George’s Picks
This is not a product review column. It’s a new column I’m writing about my favorite drums, cymbals and drum gear items that I use or have used over the years and highly recommend to my fellow drummers. Some are new products. Some have been around for quite a while. Some of them are for sale at DrumSellers.com. Some are not. I don’t officially endorse any of these items. I also do not charge for products to be featured in this column. My only criteria are 1. Does this float my boat? 2. Can I not live without this? And 3. Do I think my drummer friends owe it to themselves to try this?
This month, I’m featuring a fairly new item on the market: No Nuts Cymbal Mounting System which consists of two components; the Cymbal Sleeve and the CymRing: Over the years, I have been sent hundreds of “new inventions” for consideration to review in Not So Modern Drummer. I’ve never given a negative review to any product because I always give the product manufacturer the option of not having me review it. Most of the ones that I declined to review fall in these categories:
1. This stinks and no one will buy it
2. This has been done before
3. This is “tits on a bull”
4. This doesn’t work/This doesn’t sound good
5. You must not be a drummer because this has no benefit for a drummer
6. We don’t need another one of these in the marketplace
But every once in a great while, a product comes along that is a significant improvement over what we have been using. The NoNuts Cymbal Sleeve and CymRing combination is one of those products. It falls into the “best thing since sliced bread” category in my opinion. It eliminates the need for the traditional metal washers, felt washers, plastic or rubber cymbal sleeves, and wing nuts.
This is a good example of the full sound that is achieved with the Cymbal Sleeve.
Bill McFadden is not a drummer. He is a keyboard player and an expert in polymers, but he and drummer Rodney Pino have developed a new cymbal accessory that is a drastic improvement over the bits and pieces that have come on almost every cymbal stand since the invention of the cymbal stand over 100 years ago. I stopped using top felts and wing nuts many years ago. I just didn’t see the point in them because I’m not a basher – the cymbals aren’t going anywhere so no need to lock them down. For a while I was using the old Camber T Tops because it didn’t have to be removed to put the cymbal on or take it off. I still recommend them if you can find them.
At first sight, most drummers will probably think what I thought – “That looks like a big goofy nipple sticking out of my cymbal”. But once I tried it, my perception changed when I realized that cymbal sleeves SHOULD have been this tall all along; tall enough to keep the cymbal from flying off the stand when played hard. They come in black and red. I preferred the black.
Installation is sooooo easy. I removed the felts, plastic sleeve and wing nut from the cymbal stand and positioned the flexible polymer sleeve on the metal post by pushing it down while turning clockwise until it stopped at the bottom of the post. (these will fit on 6mm and 8 mm posts). The Cymbal Sleeve is rather flexible. Putting it on the stand’s post stiffens it a good bit. I then placed a cymbal – a very thin Bosphorus 21” Masters ride - on the stand.
I first played the cymbal on the Cymbal Sleeve with a regular felt washer on top of the base of the Cymbal Sleeve as a bench mark (yes, you can put regular felts on it). It sounded pretty much like it always does when sitting on a felt. The felt mutes the cymbal somewhat.
Then I removed the felt washer, leaving the cymbal sitting on the slick base of the Cymbal Sleeve. The sustain and brightness of the cymbal was noticeably better and the cymbal could swing more freely – no dampening or restricting the movement like the felt did.
THEN I played the cymbal with the small CymRing sitting directly on top of the base of the cymbal sleeve. The difference was DRASTIC. The sound of the cymbal opened up. I could tell that the cymbal was sounding as full and as bright and as sustaining as it possibly can; as it does when I play a cymbal sitting on my index finger, which is the way I have always tested cymbals. I had used regular hi-hat clutch felts underneath my rides and crashes before because they didn’t dampen the cymbal as much as a regular size felt, so I suspected the CymRing would have the same effect. It lets the cymbal ring out more.
The CymRing is a polymer washer that is the shape and size of a typical hi-hat clutch felt. It fits very tightly at any point on the cone shaped Cymbal Sleeve; underneath the cymbal or on top of the cymbal if you want to clamp the cymbal down to restrict its movement or use an extreme angle on your tilter. You can also use two CymRings to mount a second cymbal, like a small splash cymbal, above the bigger cymbal. I also tried a couple of CymRings on my hi hat clutch and that works well.
My friend, John Root, who takes care of many house kits in downtown Nashville that have Cymbal Sleeves and CymRings, says that they are so durable that he can’t see any evidence of wear even after months of use.
I installed the Cymbal Sleeve and Cym Ring combination on all my cymbal stands on my main gig kit that I use every week: 20” Bosphorus Versa Ride, 17” and 18” Sabian Concept crashes, 10” K Zildjian Splash and 20” Zildjian Oriental China Trash. The result was the same with all the cymbals: fuller, brighter, more sustain and movement. I also installed another No Nuts product on my China cymbal: the No Nuts SizzleNut which is a 12” long chain of brass beads that is adjustable in length and designed to fit snugly on the Cymbal Sleeve. Nice bright sizzle sound.
I see no downside to this.
First, the cymbal sleeve fits tightly on your stand and will not come off without twisting or pulling it back off. That means you just lift your cymbal off of it, then fold the stand up and pack it in your hardware bag or case. Anything that cuts down on packing up time at the end of the gig is a winner. Also, if you use the CymRing on the Cymbal Sleeve, it will stay in place too.
Second, no fussing with taking the wing nut off and then putting it back on before packing. Also, no chasing wing nuts that inevitably fall into the ether beneath the bass drum.
Third, they are durable and don’t have to be replaced anywhere near as often as plastic or rubber cymbal sleeves. They are made of a soft, yet very durable polymer.
Fourth, They improve the sound of your cymbal because there is no felt dampening the bell of the cymbal. The cymbal glides easily over the slick surface of the sleeve or the CymRing so there is very little restriction of movement. The cymbals swing freely and ring out freely.
Fifth, They are inexpensive. Retail is $16.95 for a pack of three Cymbal Sleeves. A six pack of the CymRings lists for $11.99. The SizzleNut is $13.99.
I highly recommend these. I’ll probably never switch back to felts and wing nuts.
You can buy the Cymbal Sleeves here https://www.drumsellers.com/en/listings/1097619-no-nuts-cymbal-sleeves-3-pk-blk
The CymRings here https://www.drumsellers.com/en/listings/1097649-no-nuts-r-cymrings-6-pk
And the SizzleNuts here: https://www.drumsellers.com/en/listings/1097650-no-nuts-r-sizzlenut-one