automata,

I just posted the fix for you. See my previous reply. Works like a charm and is so easy you'll kick yourself

-kellyj

Also, has anyone tried Mike McGraw's trick throw-off? its a modern replacement for the zoomatic and doesn't require drilling any new holes. Anyone used one of these or heard anything about them?

Thanks KellyJ, I'll go to home depot today and try that out! Does it have any negative effects on tightening the knob?

Once you get the Zoomtaic fixed you won't want to change it out. There are no negative effects on tightening the knob. You'll save yourself a bundle of cash too!

Especially on a vintage snare....Keep it all original. Any extra holes or fiddlin' around with vintage drums destroys it's value...The trick throw off is very nice but not worth the dough if the original zoomer is fine.

Mine works great after the knob problem was fixed and is a joy to use. One of the best strainers ever produced...certainly funky and cool to talk about after the gig is done. People love the vintage equipment and they will appreciate what you have to say about such a funky and handsome strainer. Certainly better looking than the trick with some nice history behind it.

Incidentally, when the Japanese started making stencil snares en masse the most copied strainer was the Zoomatic. Their quality was pretty crappy with cheap metal parts but the Japanese loved the design.

-kellyj

This is great news... I have three Zoomys with the knob problem..... going to try that today !!

Thanks Kellyj !!

kevins,

Wow! Glad to hear this post was helpful!

The tape creates a strong friction bond between the metal parts which is all that is needed. This fix also works on stripped lugs. I had a 1937 Ludwig Silver Ann. snare with Imperial lugs that were made without inserts and had "tapped" lugs which led to stripping of the female theads inside the lugs. I put several revolutions of teflon tape on the t-rod and this created enough friction to make a new thead inside the lug and it held. Did not allow much tuning though.

Let us know the results...on the Zoomatics ;)

-kellyj

So I used the tape method and the knob seems to be staying on just fine! I'm a little worried still that it may come off at some point, but the strainer's working better now than it ever has. Thanks so much for the suggestion, it was a lifesaver!

Glad to hear that Cool1

It will stay on for quite a while without a problem as the tape has a high friction factor without any glue to decompose over time...

-kellyj

It actually has been coming off nearly every time I play. This doesn't seem to be a reliable fix at all. Looks like I'll be needing to buy a new zoomatic

Hmm. You need to put on enough of the tape to create strong friction.

kelly