group, for analysis. This hi-hat stands are of a lower range offering, but for its price range, it does perform well.
I’m pretty impressed with that pedal straight out of the box. It seems to be well made, and it has lots of great features that I am searching for in a hi-hat frame. This PDP 800 Series Hi-Hat Stand features two double-braced legs, which offer more flexibility to set up a double bass pedal and other stands. This hi-hat type stand features a robust baseplate, too.
This hi-hat stands features sturdy tubing for each output, with memory locks to reproduce your preferred height settings. This stand is relatively light that renders it lightweight, but I don’t think it’s going to stand up to the gruelling rigors of touring.
It is the most affordable dual-legged hi-hat stand on my list, and in performance, it doesn’t quite offer the DW quality. However, it cannot change the pedal system stiffness. It’s a great value stand, though, and if you’re on a budget, this would be a great option if you’re looking for an affordable dual-legged hi-hat booth.
Buying guide of hi-hats
Hi-Hat stands are a part of the drum set, which is often understated. It needs lots of boxes to tick! It’s not the most lavish aspect of the drum set, nor the most costly buy. Yet investing in a good quality hi-hat type stand that provides an accurate and reliable result is worthwhile.
The most important feature you’ll find from a decent hi-hat booth is to keep it rock-solid. It means not only in use, but also to withstand frequent touring as well as taking a beat in a case and on stage.
Solid hardware has to be built to excellent standard-with components of high quality and a robust internal mechanism. A hi-hat stand with loose bits and a wobbly system is the last thing you want.
Good quality hi-hat stands for each performance, and practice must consist of heavy-duty tubing with embedded memory locks to mimic the hi-hat height settings. Hi-hat rods should have secure threads and connect tightly to the internal mechanism of the stand.
Besides being durable and secure, you’ll want a stand that’s super smooth in operation and responds correctly to your foot dynamics. So it’s not just about being either purely open or closed, it’s about any point in between. The best hi-hat type stand will feel great to play while playing your hi-hat cymbals and offer a smooth and responsive action.
Why buy two-legged hi-hat stands?
Hi-hat stands come in two different variants: options with two legs and options with three legs. Two-legged hi-hat stands from all the different manufacturers are more attractive and have generally been exclusive to the more costly and top of the range hi-hat pedals.
It’s nice to see that two-legged hi-hat stands are making their way into the mid-range segment and are becoming more available to beginner drummers and advancers. The DW 3000 Series Hi-Hat Stands and the Tama Speed Cobra 315 Hi-Hat Stand are excellent examples of this. Such hi-hat stands are even more durable than three-legged hi-hat stands and have the added benefit of not having an extra leg that interferes with a setup.
Often the pain is the use of a double bass drum pedal with a three-legged hi-hat stand. Even though the hi-hat stands has swivel legs, it just gets in the way and causes an obstruction. This problem is solved by two-legged hi-hat stands, with the legs out of the way and supporting the hi-hat frame from behind.
Two-legged hi-hat type stands also offer even more stability than their counterparts with three legs, too. The reason is that the footplate provides its role as the third leg, forming a very stable tripod.
Another great benefit of two-legged hi-hat stands is that you can change the hi-hat cymbal position to get you going. By spreading the legs out more or less based on what you want, you will reach the desired level. I like to have my hi-hats down, but you can do this if you wish to the hi-hats tilted slightly higher up.
