Gear Up: Remote Hats

I'm writing this post mostly to convince myself that this needs to be my next gear purchase.

About a hundred years ago (maybe a little longer), bass drum and hi-hat pedals were the height of drum set technology innovation. They sort of still are - but with some very cool improvements.

In the old days of drumming, the position and playability of your drums and cymbals was limited to straight line access. Even with traditional double bass drum pedals, you have a straight metal linkage. If anything gets in the way, it simply won't work.

Luckily for us, companies like Gibraltar, DW and Yamaha have been allowing for remote location of drums and cymbals for a good long while now. This means that you can basically mount the hi-hat anywhere you want, and put the pedal wherever it's convenient for you.

You want to play open handed without switching hands? No problem. You want hi-hats on both sides of the kit, but pedals right next to each other? You got it.

For me, these are the reasons to get excited about remote hats and other innovations. You can put the instrument(s) where they make sense for you, your playing and your music. And, of course, when you change the kit, you'll undoubtedly change your approach and open up more possibilities for being expressive and creative on the kit.


Awesome. Remotely awesome, in fact.

Happy drumming!