Roland plastic rack clamps (aaarrrrgghhhh!)

[drmoze]

OK, I just found my second (and third!) broken Rolamnd rack clamps on my V-Customs. A Cymbal stand was loose, and the clamp was broken along the same line as my first (T-clamp), across the nut holder. When loosening the frame to remove it, I found that the T-clamp on the horizontal frame member was *also* broken in the same way! These clamps were not over-tightened, and I haven't even had the chance to play much lately. (The kit is about 2 months old, never moved.)

2 Questions: How many clamps have other folks broken on their Roland frames? And, is it possible to repair them? (SuperGlue/cyanoacrylate with solvent conditioner didn't work...)

I'm planning to write to Roland directly about this (what's his last name? $^) because I expect better quality for the price I paid, and there's clearly a design/material flaw in these clamps. And it's a pain in the butt to have to replace them, costing both time and money. I didn't expect to have to buy sturdy Gibraltar clamps on a regular basis to maintain my Roland rack!!!

[rpg]

Your clamps are defective. I move mine a lot, probably do overtighten them and haven't had one break yet. You should get them replaced free of charge.

As far as repairing (until they're replaced), I think only an epoxy resin (that causes a plastic weld by solubilizing both members) would be the only hope. Superglue is always a bad bet.

[UMCP_matt]

I always ignored these sorta posts
but last week I found my clamp for the
floor tom broke on my td8

I guess I just goto the music store and get a new one.. I hope they don't cost $50 or anything

also those little plastic black circle screws keep falling off my snare and my kick.. ive lost 2 so far

[drmoze]

A replacement Gibraltar clamp (metal, strong!) will run under $20. Don't buy the cheap Roland plastic crap. But give a call to the dealer you bought it from; they *may* replace the clamp ffree. Dealers (and Roland) know that these are pretty crappy clamps and they may be accommodating. I'm in the process of doing that myself.

[Arriguy]

I've had my kit about six months now. I move my kit around to gigs and practice and none of my cheap plastic Roland crap has broken at all.......yet.

[Marc.]

I suggest that ALL the Roland clamps be replaced. Even if they were made out of steel and NEVER broke. I say this because the design flaw in my experience is the design itself. To me, it is just criminal to have to disassemble the entire rack in order to relocate certain parts of the kit! Just my $0.02

-Marc.

[fartnokker]

So far, I've bought 2 of the Gibralter (GPRMC, I think!) clamps, 1 for mounting the snare, and 1 for mounting a legless hi-hat stand (acoustic cymbals, y'know...)

Big, BIG difference with the Gibralter clamps. Observations so far:

1. Gibralter steel, Roland plastic

2. Gibralter opens up completely for installation or removal; Roland makes you disassemble the rack to take one off and move it.

3. You can really torque down the Gibralter clamp for stability; I'm afraid of over-tightening the Roland clamps for fear of breakage.

4. Gibralter clamp goes for $12.99 @ Guitar Center.

Just my personal observations, YMMV...

-Danny in Seattle

[drumguru]

Amen. Plastic is good for saving weight, but it doesn't take much duct tape to equal the weight of a Gibraltar clamp. I have some of these that are nearly 10 years old, have been on 4 different drum kits (2 electronic) and have yet to fail me. Part of the problem with the Roland rack comes as a result of a curved rack and straight clamps. The clamps are eventually going to lose the battle.

[matts64]

drmoze:

I've had my set for almost 3 years. I am still on my original set of clamps. I breakdown my kit frequently and haul it around. So far, no failures. I do have a couple cymbal arms starting to loosen up, though. I hope I don't jinx myself!

Correct me if I'm wrong... I heard from someone that Roland clamps were made of plastic because of a Xtalk issue. When I added a Pintech Dingbat to my kit, I was going to buy Gibraltar clamps. The drum tech told me that if I was going to buy Gibraltar clamps to place a piece of felt between the rack and the clamp to soften some of the vibration. Roland chose to use plastic (at the expense of longevity) to eliminate the Xtalk problem.

[esands]

I would recommend the Gibraltar Road Series Rack as a replacement for the Roland rack. However, if this is not an option for you, then I would at least try to replace the plastic Roland clamps with metal clamps. CAUTION: Since the Roland rack tubes are aluminum, steel clamps may bend or crack the tubes if tightened too much! The Gibraltar clamps were designed for steel tubes which are much stronger so be careful when using heavier duty claps on the light weight Roland rack tubes. The Roland rack is compatible with Ultimate Support System rack accessories so you might be able to find some heavier duty clamps through them. For more information on the Gibraltar Rack, see my review on the vdrums.com web site at http://www.vdrums.com/reviews/grsrack.html. Good Luck.

[Marc.]

>Correct me if I'm wrong... I heard from someone that Roland clamps were made of plastic because of a Xtalk issue.

Yes, will somebody please correct matts64. If matts64 is correct, please give us chapter and verse. I have read my manuals front-to-back but it is possible I missed something.

Thnx,
-Marc.

[Thrak]

Yah, I have to agree with the folks above on the Gibraltar rack. I got the GRS350 after I read all the complaints on this site about the Roland rack and clamps. The Gibraltar is really solid and the clamps are heavy solid metal, I'm real pleased with it. I was actually pretty surprised by the build quality since I always kinda considered Gibralatar a lesser name in drum hardware (always been a Yamaha snob myself ;-) ).

Plus... it looks cooler on stage with lights.

Anybody know if the Gibraltar rack will fit into the bag that comes with the Roland VKit travel case?

[UMCP_matt]

that reminds me.. Ive had to lower the sensativity on the toms lately for some reason.. when im hitting the cymblals and hi hat pads the toms can some time go off.. I don't remember this happeneing when I first got the vdrums so I dunno

[drmoze]

You probably want to raise the crosstalk setting on the toms, not reduce the sensitivity. (Aty least that's how to go on a TD-8. Dunno about athe TD-10.)

[BtnkBndt]

UMCP_matt,

For your crosstalk problems. Try unplugging the pad you hit when another goes off to isolate the pad that is false triggering. While hitting the unplugged pad raise the crosstalk on the pad that is false triggering. Raise it just until the problem stops, you don't want to over do it. Sometimes a little threshold will also help.

drmoze,
No you don't HAVE to unplug the pad. The purpose of unplugging the pad is so you do not have to hear two pads at one time while working with your problem pad. Just makes things a bit easier to hear.

[This message has been edited by BtnkBndt (edited May 12, 2000).]