Testimonials and Press: TightScrew Drum Tension Rod Screws for Drum Heads

Non-Loosening
Drum Tension Rods
Guaranteed to solve your
de-tuning problems

Magazine Reviews

Read what others have to say:

Magazine

May 2006

Never get screwed by a screw again!

Have you ever noticed how the tension rods in your snare’s rimshot zone loosen more quickly than other tension rods? The vibration and brief changes in head tension that occur from heavy hitting can conspire to detune a drum. It’s a common problem for strong-arm players, but even those of you who don’t hit that hard may have the same trouble if you favor die-cast hoops, tube lugs, or highly tensioned heads – all of which transfer more vibration. Now there may be a solution to all your whacking woes – TightScrews from Carl Scott Percussion.

At first glance, they appear to be conventional, chromed-steel tension rods. On closer examination, you’ll notice that through their threads is cut a narrow slot filled with a hard nylon material. This material increases the friction and surface area between the TightScrew^® and the receiving nut, thus preventing detuning. Do the gizmos actually work? Absolutely. I tried them under darn-near-abusive hammering, and once my ears stopped ringing, I didn’t detect any tuning changes. Because I had to eventually give the TightScrews back, though, I wasn’t able to check how many times you can change your heads before the plastic insert loses some of its effectiveness. But I have faith.

Some drummers may use them only on snare batters, but I think TightScrews could actually help all over your kit. Ever have a tension rod fall out from the bottom of a tom during a particularly thrashing solo? Pick up a pack of TightScrews and Verdict you never will. Unfortunately, TightScrews aren’t currently offered for Sonor or DW drums, both of which use proprietary tension-rod designs, but the good news (which we learned at press time) is that Carl Scott Percussion now offers longer versions that can replace all the rods on your bass drum.

^® drum tension rods reviewed in Modern Drummer" border="0">
Modern Drummer
August 2005

Did you ever find yourself "playing ping-pong" in the middle of a rock gig? You know the feeling. You're playing all-out, slamming into the pocket with sledgehammer force. As the gig progresses, your snare doesn't sound the same as when you started. You tap the batter head near the lugs and find that most of the tension points sound like "ping," but when you tap the spots where the rimshots land, you hear "pong."

If you've been taking notes during the past few years, you know that this phenomenon is due to heavy playing momentarily reducing the pressure on those tension rods, allowing them to loosen in response to shell vibration. Various manufacturers have dealt with this problem over the years, using such things as locking nuts against the lugs or molded plastic heads that go on the rods to keep them in place. These solutions can take extra time and effort, and can interfere with fine-tuning capabilities. Carl Scott Percussion has come up with something different that does the job without the drawbacks.

The TightScrew^® is a non-loosening tension rod that is designed to stay right where you put it. It features a small channel cut along the length of the rod where the threads go into the lug. The channel is filled with something that looks like nylon, and the friction of this substance against the threads inside the lug casing keeps the rod in place. This technology is used on Apache helicopters to prevent parts from loosening under extreme vibration and temperature conditions.

To test how well the TightScrew^® rods worked, I replaced two rods on my snare and laid into it. The TightScrew^® rods stayed right in place, and I didn't have to do any retuning during the test period. I appreciated having infinite control over my tuning, without the constraints of a device that uses a plastic edge or ball-bearing click to hold the rod in place.

Carl Scott says that if you play at light to moderate volumes, you only need to replace the rods positioned immediately under your sticks. For higher volume levels they suggest that you replace all the rods on the rim. Once this is done, you shouldn't need to do anything until the head stretches. The rods come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which should be plenty of time to determine if you'll have a problem. The rods on my test snare remain where I first tuned them, and I haven't had to touch them since.

TightScrew^® rods are available in three lengths: 1 5/8" (42 mm), 2" (52 mm), and 2 1/2" (65 mm). I think they're worth it; you can get tight and stay loose at the same time.

