Jobeky Festival 2011
The bank holiday weekend just gone was great for topping up your tan and finishing off the last morsels of Easter's chocolate haul. But, on Sunday we broke out of our confectionary-induced slumber and headed to Stafford for the third annual Jobeky Drums Festival.
As well as star clinics from Steve White, Pete Cater and more, the event saw the great and the good of the UK's drum world bust out a bounty of gorgeous gear, the pick of which we've gathered together for you right here.
Fittingly we're kicking things off with Jobeky's own gear, which including several kits featuring acoustic looks and electronic practicalities. As ever, great stuff from Jane and Colin at Jobeky.
Jobeky Festival 2011
One of the first stands to catch our attention was that of Gatton. Check out this snare to see just why we were so taken by their racks of corian shells. Beautiful. After being stood next to the Gatton stand while an incredibly enthusiastic punter gave this snare a test drive we can confirm that it is as loud as hell and cuts through ridiculously well.
Jobeky Festival 2011
One name that dominated the show was Premier. The UK institution had several kits on display slap bang in the middle of the exhibitor room, including a couple that had been pimped by Al Murray-backed kit tweakers Pimpco.
Jobeky Festival 2011
Another pimped up Premier.
Jobeky Festival 2011
The ChequerPlate stand was full to the brim of kooky gear, including these LED-lit snares, a wealth of T-shirts and even stickers proclaiming 'Drummers Do It With RHYTHM'. They certainly do.
Jobeky Festival 2011
We checked these guys out at last year's Jobeky show and suggested they could become the UK's answer to SJC. After taking a peek at the several kits and snares they had on show this year we reckon that's exactly where they could be headed. We're looking forward to seeing, and hearing, much more from AD Drums over the coming months.
Jobeky Festival 2011
The DrumTuna, and the man behind the handy tuning device Tony Holt, made an appearance at the show, and with more endorsees joining the DrumTuna family by the day it's easy to see why it created such a buzz with the reams of sticksmen heading through the doors.
Jobeky Festival 2011
We're big fans of Bath-based cymbalsmith, metal sculptor and all-round gong guru Matt Nolan, and again he had plenty of eye-catching pieces on display - from his famous hand gongs and batwings to more traditional crashes and rides.
Jobeky Festival 2011
KD were another company that arrived armed with enough gear to last your average drummer a lifetime, including this kit...
Jobeky Festival 2011
...and all of these snares!
Jobeky Festival 2011
Famed for their innovative packaway kits, by the looks of this new set-up David Nuttall's Jalapeno aren't about to blend into the crowd. Or the carpet.
Jobeky Festival 2011
If you thought that Jalapeno set-up looked awesome from behind the kit, just check it out from out front.
Jobeky Festival 2011
When wing nuts just won't do.
Jobeky Festival 2011
The guys at Carrera Drums were out in full force and they'd brought a stack of kits with them. Although we were later told that four of these were heading home with Simon Mellish. No wonder he's keeping as close as possible to them in this pic.
Jobeky Festival 2011
Echo were among one or two new faces on display showing off their all-metal, aluminum-hooped kits like this one above.
Jobeky Festival 2011
After many an hour of gawping at all of this breathtaking gear, and doing our best not to be deafened by enthusiastic drummers bashing said gear, we made our way to our final stop-off - HighWood, who had these two stunning kits on show.
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