Let us take a look at the parts of an electronic drum set.  There is a wide range of possibilities, from all-in-one units to a complete marriage of electronic and acoustic.  We will concentrate on the form where a completely electronic set mimics the layout of an acoustic set, since this is what I was looking for, and what I researched.  Some of this information will apply to parts or sets on either side of this range.  Basically, there are three main parts of an electronic drum set: Hardware, Sensors and Controller.

The ‘sensors’ are not going to float in the air for you, so at the base of the set is some form of stand, usually a RACK.  A rack is ‘one piece’, although it is almost always made up of smaller pieces for flexibility and adjustment, and some electronic drum sets have a piece or two of additional hardware (like a snare drum stand and/or a hi-hat stand) in addition to the main rack.  The goal is to provide a system which supports all the components of the set, while allowing reasonable adjustment of the position of each component.  Note that some acoustic drum sets now use racks as well, since racks can be easier to transport, set up and tear down, and may be more stable than individual pieces of hardware.

The rack will have two, three or four legs, to provide a one wing (flat), two wing (angled) or three wing (‘U’ shaped) drum set up.  With two legs, you pretty much have to have a ‘foot’ on each leg.  This is an additional bar at right angles to the leg, to provide forward and backward stability.  The connection to the leg is usually a right angle connector, which can suffer a good deal of stress.  Thus, if the connector is not real heavy duty, it is good to have an angled brace attached between the foot and the leg for added strength.  With three legs, you don’t have to have a foot or brace on every leg, but it is better to at least have them on each of the two outermost legs.  On a four leg rack, feet and/or braces may be optional.

Between each adjacent leg, there needs to be a bar to not only keep the legs from falling over sideways, but to attach drum components to.  Again, these are connected with a right angle connector, and again, some bracing is a very good idea.  The best bracing is a second (parallel) bar lower down, although an angled brace between the bar and each leg might be adequate.  In addition, either both legs of a two leg rack or one leg of a three leg rack may have ‘arms’.  These are additional bars sticking out at right angles to mount more components on, and again, an angled brace between each arm (long ones; short ones are ok unbraced) and the leg it is attached to would be highly recommended.  The fittings which hold the rack parts together can be made of heavy duty steel, aluminum or some form of plastic.  The steel fittings are a bit bigger and pretty heavy, but are strong enough that bracing them may not be necessary.  With adequate bracing, the smaller, lighter and cheaper plastic clamps are entirely adequate.

The ‘size’ of the rack depends on the set which it is designed for or intended to hold.  However, the size of the bars the rack is made of is important in order to be able to use the widest range of parts (including from other manufacturers).  Most racks seem to use 1 1/2” round tubes.  I would suggest avoiding any rack which is otherwise.  With the possible exception of the Yamaha ‘HexRack’, which is six sided rather than round.  It looks to be a very nice system; the only downside is that likely no other parts will work with it.

Components are attached to the rack with CLAMPs and MOUNTs.  The clamps go around the bars and hold tightly, and either have the component mount built in (rare) or also hold tightly to the component mount.  Some clamps are ‘continuous’ and can only be added to or removed from the bar by sliding it on or off the end of the bar, while some are ‘hinged’ and can be slipped over the bar at any point.  The continuous clamps seem a little easier to adjust, and are generally more compact and cheaper, so are perhaps preferable.  However, even if most of your clamps are continuous, it is a good idea to have a couple of hinged ones on hand so you can add components later without tearing the rack apart.

Each clamp has one or more knobs which can be tightened once the clamp and mount is in the desired position.  One knob for holding both the rack and the mount will work, but when it is loosened, both the clamp will move on the rack, and the mount will move in the clamp.  Having separate knobs for the clamp and the mount is recommended for easiest adjustment and most reliable hold.

Even though most clamps are set up for a 1 1/2” bar, the mounts come in various sizes.  If the mount and clamp come as a package, that should not be a problem.  However, if you get the mount and the clamp separately, even if they are from the same manufacturer, they may not work with each other.  Not only do mounts come in various sizes, but some of the sizes are measured as Metric and some as English.  Some after-market clamps are adjustable to various mount sizes, which is convenient but it is not clear if this sort of arrangement would be as secure and it is certainly not as streamlined.  I would only use an adjustable clamp if I could not get the ‘correctly sized’ clamp.

