In the late 1980's Erik T. Johnson founded Innovative Percussion. Only to make mallets that would give his desired sound. The company has a long list of ensembles and endorsers playing Innovative Percussion products. Sheila E., Joey Waronker, Shannon Forrest, Luisito Quintero and Chad Wackerman, Jimmy DeGrasso, Marcus Gilmore and Nir Z are amongst them. These last three artists have new signature sticks, and the new Chad Wackerman Paintbrush are clever designed brushes with a tip at the end. The new kick drum beater designed by Chris McHugh is one to try as well. Nick Phillips from Innovative Percussion shows the new products for 2015 in three videos.
Chris McHugh Kick Drum Beater The KDB-1 Chris McHugh is a uniquely designed bass drum beater and truly one of a kind. The solid core gives an extreme enhancement of low-end frequencies. The yarn wrap, while not only aesthetically unique, cuts down attack & high-end frequencies, producing the lowest tone possible on a bass drum.
Chad Wackerman Paintbrush The BR-CW Chad Wackerman Paintbrush provides the player with a number of different choices of timbre colors. Built on a red hickory wooden handle, this retractable medium gauge wire brush features a soft rubber sleeve near the brush fan and a strip of felt surrounding the butt end. The pull rod of the Paintbrush also includes a nylon tip allowing for defined articulation on cymbals. These various features allow the player to create a greater number of sounds without having to change to other striking implements including cross stick, cymbal swells, and ride patterns.
NIR Z signature sticks Designed for Nir Z, Nashville-based Independent/Studio drummer who has appeared on countless hit records over the last 2 ½ decades. This stick is very close to the size of a 5B style drumstick, and features an integrated taper with no visible collar. The uniquely designed tip produces multiple timbres on cymbals.
Marcus Gilmore signature sticks Designed for Marcus Gilmore, drummer for Chick Corea. This stick is between a 7A and 5A, but features a unique reverse teardrop bead, which creates a bright, articulate, and very present cymbal sound.
Jimmy DeGrasso signature sticks Designed for famed Rock Drummer, Jimmy DeGrasso, the JD-1 is similar in length & diameter to our popular IP-L5BL, but is built with a thicker collar and an acorn tip. Suited for heavy playing.
Furthermore, Innovative Percussion also introduces the the Pedro Carneiro series marimba mallets, the medium hard marimba mallets in the Sandi Rennick Series, GTX series Timpani Mallets
The Paul Rennick tenor and Michael McIntosh Mizzle tenor sticks, the Black Corps Pad with black rim and the Red Gum Rubber Pad with black rim.
Dr. Brian Zator published his 'Keyboard Fundamentals With Play-Along Tracks'. This exercise book consists of 2-Mallet and 4-Mallet exercises that have downloadable play-along tracks on innovativepercussion.com. Musical styles of the tracks include Rock-n-Roll, Latin, Samba, African, Jazz, Pop, and Funk. Multiple tempos are used for all Fundamentals allowing players and ensembles from beginner to advanced levels to build upon their technical abilities.
