Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism by Oz Shenhar and Boaz Ken-Dror is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 Bronze A' Design Award in Musical Instruments Design Competition Category.
BronzeMusical Instrument· 2020
Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism
by Oz Shenhar and Boaz Ken-Dror
Client: Zikit Drums
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Musical Instrument Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #101972The Design
About Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism
The drum is an exciting music instrument, but they are also the only musical instrument that has one pitch!!! A multiplayer drummer cannot play Rock Reggae and Jazz using the same snare drum.
Zikit Drums designed a mechanism that provides drummers a versatility playing experience without being bound to a specific music style by changing the diameter of the snare drum in real-time.
Zikit designed to augment possibilities for drummers and giving them new acoustic opportunities in creating unique content.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Zikit Diameter Change Mechanism splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
Drummers are the only musicians that should be very creative in getting their music instrument to be versatile.
In guitar, for example, there are millions of sound combinations. In a drum, there is only one single pitch.
Zikit wanted to give drummers instrument a chameleon nature, to be able to change their music instrument according to the music they want to create.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
There were some mechanical options to solve this problem. Still, only the one we chose could get as far, to be minimalistic, and give drummers this natural feel that nothing in their traditional music experience is changed.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
My only goal from day one is trying to answer all the end-user needs.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Zikit is an add-on device that can be installed in any 14" snare drum. It provides internal sleeves that sit under the drum head. Those sleeves can be controlled very accurately by the drummer. By moving them vertically up to the drum head they press on it from underneath. This action changes the "field" of the drum head, which makes the pitch go higher.
This action is so important for drummers since they can have the possibility to be the "designers" of their own identical sound.
This action happens instantly, and without changing anything in the original playing experience. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Suits all types of snare drums
Extremely easy to fit and remove
A real-time diameter change mechanism
Design your unique sounds
Smooth and responsive action gear drive
Minimalistic low weight design
Fits 10/8 lugs snare drums
Compatible with all brands and materials
Brilliant design made by superior quality and durability materials
Game changer drumming experience
Maximum versatility
6mm-thick, seamless extruded acrylic shell
Laser-engraved logo
Custom Zikit die-cast lugs - Tags
- Zikit Drums, A real-time diameter change mechanism, game changer drumming experience, Extremely easy to fit and remove
- Production Technology
- Most branded drum factories are using the classic combination of wood/metal shell and chrome finished hardware. Zikit Drums minimalistic design followed this concept to be naturally fit any existing drum.
- Design Challenge
- The most difficult challenge was to find the right configuration in which drummers will not have to change anything in their traditional playing experience and at the same time to give them a cool and good looking versatile device.
- Research
- Oz was an amateur drummer as a teenager. After working in several design studios and startups he decided to combine his skills as an innovator and his love for this exciting musical instrument - the drums.
Knowing that the best test for a new product is to get the end-user feedback, Oz traveled with the first prototype, meeting leading drummers across the globe, and after few months of collecting feedback, he came up with the best engineering solutions for each of the product challenges. - Inspiration
- Zikit solution inspired by the guitar frets where you can easily change your music style by setting your fingers differently on the guitar neck. Frets are a simple minimalistic, and ongoing solution that became a part of the musician's body language. Part of the design mission was to eliminate the problem without changing anything in the original playing experience of the drummer.
- Project Duration
- Zikit was founded on Nov-2018
- Operation Flow
- Installing Zikit is really quite easy.
The process shouldn’t take more than just a few minutes
First, take off both drum heads and place the Zikit jig gently on the top bearing edge.
Then tighten it from both shell sides to set the handle hinge, and adjust the handle gear using the supplied screw.
Turn your snare drum upside down and then take the pro-kit and slide it inside the snare drum shell. Use the supplied Hex key to tighten the clamps to the shell. You then turn the snare drum up, and take off the spacers and place the drum heads back in position.
It’s time now for an awesome new drumming experience. - Patents
- Patent No. US20190213982A1
- Team Members
- Oz Shenhar
Boaz Ken-Dror - Image Credits
- Main Image & images 1-4: 3D simulation and NetArt
All videos: 3D simulation and North Point Studio
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