Tuning Lug Locks

[Warren Wright]

An item I have found to be extremely valuable in keeping drum tuning lugs stationary is called the "LugLock". These LugLocks are small nylon tabs with a hole cut into it...the hole is closer to one edge than the other one...allowing you to place the blank side almost against the rim while forcing the tuning lug thru the small hole. The effect of this is that regardless of how hard you play that drum and regardless of how old and worn the threads are, the tuning lug wont unscrew itself which "detunes" the drum. I dont advertise for the company but I have used this product and having my drums stay in tune is "priceless". When you change heads and get the new head tuned like you want it, you place the luglocks on the tuning lugs and youre done with it.

Best I remember the price of the luglocks is $20.00 for 50 luglocks and $30.00 for 100 luglocks. They also have some other interesting products for sale.

*Sorry WW. I had to take out the commercial link, in keeping with our Forum Rules, but the review is certainly appreciated. - PB*

[ThePloughman]

Pics please.

[Warren Wright]

Ok...here is the link to my Photobucket and here is the pic from the LugLock site

[Pearl MCX Man]

When you have die cast or triple flange hoops you don't have to worry about lugs detuning and no need for those luglock. By looking at the pic you can only position the lock if the lug relatively square with the hoop but what happens if the lug is on the sideways abit then the locks are useless. Just an observation that's all.

[Warren Wright]

When you have die cast or triple flange hoops you don't have to worry about lugs detuning and no need for those luglock. By looking at the pic you can only position the lock if the lug relatively square with the hoop but what happens if the lug is on the sideways abit then the locks are useless. Just an observation that's all.

You made Two Incorrect Observations........~

The first one is that you can position the square tuning lug in any position you want and once you force the luglock over the tuning lug, it molds itself to the shape of the tuning lug...tightly.

The second one is that triple flanged hoops and die cast hoops will NOT prevent a tuning lug from "unscrewing" itself...albeit at least one or two lugs per drum and maybe by only a slight bit. What youre saying is that once you tune up "Your" drums...they stay in tune. I knew a bass player who also didnt need to retune his bass guitar before or after playing a gig...( he played a Fender Jazz bass ).

Now Ive only been playing drums since 1964 and Ive never owned any drums other than Tama, Rogers, Ludwig, Pearl and Yamaha. All of those named had either triple flanged or die cast rims and Ive never owned any drum kit that hasnt needed to be retuned after a gig...albeit not by much but any movement by any lug will slightly change the tuning.

Ever hear of a drummer who doesnt retune his drums after playing a gig? Yeah, I have too...he is in the same category as that bass player who didnt need to retune his bass before or after each gig.

These Lug Locks do work and they work exactly as I stated. Once you place these lug locks on the tuning lugs...you will not need to retune your drums until you need to change your drum heads "Unless" the heads stretch. If that happens, then you will need to "retune" the drum.

[atomcorr2]

yeah , my die-cast snare batter hoop loosens every time i play it . i think i might have to try those , how hard are they to remove ?

[Northern Redneck]

They just pop on and off Tom. Back in the 80's when I tuned low, I used them on my snare. They do work really well.

[Russ]

I have heard that under the stress of a heavy hitter, a luglock can eventually loosen itself. Luglocks are also unusable on wood hoops, both claw and clawless types. The rhythmtech rt7306 locking tuning rods are also not 100% resistant against detuning, but at the least you will get a much longer break between tuning time for your snare/toms:

[Dad3353]

I have fitted 'TightScrew' rods to my entire (Camco...) kit; they do the job very well (for me...). No more snare de-tune, bass tom stays put. A little check before/after playing to compensate for stretch or temperature and that's all. Recommended.
They have a nylon strip along the length of the thread, and 'bind' to the lug. No problem tuning, but slightly more effort is required when changing skins, as one cannot 'twirl' the rods in and out any more with fingers...

[ThePloughman]

Rogers invented them.

[Warren Wright]

Rogers invented them.

Yeah...now those will work ...and I bet if you went to a fastener specialty shop, you could find lock nuts that would fit the tuning lug threads.
And the price would be reasonable as well. Thanks for the idea

[Pearl MCX Man]

You made Two Incorrect Observations........~

The first one is that you can position the square tuning lug in any position you want and once you force the luglock over the tuning lug, it molds itself to the shape of the tuning lug...tightly.

The second one is that triple flanged hoops and die cast hoops will NOT prevent a tuning lug from "unscrewing" itself...albeit at least one or two lugs per drum and maybe by only a slight bit. What youre saying is that once you tune up "Your" drums...they stay in tune. I knew a bass player who also didnt need to retune his bass guitar before or after playing a gig...( he played a Fender Jazz bass ).

Now Ive only been playing drums since 1964 and Ive never owned any drums other than Tama, Rogers, Ludwig, Pearl and Yamaha. All of those named had either triple flanged or die cast rims and Ive never owned any drum kit that hasnt needed to be retuned after a gig...albeit not by much but any movement by any lug will slightly change the tuning.

Ever hear of a drummer who doesnt retune his drums after playing a gig? Yeah, I have too...he is in the same category as that bass player who didnt need to retune his bass before or after each gig.

These Lug Locks do work and they work exactly as I stated. Once you place these lug locks on the tuning lugs...you will not need to retune your drums until you need to change your drum heads "Unless" the heads stretch. If that happens, then you will need to "retune" the drum.