There are two basic types of mount, ‘drum’ and ‘cymbal’.  Drum mounts seem to be a rod, often but not always ‘L’ shaped.  Unfortunately, these rods come in several sizes.  Yamaha and Roland use a rod which measures about 11 mm or 11/16”.  Ion and Pintech seem to use a rod which measures 10 mm; just enough smaller that a Pintech or Ion component won’t go on a Yamaha or Roland rod.  Pintech also uses a 7/8” rod for some components, as does Hart Dynamics.  You could probably attach a component using a slightly smaller ‘L’ rod than the component is designed for, but I would try to avoid that.  And definitely avoid using a clamp which is not correctly sized for the mount (or is not adjustable).

Yamaha uses a six sided (hex) rod, while most other brands are round, many of them knurled or grooved.  The hex rod is a little harder to set the rotation on initially (you have to adjust the other end of the rod), but once you have it set right, it makes removing and replacing the component at the same orientation pretty easy.  A hex rod holds its component in position very well; knurled or grooved rods can be adequately secure.

Not only are there multiple sizes of rods, but although many components slide onto the rods horizontally, the Rolands and Pintechs I’ve seen so far slide on vertically.  I don’t know why they do this; it would seem to limit their horizontal adjustability, and the rack itself can provide good vertical adjustability.

You want to be able to put the component ‘exactly’ where it is ‘best’ for you.  This means you need to be able to move it up and down, side to side, in and out, and rotate it on two axis.  Gross adjustments can be made on the rack, by moving the arms or bars up and down, and rotating the arms towards you or away from you.  Precise up and down and/or in and out can be set by sliding the component on the rod, or the rod in the clamp.  Rotation in one axis can be achieved by rotating the clamp around the rack bar, and in the other, by rotating the component on the rod and/or the rod along its axis in the clamp (horizontally mounted).  Side to side can be accomplished by sliding the clamp on the rack bar, or rotating the rod along its axis in the clamp (vertically mounted).

Of course, some makers offer an ‘advanced’ mount, where the rod ends in a ball, and the ball fits into a socket with a knob to tighten it in place.  The ball mounted rod can rotate up and down, swing left and right, and rotate along the rod.  Straight up and down is done by moving the mount up and down in the clamp, and in and out is achieved by sliding the component on the rod.  The bases of these sorts of mounts tend to be the same size(s) as acoustic drum mounts; mine are 22 mm or 7/8”.

If the snare drum component is fairly large, the set may use a standard snare drum stand to hold it.  If the hi-hat component is movable, it will be mounted on a standard hi-hat stand.  It can also be mounted on a ‘remote’ or ‘cable’ hi-hat stand, which is then clamped to the rack.  A non-movable, or fixed, hi-hat component might be mounted using a regular drum mount as already discussed, or more often, a standard cymbal mount.

Most electronic cymbal mounts look just like an acoustic cymbal mount, except they mount to the rack using a clamp rather than to a standalone cymbal stand base.  For that matter, for most electronic cymbals, you could use a cymbal stand if you wanted to, although this would negate some of the advantages of the rack system.  As with the clamps for the drum mounts, there are a number of sizes, from maker to maker and even between models from the same manufacturer.  The simplest of mounts is a long rod with a standard cymbal tilter and mount on the end.  Up and down is set by sliding the rod in the clamp, left and right by sliding the clamp along the rack bar, and in and out by rotating the clamp around the bar.  Once you get it approximately positioned, you set the tilt with the tilter.  Yamaha’s lower level mounts are like this, and are 16 mm or 5/8”.

You can also get fancier cymbal mounts, which have telescoping sections and even booms.  These tend to be the same size as acoustic cymbal mounts; Yamaha’s are 22 mm or 7/8” and Roland’s seem to be 7/8”.  Since these are often similar to or even the same as used in acoustic sets, many come with, or have available, ‘memory locks’.  These are bands which clamp around the mount, and have a little tab sticking out.  The tab meshes with a notch in the mating piece of hardware, so that you can easily take the assembly apart, and reassemble it in the same position.  This also provides a bit more surface area clamping the rod, for increased hold of this joint.

At the ‘business’ end is almost always a standard acoustic cymbal mounting.  This is most often an 8 mm stud, although 6 mm does exist and I’ve even got one which astonished me by being 1/4 - 20.  There is no particular reason why they have to all be the same size, although it is my preference (keeps the spare parts requirements down and eliminates any chance of mixing up parts).  Mounting the cymbal component usually takes a standard base washer, felts and wing nut, and often a cymbal specific ‘anti-rotation device’ (see the section on 'Sensors').

Note that you can also get 1 1/2" memory locks for the rack joints, to assist in reassembly or realignment of the rack, or add to the stability of the rack joints.

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