Reprinted by permission of Modern Drummer Publications, Inc. © 2011 www.moderndrummer.com

by Michael Dawson

Lento Percussion, operated by drummer/ inventor Jimmy Lento, offers two unique products: Triplet Drum Gloves and hollow-tip Super Sticks drumsticks. We were sent samples of each to review. Here’s how they fared. TRIPLET DRUM GLOVES Triplet Drum Gloves are made from flexible spandex and have elastic wristbands and leather reinforcements in spots where the stick makes contact with the hand. Plus they’re finger-less, which allows you to maintain some tactile connection with your sticks. The big thing that separates Triplet Drum Gloves from other drum gloves is that these incorporate three elastic straps at the key fulcrum points in the hand: between the first and second joints of the index finger, at the contact point between the thumb and middle finger, and toward the back of the hand where the ring finger and pinkie meet with the palm. A stick can be slid under one, two, or all of the straps for varying degrees of fulcrum “assistance.” With the stick placed under the index-finger strap, there’s still a lot of movement to allow for swiveling French- or American-grip finger strokes. With the stick under the second strap, you’re able to use a more floating, Freddie Gruber–style fulcrum (where the thumb, index finger, and middle finger form a triangle), while the third strap traps the stick closer to the palm to facilitate full, Gladstone-type wrist strokes. You can also use different combinations of straps if you want to lock the stick tighter to the hand to help prevent slippage and fatigue. I found two immediate benefits to practicing and warming up using Triplet Drum Gloves. (I prefer to go sans gloves for all performing situations.) First, practicing with my sticks placed under each strap, one at a time, caused me to focus more intently on the three individual fulcrum points, noticing how each one caused my hand to react differently. Drum teachers could get a lot of mileage out of these gloves by using them with students to help develop proper grip. Second, the elastic straps on the Triplet Drum Gloves offer enough tension that the sticks won’t fall out easily, so you can concentrate on developing a very relaxed technique. List price: $59.95 a pair.