GIBRALTAR STEALTHRACK

EXCLUSIVE
92 RHYTHM JANUARY 2010
G
ibraltar devised the Stealth Rack to
provide an unobtrusive solution to
drummers with an aversion to
conventional racks, while also
dispensing with the clutter of overlapping
tripods familiar to anyone with astand-based
set-up. The design revolves around keeping
the horizontal elements of the rack low and
to the sides of the kit. This allows a clear view
of the drums, which, at a time when finishes
are ever more distinctive and decorative, can
only be a welcome development.
Build
Stealth Racks areassembled usingstandard
Gibraltar chrome-plated steel tubing. The
tubes arefairly substantial but,beinghollow,
are pretty light. Where other manufacturers
have opted forsquareorhexagonal rack
tubing, Gibraltar is happy to stick with circular
bars. I can’t see how it can be suggested that
circular tubing might be more likely to creep
where clamped – have you ever seen
scaffolding erected with anything other than
circular bars? There is a familiarity to round
tubing as well, as it resembles cymbal stands
and other existinghardware.
‘Stealth’mightconjureimages of military
vehicles with odd angles and mattblack
paint, but the rounded, polished tubing of the
Stealth Rack blends in with the kit.The
shininess of the bars only serves to reflect
the already visible fi nish of the kit further.
Hands On
Whereregular racks tend to span the front
and sides of a kit, the Stealth Rack is split into
two side-only sections. As well as saving
space, this leaves the front of the kit free of
horizontal bars, so contributing to the stealth
factor.The twosides arenot identical as they
serve different purposes, but both arebased
around a pair of upright tubes fitted with feet
that connect to a horizontal bar. These two
assemblies are enough to complete your
set-up as Gibraltar has designed a modular
system that allows rival manufacturers’
hardware to be incorporated into the rack.
On the snare side is the GSVMS, or Stealth
Vertical MountingSystem. This pairsone
regularly-sized uprightwith ashortened
upright that sits on a narrower foot. It is
positioned with the horizontal tube running
from the front of the bass drum right into your
playingarea. The end with the larger upright
and foot is placed furthest away from you to
receive a single or double tom arm. Nearest to
you, the top of asnarestand can be planted
into the smaller upright. The smaller foot is
clearly designed to not intrude on your pedal
action. Linking the two uprights is a bar with a
gentle curve close to one end, intended to arc
overadouble bass pedal connectingrod. The
vertical and horizontal bars are attached to
one another with a pair of 90 degree clamps
which are simple to fit and tighten.
The Stealth Rack senttousfor reviewisa
GSVMS-KIT,which includes all of the
components from the GSVMS along with a
Gibraltar snarebasket and tom arm. The more
basic GSVMS is supplied with three sets of
plastic collars that clip into the locks at the top
of the uprights. Their varying diameters cater
forvirtually everystand on the market,soyou
can save money by slotting your own stands
into the fittings.
On the other side of the kit sits the GSSMS,
or Stealth Side Mount System. This is made up
of two identical uprights joined by a straight
horizontal bar.Both of the uprights will accept
Gibraltar’s own and other brands of stand as
plastic collars are again included. Aside from
the obvious places to locate stands, extra
boom arms and mounting posts can be
attached anywhere on the GSSMS. Clamping
off the wider tubing sections requires a special
Gibraltar clamp,but Imanaged to add
additional stands usingregular clamps on the
narrowerboom sections. These had the
GIBRALTAR
STEALTHRACK
From £120 Gibraltar’sStealth Rack makes
a sleek alternative to the usual forest of
stands.AdamJones keepsalow profile
PRICES
GSVMS Stealth Vertical
Mounting System, £120
GSVMS-KIT
Stealth Vertical
MountingPackage
(including snare basket
and tom arm), £175
GSSMS Stealth Side
Mount System, £130
CONTACT
Fender Great Britain &
Ireland (GBI)
Robert Denholm House
Bletchingly Road
Nutfield
Surrey
RH1 4HW
Telephone: 01342
331700
Email: ukqueries@
fender.com
Website: www.gibral-
tarhardware.com
ESSENTIALSPEC
SHININESS OF THE
barsfurther reflects the
already visible finish of the kit
STEALTH RACKS
use standardGibraltar
chrome-plated steel tubing
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RHY172.gear_gib 92 20/11/09 1:21:6pm