Innovative Percussion - high quality sticks, mallets and brushes



Istanbul cymbals - the demand for "floppy" / trashy cymbals continues and
Istanbul steps up with these pies. Very cool.

 

 

 

Gibraltar has established themselves as an industry trend setter and that has become a big part of thier identity. This year they introduced a number of concpets, both new and old. This is a highly functional / adjustable hi hat stand that allows the drummer to position the high hat cymbals independant of the pedal while maintaining a more direct link between the two.

 

The Catapult. This forward thinking design pays great attention to ergonomics and the interpets the pedal as more of an interface between foot and drum as opposed to merely a device for hitting the drum. Great design, but the execution may need improvement. Also shown is the new paddle beater that was originally created by Willy Wahan. This is a fantastic product - one of the best beaters on the market - and one that will mean you'll never have to buy another stick-on impact pad.

This little rig was set up using Gibraltar's new floor tom-to-bass drum conversion kit which includes spurs, pedal riser and a specially designed rail system so you can mount a small tom off your floor tom.
No more need to purchase a "Hip" kit - just use the kit and off you go. Please - don't ask me when these will ship. Soon I hope!

 

A close-up of the pedal riser attached to a regular drum hoop.

A close-up of the rail mounting system. Very sturdy and makes an exceptional single tom holder on it's own. A great OEM item that has already found favor with some custom drum companies.

An array of new items designed by your truly, including the R2  quick release upgrade kit for the  R Class throw off. The  R Class throw off features a few new improvements including a longer drop (17mm) and a nylon linkage for quieter, smoother operation.

The new standard in wood hoops: the Dunnett designed wood-metal hybrid.
Available for 13"x 8, 14" x 8 and 14" x 10.

At last! Gibraltar brings back tubular stands!
These are as light as the flat based series but provide all of the stability of excessively heavy double braced stands.

BEST NEW HARDWARE DESIGN

And as an additional alternative Gibraltar is now offering single braced stands. I get the feeling that Gibraltar understands that drummers are tired of lugging double braced hardware but really want an alternative to flat based stands.

Joe Montinerri was again manning the booth
at Keller and had some great shell designs to show.

German manufacturer Kirchoff introduced their line of acrylic drums.

Very few items from Leedy. They really seemed more focused on selling T-shirts.

Latin Percussion. 30 minute conga parties every 30 minutes.
The guys who were operating this booth and passing out visitor
badges to punks need a wake up call.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

MOST OBNOXIOUS EXHIBITOR

Ludwig. Ludwig has had a change in the head of the combo division this year.
It will be interesting to see how things develop in the near future.

Orange. Just not that orange.

Mm. Gotta love the classics.

 




Jason Bonham, Bermuda Schwartz, Matt Chamberlain and Ryan Hoyle in Sharpie mode.



My good friends Jim Catalano & Todd Trent. The team that brought you the Bonham memorial kit and The Chief.

 

Metal...



...and wood! Classics all.

Mapex. The Mapex booth looks amazing as always and the products looked equally good. I just didn't have a lot of time to spend checking out the products so I can't really comment on them.


 

 

 

Randall May International.
This is a fantastic tool for marching / drum corps types and has that "Leatherman" thing goin' on.

DW / May snare drums

Meinl. Very cool stuff this year. The Byzance line is really worth checking out.

 

The strange looking perforated saucers are actually shakers - and these are some pof the best shakers I have ever heard. They are unique in that one of the styles has an actually drum head which, when combined with another shaker, allows you to vary the pitch by squeezing the two together in your palm. The shaker you see on the far left with the saucer on the bottom is also a tunable shaker - just turn the disc and you can pitch the shaker up or down., These are wonderful percussion items and I say you NEED to get some!

BEST PERCUSSION ITEM

 

 

 

 

 

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