The Complete Handbook of Hand Percussion Stands & Mounts

I bought this thinking it would cover the basics, and it does, but I was hoping for more depth on the actual custom-rig building side of things. The load-path and torque information is solid, but the chapter on types and specs reads a bit like a catalog at times. I did learn why my LP stand was wobbling, so it's not a waste of money. It's just not the end-all reference I was expecting.

I've been a working percussionist for fifteen years and thought I knew stands. This book humbled me. The troubleshooting section alone paid for itself—I fixed a stripped conga tilt knob on a Yamaha stand in twenty minutes using the exact thread spec they published. The business chapter gave me a real framework for renting my spare rig out instead of letting it gather dust. This is the resource I'll keep in my hardware case.

Solid, practical read. I run the music program at a large church and we have a permanent hand percussion table that's been rigged with ratchet straps for years. After reading the installation chapter, I built a proper mount setup using the clamping-force guidance. It's rock solid now. I docked one star only because I wish there were more photos—the prose is clear, but some of the locking mechanisms are hard to visualize from text alone.

Finally, a book that treats hand percussion stands like actual equipment with specifications and failure modes, not just another accessory. The chapter on choosing the right stand for your situation is worth the price alone. I play in a wedding band and a salsa group, and I now have completely different setups for each, based on their practical guidance. The chapter on future trends made me put a quick-release mount on my wish list. Every serious gigging percussionist should own this.

There's good knowledge here, but it's not always well organized. I wanted to quickly look up whether a Meinl stand would accept a Pearl conga, and I had to search through several sections to piece together the answer. The business chapter was interesting but not applicable to me as a solo player. If you're a working tech or repair shop owner, this is probably great. For the occasional gig guy, it's a bit much.

As someone who runs a small rehearsal studio and rents gear to local bands, I found the business and maintenance chapters extremely practical. The rental rate guidance and depreciation advice were spot on. My main criticism is that the brand comparison section could use more direct head-to-head specs, and the writing can get a little dry in the early chapters. Still, it's far more reliable than any forum thread I've ever read.

This is the most thorough treatment of the subject I have encountered. The detailed explanation of the different thread standards (why a Gibraltar tilt joint won't fit a Toca without an adapter, for example) saved me from a costly mistake. I particularly appreciated the future trends chapter—it's rare to find a reference book that looks ahead instead of just describing the status quo. Minor gripe: the lack of visual diagrams is a missed opportunity, but the textual descriptions are precise enough to follow.