Jojo Mayer Bass Drum Pedal

I recently wrote about the importance of good pedals (among other things). Earlier today a friend told me about a new bass drum pedal he purchased. I consider my friend to be very knowledgeable and not prone to buy drum gear unless it makes sense (unlike my compulsive self), so I decided to check out the pedal.

His new tool is the Sonor Drums 14508401 Bass Drum Pedal:

It also goes by a few nicknames: Sonor Perfect Balance is one, and - not surprisingly - the Jojo Mayer pedal.

I do not have any firsthand experience with this pedal (I only found out about it a few hours ago), but did unearth a video by Jojo himself explaining why he designed it and what it's all about:

I love his design criteria and the final product. I was especially impressed by some convenient features, such as how it folds down compactly, and when you unfold it, it automatically engages your bass drum hoop and firmly clamps on.

Those features, though, are secondary to the feel. Again, I have not touched one, but from the look you can be sure that not only the older Gretsch and Camco pedals Jojo mentioned inspired the design, but also the venerable Speedking, and even the [still] highly regarded Ghost Pedal. As an aside, the Speedking was a collaboration between WFL and Ray Baduc, a great drummer who also collaborated with Zildjian to design the swish cymbal.

Of course I am going to check this pedal out in person. I am not sure if I will be buying one since I am pretty happy with what I have and I canme up in an era when drummers emphasized hands over feet for playing. However, Jojo's musical style is in line with mine, so who knows.

Instead of making this post completely about gear, I am going to weave in some music. In this case it's a very young Jojo backing the late, great Emily Remler on guitar and one of the top B3 players - ever in my opinion - Barbara Dennerlein.