Ditch the tripods without caging yourself in.
Gibraltar is revered for its extensive catalog of professional-quality and competitively priced pedals, stands, and rack systems. As aesthetic trends have shifted away from extravagant cages, the company has developed more discreet options that provide all the stability, consistency, and clutter-free setup of a traditional rack but without visual distraction. One such offering is the GSSVR Stealth Side V Rack, which we have here for review along with all the necessary components to create a tripod-free four-piece drumset with two crashes, a ride, a hi-hat, and an electronic multipad.
The Specs
The Stealth Side V Rack is a fairly inconspicuous product. It measures just 18.5″ tall and 30″ long and comprises two T-leg assemblies with adjustable top joints that can accommodate 3/4″ to 1″ tom, cymbal, or accessory arms. The horizontal tube is angled at the middle so as to allow greater positioning flexibility of the arms while keeping the total footprint as compact as possible. The connecting joints on the crossbar are fastened into place via sturdy slip-on memory locks. Large Quick T-clamps allow for fast setup and disassembly.
The Setup
To recreate the setup that Gibraltar suggested for this review using traditional hardware, I needed three cymbal stands (one with an L-arm attachment for the rack tom), a hi-hat stand, a snare stand, and another stand for my electronic multipad. That’s a fairly standard drumset with six tripods, which can be a bit cumbersome to configure, especially on tight stages or in small studios. The GSSVR system, with two Stealth V Side Racks, strives to eliminate all of that clutter.
The initial setup of the GSSVR took just a few minutes to lock into place. Then all I had to do was position one Side Rack on the left side of the bass drum and the other on the right. From there, I placed a rack tom arm directly into the vertical leg of the left GSSVR and attached a cymbal boom arm to the multiclamp that’s built into the tom mount.
To lock the legless hi-hat into place, I connected an extension arm and multiclamp to the horizontal post, which has a rotating grabber clamp that connects to the hi-hat shaft. The snare basket connected to the GSSVR via a 30″ Stealth Bent bar, a mini-T-leg assembly, and a chrome clamp. Lastly, the multipad was secured into position with an extension arm outfitted with a 1″ accessory shaft extender and a chrome multiclamp. Even with all of that, there was still an extra mount in the top of the GSSVR leg closest to me, which could be used to expand the setup with an additional cymbal, an accessory tray, or mountable percussion.
The right-side GSSVR was used to connect the ride cymbal via a long boom arm. The right-side crash was connected directly to the mount in the rack leg mount via a short boom arm, an accessory shaft extender, and a multiclamp.
The total time spent for the first setup, which involved a number of repositioning tweaks to get the kit in the most comfortable and familiar position, was about a half hour. But once I got it locked in, I was impressed with how much more open yet tight the kit felt. The rack didn’t extend nearly as far out to the front or sides as regular cymbal stands would, and there was little to no chance that anything would slip, slide, or tip over. The teardown took mere minutes, and subsequent setups required just a fraction of the time it initially took. If you’re looking to create a tighter, less cluttered, and more consistent and secure setup for live dates or studio sessions, but you’re averse to old-school drum racks, take a look at what Gibraltar has cooked up with the new Stealth Side V Rack system. It’s slick. For more information visit: Gibraltarhardware.com
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