How to Set Up a Hi Hat Stand – Cymbal, Stand & Pedal Assembly Guide

Author: Brett Clur | Updated: | This post may contain affiliate links.

The hi-hat stand may very well be one of the most confusing pieces of hardware on the drum kit. It has a lot going on, so it’s understandable for any beginner drummer to wrestle with it at first.

Setting up a hi-hat stand has become second nature to me after years of having to set my drums up quickly at gigs. So, here’s a step-by-step process on how to do it.

Stock Check

The first thing to do is to check that you have all the components needed for setting the hi-hat up. A hi-hat stand has multiple layers to it, so missing one is quite common when you’re unboxing a new drum set or unpacking hardware from travel bags.

You’re going to need to have the base stand, the second arm that connects to the base, the hi-hat rod, a clutch, and a pair of hi-hats.

My best piece of advice is to always lay the components out in front of you so that you can clearly see what you have and what you don’t. You’ll clearly be able to see what’s missing when you do this.

Base Stand

The base stand will set up the foundation of your hi-hat stand. It’s the biggest component of the whole thing, so it’s the first item that we set up and make comfortable.

You’ll notice that the pedal connects to the bottom of this stand via a chain. It will move around loosely at first, so you need to connect the two side rods to the base of the stand to keep it stable.

This is the process to follow if you’re just using a single pedal on the bass drum. If you’re using a double pedal, you’ll need to turn the legs of the hi-hat to accommodate the slave pedal that goes next to the hi-hat pedal. Once you do that, then you can connect the side rods to the base to keep the pedal stable.

Not all hi-hat stands can rotate their legs, but I highly suggest you get one that can, so you don’t need to worry about that if you ever get a double pedal.

Hi-Hat Rod

The hi-hat rod is the thin metal rod that connects to the hydraulic mechanism in the middle of the stand. All hi-hat stands have a rod that needs to be screwed in. It’s important that you do this before attaching the top part of the stand as it will be difficult to see where to screw the rod in after that.

You should keep your hi-hat rod safe as you possibly can, especially when traveling with your drum kit. I’ve had way too many hi-hat rods break in my career. I found the best way to protect it while moving around is to unscrew it, but still leave it stored inside the hi-hat stand.

Top Half

The second half of the hi-hat is a thicker rod that connects to the top of the base. This component is where you rest the bottom hi-hat on, but we’ll get to that later. To attach this part, you need to place it on the stand and tighten it when it’s at a comfortable height.

You can adjust height later when you’re sitting at the drum set, so don’t worry too much about that now.

Some hi-hat stands will have a memory lock. It’s a small piece of metal that allows you to lock in the height of the stand so that you can set it up in the exact same way every time. The only catch to it is that you need to use a drum key.

While I’ve found memory locks to be incredibly useful, I’ve also found that they tend to rust over time. Most drummers leave them and forget about them, causing them to get stuck in place and hard to adjust.

If you have a memory lock on your hi-hat stand, I suggest you adjust it every now and then to ensure that it stays working smoothly.

Hi-Hat Clutch

The hi-hat clutch is the small component that attaches the top hat to the rod on the stand. I’ve played so many gigs where the drum kit at the venue has had a dodgy clutch. So, I always bring my own. You’ll find that you’ll get quite attached to your personal hi-hat clutch.

To set it up, you need to unscrew the bottom two pieces. The first one is the metal base and the second is a felt. Once those are unscrewed, place the clutch through the middle of the top hat and screw the bottom two pieces back on securely.

Make sure that the bottom pieces are in the right order. The felt needs to be touching the top hat so that the cymbal is protected. The metal base needs to be at the bottom so that there is a solid force holding everything together.

Hi-Hats

Now that the clutch is set up with the top hat, you can place the bottom hat on the hi-hat stand. It should be resting on a felt that is lying at the surface of the stand. If there isn’t a felt, the bottom hat will get damaged from the metal-on-metal contact.

I always tell drummers to carry some extra cymbal felts around in case one goes missing. It’s better to buy some cheap felts rather than buying a whole new cymbal because the last one cracked. Better safe than sorry. However, you’ll need a large felt for the bottom hat whereas all other cymbals only need small felts.

Now is the time to attach the top hat to the rod. To do this, you need to run the clutch down the rod and tighten it at a height that you feel is comfortable. The height that your top hat should be is subjective to your personal preference.

I’ve seen drummers playing with massive gaps in between their top and bottom hats. I’ve also seen drummers playing with almost no gap at all. Just remember that the higher that gap is, the more you’ll need to press the pedal down to close it. You could conserve a bit of energy by keeping that gap smaller.

Final Positioning

And just like that, your hi-hat stand is set up! The final thing to do is place it at your drum kit and move it around until you feel it is comfortable. There are two things to think about now, the height of the stand and how far you want it from your snare drum.

The height of the stand will determine how high you hold your right hand to play the hi-hats. I personally position it about 5-inches higher than my snare drum. I feel that it gives me plenty of room for my left hand to work without colliding with my right hand.

I’ve seen some drummers position their hats lower. I’ve seen even more drummers position their hats higher. This is especially true for rock and metal drummers. If you’re a rock drummer, you’ll probably see that your drum heroes have their hi-hats sitting at their maximum height. I think they do it like that because it looks cool.

The next thing to worry about is how close or far you want your stand to be next to you. If you put it too far, you’ll need to stretch your leg out to be able to play the pedal. If you keep it too close, the hi-hats will be positioned over the snare drum, stopping you from playing it comfortably. So, you need to find a good balance.

You’ll need to position the stand a bit further away if you’re playing with a double bass drum pedal. I personally don’t play with a double pedal for this very reason. I find it too uncomfortable to have the hi-hat stand further away.

However, there are thousands of drummers who do this, and they look incredibly comfortable behind the kit.

Wrap Up

Setting up your hi-hat stand may be a lengthy process at first. The process becomes quicker when you do it more often. I’ve found that setting up my hi-hat stand only takes about a minute these days thanks to the memory lock and the quick process that I’ve developed.

If you have a hi-hat stand that has legs that can’t swivel, I’d suggest getting a new one that can. Even if you’re not playing a double pedal, a swivel stand will always be better than one that can’t swivel. One of my favorite affordable swivel stands is the Gibraltar 5707.

I always tell people that it’s in their best interest to have high-quality drum hardware. If you have cheaper hardware, you’re not going to feel like you’re playing drums off a solid place. I’ve found that it actually affects my drumming. So, get a good hi-hat stand and learn to set it up efficiently. You’ll thank yourself afterward!

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About Brett Clur

Brett has been drumming for almost two decades. He also helps his students get better at drumming. He can be found on Instagram (@brettclurdrums), where you can regularly catch glimpses of his drumming.

1 thought on “How to Set Up a Hi Hat Stand – Cymbal, Stand & Pedal Assembly Guide”

  1. HI, LOST SPRING FROM MY HI HT STAND CAN YOU TELL ME PLEASE WHERE TO BUY SPRING AND WHAT TYPE.? TKS MICHAEL IN WATERFORD CITY SOUTHEAST IRELAND.

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