It’s been a long time since I got really excited by a new piece of drum equipment. But I have to tell you, the new Jojo Mayer pedal has done it. I’m kind of freaking out about it.
I bought one today.
It makes my heel down playing feel effortless. Like butter. I honestly have never felt anything like it. So smooth.
My latest technique obsession is heel down playing—in particular, heel down doubles.
Heel down doubles have been driving me out of my mind for months.
But I believe that the Sonor Perfect Balance Bass Drum Pedal, designed by Jojo Mayer, might be the answer I was looking for.
Immediately—right out of the box, without making a single adjustment—this pedal allowed me to play doubles with my heel down faster than I’ve ever been able to before. And that made me really really happy and excited.
So happy and excited that it is now 4:00 AM as I pound the miniature keys on my blackberry (shut up….I know….yes, I STILL use a blackberry). Yes, I woke up in the middle of the night and started to write this. I also came up with a new way of playing one of my favorite drum licks….I just wrote that down.
What I’m saying is that this little piece of equipment has my creative juices flowing! I absolutely can not wait to get back to my practice space today and work on it some more.
Now, to be honest, there is one other test it has not passed. Will it work with my rock playing? I use a completely different foot technique (heel up) when I play rock, so it will be interesting to see how the pedal holds up in that scenario.
The good part is that I am really stoked to try it out at my MANCIE rehearsal tonight. My guess is that if I adjust the spring tension upward, it will do just fine.
I will let you know.
By the way, it also is the coolest looking pedal I have ever seen. Simply gorgeous. Like a little sports car for my bass drum foot.
Man, do I love the drums.
He first gained attention as one of the winners of Modern Drummer magazine's very first drum solo contest, judged by Rush's Neil Peart.
He's played with Oz Noy, Will Lee, Alison Krauss, Curtis Stigers, Emily Remler, Joel Hoekstra, GE Smith, Andy York, Marshall Crenshaw, Tony Shanahan, The Drifters, The Marvelettes, Big Brother and The Holding Company, and many other artists.
For more info: onlinesessiondrummer.com
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Sound awesome…do they make a 2x pedal
Hi Barry –
They do not, but I know they are looking into it.
Mark you may be suffering from premature feedbacktism, I do that sometimes, I write or talk about something while I am still on the high of owning something new, it does not have to be drum equipment. What puts doubts about this pedal in my mind is that it only has one leg to stand on, what I mean by that it is only supported by a single pedestal on the left, and there is nothing on the right. Now I speak from experience I had a single sided “gimick” pedal once and it was not reliable, it got so bad I did not want to even sell it on Craigslist so I tossed it in the trash. And I play heel down, but that’s because I am lazy and like to rest my heel on the ground.
Hi Greg –
funny you should say this. I actually put the pedal aside a bit after writing this original post because I was playing heavier music and the Jojo pedal did not meet the needs of the serious pounding. Not that the equipment wasn’t strong enough, but it didn’t feel right physically. Now I am back to the Jojo pedal (you’ll see a new post about it)…… But I have to say I disagree……I don’t think this is a gimmick. And I think it’s well built.
So Greg, what was this disposable pedal you mentioned?? Sonor put a lot of work into this bad boy and i can’t wait to get one. Using the Speed Cobra now (great pedal) and will be moving that to utility duty (wood block) once the Jo Jo arrives!