The present disclosure relates generally to percussion instruments having a snare assembly, and more particularly relates to a snare strainer and tuning system for precisely tensioning the snare wires and controlling the snare wire contact with a bearing edge of the percussion instrument.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
A percussion instrument such as a drum includes a top side or batter head seated on an upper end of a shell body with an upper hoop and a bottom side or resonant head seated on a lower end of the shell body with a lower hoop. The upper and lower hoops are secured to the shell body with upper and lower tension rods threaded into tension posts attached to the side of the shell body. The tension rods are also used to adjust the pitch and tonal character of the drum.
A drum may be provided with a snare for producing a sharp staccato sound when the head of the drum is struck. The snare includes a rattle element of wires, cables or gut strings that can be brought into contact with a head of a drum, typically the resonant head. A strainer assembly includes a strainer or snare side plate and a butt side plate secured to opposite sides of the shell body and is used to attach the snare to the drum. The snare side plate typically includes a throw-off mechanism for engaging and disengaging contact between the snare and the snare head. The snare side plate may also include a mechanism for adjusting the tension in the snare, which affects the tone of the snare.
In some set-ups, the rattle element of the snare extends over the edge of the shell body. In these set-ups, the interface between a portion of the shell body edge, also called the bearing edge, and the snare can significantly affect the tone of the snare. Conventional percussion instruments have a stationary horizontal edge, typically formed on the strainer plate and butt plate castings, which are fixed at a predetermined position, and do not permit precise set-up of the bearing edge/snare wire interface for further adjusting the pitch and tonal character of the drum.
Sympathetic vibration is a persistent issue that percussionists deal with on a regular basis. When a drum is struck multitudes of competing sympathetic vibrations are generated that will act to detune the drum heads and the strainer assembly. The tensioning mechanism in conventional designs tends to lose snare tension and thus detune as a result of the sympathetic vibrations generated when the drum is played. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a snare strainer system configured to precisely set and maintain the tension of the snare without any significant detuning due to sympathetic vibrations.
In addition, it is desirable to provide a strainer system configured to easily control the amount of snare contact with the bearing edge of the shell body. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a strainer system includes an adjustable slide assembly that can be used as a strainer side assembly or a butt side slide assembly for tensioning a snare that will not detune due to sympathetic vibrations.
In one embodiment, the adjustable slide assembly includes a slide platform having a slide rail with a channel formed therein and a bracket extending from the slide rail. A slide is supported on the slide platform and includes a body having a beam received in the slide rail channel and a pressure plate configured to secure the snare to the slide. A snare tensioner operably couples the slide to the slide platform to selectively position the slide thereon. The snare tensioner includes a tension rod having a first portion with at least one flat region formed therein and a threaded region extending to a first end of the tension rod. A second portion of the tension rod extends through an aperture formed in the slide rail bracket. A knob is disposed on a second end of the second portion of the tension rod. A collar is disposed around the tension rod and captures the slide rail bracket between the knob and the collar. An insert housing is fixed to the slide body and has a tangential slot and a longitudinal bore formed therein. The longitudinal bore includes a threaded portion receiving the threaded region of the tension rod. An elastic clip extends over the insert housing and has a detent section located in the tangential slot that extends into the longitudinal bore. The tension rod is rotatable in the insert housing to a detent position such that the detent section engages the flat region and the elastic clip resists further rotation or counter-rotation of the tension rod within the insert housing to eliminate detuning.
In another embodiment, a percussion instrument includes a drum having a shell body, a batter head seated on an upper end of the shell body with an upper hoop and a resonant head seated on a lower end of the shell body with a lower hoop. A strainer assembly includes a strainer slide assembly secured to the shell proximate the lower end, and a butt side slide assembly secured to the shell proximate the lower end and diametrically opposite the strainer slide assembly. A snare has a first end secured to the strainer slide assembly, a second end secured to the butt side slide assembly and a rattle extending between the first and second ends and in contact with the resonant head. Each of the strainer and butt side slide assemblies includes a slide platform having a slide rail with a channel formed therein and a bracket extending from the slide rail. A slide is supported on the slide platform and includes a body having a beam received in the slide rail channel and a pressure plate securing the ends of the snare to the slide. A snare tensioner operably couples the slide to the slide platform to selectively position the slide thereon. The snare tensioner includes a tension rod having a first portion with at least one flat region formed therein and a threaded region extending to a first end of the tension rod. A second portion of the tension rod extends through an aperture formed in the slide rail bracket. A knob is disposed on a second end of the second portion of the tension rod. A collar is disposed around the tension rod and captures the slide rail bracket between the knob and the collar. An insert housing is fixed to the slide body and has a tangential slot and a longitudinal bore formed therein. The longitudinal bore includes a threaded portion receiving the threaded region of the tension rod. An elastic clip extends over the insert housing and has a detent section is located in the tangential slot that extends into the longitudinal. The tension rod is rotatable in the insert housing to a detent position such that the detent section engages the flat region and the elastic clip resists further rotation or counter-rotation of the tension rod within the insert housing to eliminate detuning.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a strainer system is provided which is configured to easily control the amount of snare contact with the bearing edge on both the strainer side and the butt side of the shell body.
