It’s not often that one uses the word ‘panacea,’ but this might be an appropriate occasion. A few days ago I received my Falls Percussion Double Toothed Ratchet Timpani Plate for Ludwig Dresdens. I know, that’s a bit of a mouthful. Basically this is a mod that fixes a design flaw in the original drums. Here’s a pic of the original part.
The stock part
The basic problem with the stock part is that the teeth were too far apart, which made tuning the drums akin to an Olympic sport. I could tune an A but when I went to change it to a B, the ratchet teeth forced the pedal into a B that was a quarter tone sharp. I’d have to reach across the drum and turn the fine tuner for the B. If I put the drum back to an A, I’d have to go back to the fine tuner and undo that move. Needless to say, pristine tuning was difficult.
Now that the new parts have been installed, that is a thing of the past. Basically the drums work like they’re supposed to; my self esteem as one who can play the timps in tune is restored! Thanks Falls Percussion…
The New Part