1) Sorry you seem to be an expert on this. I was just stating an observation of what I could see on the luglocks from your picture. I was not aware that the locks worked on any position of the lug head.

2) I have die cast hoops and yes I do check the tuning but they never seem to be out of tune. This is the reason that I mentioned that the die cast and triple flange don't detune to me.I have never seen or had a loose lug yet in all the years of drumming. I will take your word for it.

I think the Rogers luglocks that PloughMan illustrated make more sense that those in your pic.

[Russ]

The reason certain hoops are prone to detuning comes down to two basic design factors. The first of which being the shape- how it was made; and the second being it's mass- how much it weighs and how sturdy the hoop feels in your hand. 2.3mm hoops are bent into their shape, they are light, which offers you a full response for anything that makes contact with it. Unfortunately 2.3mm hoops are not 'strikeproof' and will detune quicker than a die cast hoop because of their lighter mass, as well as the shape.

Cast is by design a stable hoop because straight from the factory it is shaped that way- it's never bent into another form like triple flange 2.3mm hoops are. When you add weight to a hoop, it gives the tension rods a flatter contact point so that they can seat better than normal. A tension rod that sits perfectly flat is guarded more efficiently, therefore under stresses of playing it is more resistant to loosening.

It's still not entirely shielded against it, but it will take a longer time to reach that point. However, when that weight is added the effect you are left with is a bit less resonance/response than that drum originally had. It's more or less a double edged sword- if you want full response get 2.3mm, if you want some control get die cast. Either way you will still have to stay on top of your tuning.

[DrummerD]

Rogers invented them.

Thanks for posting this pic Plough Man. I was looking for something that would work for my DW snare. I reviewed everyone's suggestion for locking tension rod's and came to the conclusion that this was the best way to go. So, I purchased some knurled thumb nuts and applied them to my snare. Here's what it looks like. I don't think I'll have any more issues.

[MrB]

Ray Ayotte attempted to solve the annoyance of detuning by using a nylon set screw.




-The photo on the right illustrates the Staccatto-type lugs, which are cutaway, allowing the tension rod to be exposed. The photo on the left illustrates that I am currently too lazy to alter the image with photoediting software.

-The tension rod perpendicularly intersects with a threaded metal pin, into which a nylon plug is threaded via an allen wrench. It's the little black thing peeking out.

- The plug is tightened against the tension rod, and this force hopefully keeps the tension rod from moving.

After owning one of these snares for eleven years, to me, this method and similar products are not worth the annoyance to try and remedy drums detuning. It's inevitable. If you ever do anything with the drum besides polish it lovingly with a soft cloth, you will need to fart around with the tuning.

As has been mentioned, after a session, a hot day, or even a different room can cause the tuning to be messed up. What the set screws (Ayotte) and lug locks (generic plastic pieces) do is add eighteen to thirty little steps to tuning the drum- with the Ayottes, you have to use an allen wrench to loosen the screw, tune, and then retighten each screw. With the lug locks, you have to pop off the plastic, tune, and pop it back on. That's if you only apply them to the batter head. With the Ayottes, the same goes for the reso (we all tune our resos, right? I haven't seen a single-headed kit on here that I can recall).

For a six-lug drum that's adding eighteen steps (batter only). Do it for the reso too, whose tension rods also vibrate and can loosen, and that six lug drum with locks now has an extra thirty-six steps when tuning. That's just for my snare. Gah. That's not efficient at all. Even if each one takes literally two seconds, that's an extra minute compared to just going at a tension rod with a drum key. How long is the "Jeopardy" song? How patient are those around you?

Since this picture was taken, I took out the set screws from my Ayottes and keep them in a sandwich bag with my other small spare parts in case I change my mind or sell the drums (highly unlikely). To me it's more expedient to simply tweak the tuning as necessary, and there's no plastic pieces to chase around on the floor, or in cases, etc.

Lastly, while I've had lugs loosen on me, they aren't the sole cause of detuning. The heads themselves can stretch and become more flaccid, which makes sense after being whacked for long periods. To maintain the same tension, and the same resonance, the original settings would have to be periodically tightened to compensate for the head's inevitable stretching.

As much as I appreciate ingenuity and cleverness, products like these, which I was initially in favor of, have turned out to be more pesky than handy in my experience. The set screws themselves have loosened, which I have found on the floor before removing them entirely.

[Shawn76]

I have had no luck with the square plastic lock lugs. My 16" FT still doesn't stay in tune.
I have an evans torque key set for that tom only since I have to tune it every hour of playing. I figured it was the head not broke in but that surely isn't the case now.It hs had ample use to be fully broke in.

[longgun]

Thanks for posting this pic Plough Man. I was looking for something that would work for my DW snare. I reviewed everyone's suggestion for locking tension rod's and came to the conclusion that this was the best way to go. So, I purchased some knurled thumb nuts and applied them to my snare. Here's what it looks like. I don't think I'll have any more issues.

Where did you get those?

[DrummerD]

Where did you get those?

I sent you an email.

[longgun]

I sent you an email.

Thanks...definitely going to try this.

[Punxpunx22]

hi DrummerD, sorry to bug, but i was wondering where did you buy the knurled thumb screws you have on your snare?

thank you for your time