Perfect Balance Pedal by Jojo Mayer

Today's review is dedicated to the result of cooperation between a tireless experimenter, a drummer with a capital letter, a guru of percussion art, the creator of the video bestseller "Secret Weapons for Modern Drummer" Jojo Mayer and the German company Sonor, which has been a leader in the market of musical instruments for more than a decade.

“Over the past two decades, I have bought almost every pedal on the market and played them all. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find a pedal that fits me perfectly. I found that, compared to some legendary vintage pedals from the 50's, most modern pedals boast great forward speed and swing, but sluggish response when the beater returns.

The original vintage designs have been tweaked over time to meet the demands of higher punching power, but the perfectly balanced ride is gone and replaced by unbalance due to a heavier upper. As with unbalanced sticks, this becomes a significant disadvantage in many of my pedaling techniques, which allow me to easily develop speed without sacrificing power. Many pedals try to compensate for this problem with complex adjustment systems, but only with partial success.

So I began my quest to find a perfectly balanced pedal that would meet the demands of today's music. For almost six years I experimented with different parts, drive systems and footboards, until I got a drawing of the pedal you see in front of you. In addition to pedal travel, compactness in transport and quick installation were important to me. At that time, SONOR joined the project, bringing their precise German technology and offering an innovative solution for the pedal folding mechanism and a self-adjusting clip for attaching to the bass drum rim, triggered by the push of a button.

The Perfect Balance Pedal is a carefully calibrated system that optimizes the linear motion of your foot, making many extra adjustments unnecessary. It has been designed from a principle that, in my opinion, is the epitome of true excellence. This principle is simplicity."
Jojo Mayer

And now let's take a closer look at the originality of the Perfect Balance technology and its main components:

LOW WEIGHT DRIVE SYSTEM

The drive cam and beater socket are streamlined in one piece to reduce weight, yet carefully calibrated for perfectly balanced strikes. The round shape of the cam creates linear acceleration, which is a major advantage in many hybrid technologies.

LONG FOOTBOARD

The elongated and smooth footboard increases leverage, thereby enhancing the impact and allowing for greater range of motion when using heel-toe and sliding techniques.

SUPER STRENGTH REINFORCED FIBER BELT

A heavy-duty reinforced fiber belt (also used in body armor) minimizes the inertia of the drive system and provides a faster and smoother response than chain drives or rigid drives. If desired, the pedal can be easily converted to a double chain.

MAGNETIC SPRING HOLDER

The magnetic spring holder ensures that the spring is securely fixed during transport, which greatly increases its service life.

SELF-LOCKING CLIP

Allows you to quickly attach the pedal to the rim of the bass drum in one motion. Can be adjusted to any rim thickness.

NON-PROPRIETARY SCREWS

Standard "Allen" screws are metric-standard hardware products that are readily available at any good hardware store. There is no longer a need for screws that require a special order to replace.

COMPACT FOLD

The pedal folds to a compact size with the click of a button for easy transport.

CASE INCLUDED

A compact case made of tarpaulin construction tarpaulin (polyethylene fabric coated on both sides with a laminated light-stabilized film), instead of bulky cases, it is equipped with a shoulder strap.