In yet another embodiment, a slide assembly includes a slide platform including a slide rail having a channel formed therein and a bracket extending from the slide rail. A slide includes a body having a beam received in the slide rail channel to slideably support the slide on the slide platform. A pressure plate is configured to secure the snare to the slide. A snare tensioner operably couples the slide to the slide platform and selectively positions the slide thereon. A plate is configured to secure the slide assembly to the percussion instrument. The plate includes a base attached to the slide platform in a fixed position, wherein the slide rail is spaced apart from the base. A pair of vertical straps extends from the base, and a horizontal slide tube extends between the pair of vertical straps and is vertically positionable along the pair of vertical straps for adjusting the amount of snare contact with the bearing edge of the shell body.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. There is no intention to be limited by any principle presented in the preceding background or the following detailed description.
With reference to
A strainer assembly 26 includes a strainer or snare side slide assembly 28 and a butt side slide assembly 30 secured to opposite sides of the shell body 12, which are used to attach a snare 32 to the drum 10. The snare side slide assembly 28 includes a throw-off linkage 46 for engaging and disengaging contact of the snare rattle 34 with the resonant head 16 and the snare bed 44, thus minimizing or eliminating the effects of the snare 32 on the timbre/tone quality of the drum 10. Except for the throw-off linkage 46, the snare side slide assembly 28 and the butt side slide assembly 30 are structurally and functionally similar. As such, the term slide assembly may be used herein to refer to either the snare side slide assembly 28 or the butt side slide assembly 30.
A snare 32 includes a rattle 34 having a plurality of fine coiled wires 36 (or cables, or gut strings) and a plate 38 attached at each end of the snare wires 36. A strap 40 extends from one plate 38 and is secured to the snare side slide assembly 28. A strap 42 extends from the other plate 38 and is secured to the butt side slide assembly 30. As shown in
With reference now to
The plate 52 includes a pair of vertical straps 72 projecting generally perpendicular from the base 58 and terminating at a distal region 74. A slot 76, which is generally parallel to a plane define by the base 58, is formed in the distal region 74. A horizontal slide tube 78 extends between the pair of vertical straps 72. A pair of shoulder bolts 80 extend through the slot 76 and are threaded into the slide tube 78. The shoulder bolts 80 are configured to slide in the slot 76 such that the slide tube 78 is vertically positionable along the pair of vertical straps 72. Once the slide tube 78 is located in a desired position relative to the snare bed 44, the shoulder bolts 80 are tightened to secure the slide tube 78 therein. As presently preferred, the slot 76 extends for a length of 0.75″ for vertically adjusting the position of the slide tube 78.
With reference to
With reference again to
The snare tensioner 56 operably couples the slide 54 to the slide platform 60S/60B to selectively position the slide body 92 on the slide rail 60S/60B. The snare tensioner 56 includes an insert housing 106 positioned within the longitudinal groove 94 and fixed to the slide body 92. The insert housing 106 has a circumferential groove 108 and a longitudinal bore 110 formed therein. As portion of the circumferential groove 108 extends through the wall of the insert housing 106 to form a tangential slot 108′. An elastic clip 112 extends around the insert housing 106 in the circumferential groove 108. The insert housing 106 may be welded into the longitudinal groove 94 of the body 92 after the elastic clip 112 is properly positioned. A detent section 114 of the elastic clip 112 is positioned in the tangential slot 108′ and extends into the longitudinal bore 110. As best seen in
The snare tensioner 56 further includes a tension rod 116 with a first portion 118 extending from a first end 120 and having threaded regions 122 with interposed flat regions 124 formed therein. A collar 126 is located onto the tension rod 116 at the end of the first portion 118 opposite the first end 120 and secured there with a roll pin 128. A second portion 130 of the tension rod 116 extending from the collar 126 to a second end 132 is inserted through the aperture 90 formed in the bracket 88S/88B. A knob 134 is secured to the second end 132 of the tension rod 116 there with a roll pin 128. It will be noted that the bracket 88S/88B is positioned between the collar 126 and the knob 134. As shown herein, two threaded regions 122.1, 122.2 (collectively 122) are formed on diametrically opposite sides (i.e. 0° and 180° as shown in
The tension rod 116 is rotatable in the insert housing 106 such that every half turn the detent section 114 engages a flat region 124 (i.e., a detent position). In this way, the elastic clip 112 resists further rotation or counter-rotation of the tension rod 116 within the insert housing 106 to prevent unwanted detuning of the snare 32. If a tension adjustment is desired, the tension rod 116 is rotated and the threaded region 122 elastically deforms the clip 112 and forces the detent section 114 out of the longitudinal bore 110. Continued rotation each half turn will position the tension rod 116 back into in a detent position. One skilled in the art will recognize that the number of flat sections may vary depending on the number of detent positions per rotation as required for a given specification or configuration.
As presently preferred, the tension rod 116 has a relatively large diameter (e.g., 5/16″) and a relatively fine thread count (24 threads per inch) for maximum engagement between the elastic clip 112 and the tension rod 116. In addition, the insert housing 106 and the tension rod 116 are preferably made using 0/1 tool steel, which will not only maintain structural/functional tolerance but will also significantly reduce the likelihood that the tension rod 116 may become cross-threaded in the insert housing 106. As a result, these parts will have an increased dimensional stability, higher strength, and thus increased functionality for eliminating detuning of the snare 32.
As mentioned above, the snare side slide assembly 28 includes a throw-off linkage 46 for engaging and disengaging contact of the rattle 34 with the resonant head 16 and the snare bed 44. With reference to
In a snare-engaged position, as shown in
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/330,519, filed on May 2, 2016.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62330519 | May 2016 | US |