Chap Ostrander

"I can honestly say that I've tried every remedy on the market to eliminate detuning on my drums.....TightScrew^® is the ONLY ONE that works cleanly & effectively! No more panic tuning in between songs! I can bash the hell out of my drums,safe in the knowledge that I'll not be picking up rods from the floor at the end of the gig! A BRILLIANT addition to any kit!!!!"
Aynsley Dickinson RiseToAddiction.com

"I came to the conclusion that no matter how much money you spend on a drum kit, you are most likely to have tension rods that back off. Drum dials may set an initial precise tuning, but if a single tension rod backs off, your fine tuning is lost. I paid thousands for a high end kit, and it was common for tension rods to back off and land on the floor. Tightscrews^® eliminated all of my tuning headaches. I can tune up tight to hip-hop tensions and Tightscrews^® stay put. I can back off the tension to "just above a wrinkle" a setting where standard tension rods would have very little grip. Tightscrew^® tuning stays won't back off, even with loose tuning. The batter head isn't the only critical thing. Ever have a snare or tom that's fussy to tune? The resonant head needs to have even tension to do its job. Tightscrews^® guaranteed that my drums sounds the same all the time until I change the tension. This product is a godsend for recording - a true "set it and forget it" tuning device. All drums should come with Tightscrews^®...period. I'd pay a few extra dollars to have piece of mind that the sound I work to achieve stays that way."
Scott SyntehticTubs

"It seems that today, more and more drum products are coming out. Some work, some do not. TightScrew^® works! TightScrew^® is one of the best new products to come out in a long time and I fully back them 110 %. Thank you to everyone at TightScrew^® for making a high quality drum product!"
Jay Gantz PrecisionDrum.com & MySpace

"I've enjoyed the peace of mind and confidence that Tight Screw allows for the last 2 years. Amazing! I wish I had these 30 years ago. Thank you."
Dominic Perozzi-Long-time customer

"The TightScrew^® tension rod has been a welcomed treat for me. For years I would always have my tension rods coming loose where I played rim shots.

Each set I would have to tighten the bottom and top tension rods so my snare drum was back in tune. But now I play a complete show with never tightening any tension rods on my snare ... A truly remarkable design, simple and clean.

Nothing to clamp to the tension rod, just the simple look of an ordinary tension rod that won't back out.

Thank You."
John Litrenta-Owner
Midwest Percussion

"I tried the tension rods sent to me by Mr. Scott on a drum that has had some problems with 2 t-rods on top and the same 2 on bottom of a 13" snare drum with die-cast hoops and tube lugs (those 2 factors tend to increase DE-tuning due to fact that tube lugs have no real shock absorbing mechanism, such as swivel nuts and their retainers, causing an immediate transfer of energy from head-to shell-to lug- to rod - resulting in DE-tuning. Also die cast hoops can transfer that DE-tuning action readily when rim shots are constantly struck.)

These tension rods when placed in those 4 positions immediately alleviated the problem and allowed the drum to be played quite hard for an entire 1 hour set of heavy rock music WITHOUT HAVING TO BE TIGHTENED ONCE!.

Mr. Scott may very well have a revolutionary product here that could save a lot of drummers from countless interruptions in a performance by having to constantly 're-tighten' a drum that has gone loose even in the middle of a song."

Rob Kampa-Owner
Magstar Drums

"Just wanted to let you know that I got the rods and as soon as I go them, I put them on immediately. Since I have been playing on them, in my opinion, these rods are by far the best anti de tuning product I have played on.

Out of habit, I check my tension rods every chance I get when I am playing and not once have your rods come loose on me. When playing on ordinary tension rods, I usually have to crank them back tight on my snare drum every song. Because of those regular rods coming loose, it has caused me to break through heads at shows and become a total inconvenience. I've tried just about every other product out there to prevent the rods from coming loose. Gels to lug locks and they all have problems of one kind or another.

I consider myself to be a very heavy hitter. In the rock band I play with, we play three hour sets straight through and every hit on my snare drum is a rim shot. Constantly having to pay attention to my tension rods coming loose is a thing of the past now. Your tensions rods have given me total confidence to go into a show and not worry about them coming loose. Thank you so much Carl!"

Jason Sochaki-Drummer
Lounge Puppets

"To Whom It may Concern,

I have been playing drums for over 40 years and I've never appreciated a product as much as yours. I play all styles of music and consider myself a heavy hitter, so de-tuning was always a problem for me. Now, my snare drum de-tuning problems are a thing of the past... I currently use a Pearl Steve Ferrone 6 1/2x14 snare and use tightscrews on both the batter and resonant head. I played a gig last Saturday night with my band Mirage and not once did I have to adjust my snare. It was an enjoyable experience not having to constantly re-tune after every set.

This is a product I would recommend to all drummers.

Thanks again,"

Joe Ward

Copyright ©2005-2008 Carl Scott Percussion. Tight Screw is a registered trademark of Carl Scott Percussion. All rights reserved. US Patent No. 7,199,296 B2
Web Page by DrTandem's San Diego Web Page Design