Accessory Fetish

Drum and cymbal mutes suck! We all know it. They suck for two reasons. First, the whole purpose of playing drums is to make noise. They take the sheer joy out of playing. Secondly, if you do need to be quiet, you still want to “feel” like you’re playing drums. Most mutes take the feel away, too.

HQ Percussion has done as good of a job as anyone of solving these problems. Their SoundOff line of products are high-quality and leave as much tone and feel in the mix as possible. They claim to do this while reducing volume up to 95%

They’ve expanded this line of products with their new 22″ SoundOff Cymbal Mute. The cool thing about these mutes is that they leave a large amount of surface area exposed (including the bell), so you can still ride on the cymbal, leaving a realistic bounce and feel.

HQ’s website does not mention what the retail price of this new cymbal mute will be.

Shop for HQ Percussion products at zZounds.

Rebel Strap Co. recently introduced their new Ghost Series guitar straps at this year’s Summer NAMM show. Rebel came on the scene a few years ago with their very cool
Metal Skull Series guitar straps. In one of those “how did it take this long for someone to do this” moments, Rebel crafted straps with a bottle opener, pick (or weed) box, and lighter holder attached.

Although people love the look of straps with cool designs or gimmicks, the truth is that most guitar straps sold are plain black. The Ghost Series straps look like they’re geared more toward the player who wants a black straps with a little something extra. These straps have designs laser etched right into them. They’re also made extra long so you can sling your axe down low, and are made of Duralon, which looks like black leather.

The four straps in this series retail for $29.99. Although Rebel has their own webstore, these straps don’t appear to be available there yet. So, go to your local music store and ask them to order one in for you!