1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to rails for positioning and holding musical instruments and, more particularly, to a support rack and system for holding a plurality of percussion instruments, such as drums, and accessories.
2. Description of the Related Art
A modern percussion artist may resort to a variety of drums, cymbals, and related acoustic and electronic instruments in order to have a full vocabulary. However, in order to be playable, each percussion instrument must be placed within easy striking range. Each electrical instrument must be wired, and all electrical cabling should be neatly arranged.
Most frequently, each separate drum or percussion instrument is supported by a separate stand having a tripod like structure. Numerous individual stands can result in a crowded, cluttered appearance due to the confined area in which such stands or holders are positioned. The use of numerous individual drum stands has the further disadvantage of complicating setup, which can result in much time expenditure, particularly for a band on tour which may have to set up in a different location every day. Such a setup does not lend itself to being wired.
Frequently, several smaller drums are mounted on top of, and/or on either side of a relatively large bass drum. While this helps somewhat in compacting and stabilizing the drum setup, the setup remains generally loose and fractionated.
Recently drum racks have been developed in order to help eliminate the crowding and clutter of individual stands. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,945,291 (Zickos) discloses a framework of straight metal rods for supporting a drum assembly. The drums are supported entirely by a "pup-tent" shaped framework. However, due to the inherent lack of strength of straight metal rods, this framework will bend and deform and will not give the feel of a solid support. The stand is not designed for wiring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,414 (Willis) teaches a drum support assembly for supporting multiple drums. The assembly is heavy and complex and would appear to increase the time needed to set up drums. The stand is also not designed for an electronic environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,646 (Austin) discloses a drum mounting rack of which the drum supporting rack is generally arched over about 180%. A percussion artist can sit inside the arc and select from and play a large variety of instruments within his striking range. The rack incorporates a bass drum as part of the support structure at about the midpoint of the arc, with the bass drum serving as one "leg" and two rack ends at the respective ends of the arc forming two other "legs" for a tripod arrangement. However, the two legs at the ends of the arc are connected by a transverse connecting rod such that the rack, when viewed from above, forms a large "D". This connecting rod interferes with the movement or footwork of the drummer. Another shortcoming of this rack is that the bass drum must necessarily be placed within a narrow distance of the stand, actually being directly attached to the main rack of the support structure. This minimizes flexibility in the placement of the bass drum. This can especially be a problem where additional percussion, sound, or other performance related equipment must be positioned near the drum mounting rack structure. Yet another problem with the design of this rack is the use of two horizontal parallel bar members. Mounting drums with multiple attachment points reduces the stability of the setup by increasing the number of points subject to vibrational stresses. This also has a potential negative impact on instrument sound quality. Furthermore, wires from electrical equipment and instruments are not accommodated or hidden in the Austin disclosure.
Although a number of drum racks have been developed, there remains a need in the art for an improved drum rack which makes possible the easy and accurate setting up of both acoustic and electronic instruments, whereon each individual instrument is firmly held in it's desired position, wherein wiring is secured in a manner to prevent short circuits and distortion and in a manner that is visually appealing, and wherein there is minimal cross vibration between the instruments and optimal musical and acoustical qualities of the sound produced by the instruments.
There is also a need for an improved percussion instrument rack which allows for the positioning of one or more bass drums without limiting access to other percussion instruments and performance related equipment.
There is also a need for an improved percussion instrument support rack which allows for flexible positioning of drums at a desired distance from the floor. For example, a Floor Tom sits lower than other drums. Under the prior art, it is difficult to mount Floor Toms on the horizontal rack of a drum rack or drum support assembly at an appropriate height.
There is also a need for an improved percussion instrument support rack which allows for the positioning of equipment and or percussion instruments at the ends of the support rack. Under the current drum rack art, positioning of drums at the ends of the drum rack, on the horizontal bar, is difficult if not impossible for many types of drums, due to physical interference by the rack's vertical legs.