I've been thinking for about 9 months about how I'd like to have a new hi-hat stand for my drums. You know, one that doesn't squeak in spite of liberal applications of DW-40. One that feels like it's actually strong enough to hold up my hi-hats. One that's easy to put up and tear down. One whose legs don't get stuck in whatever position they stop moving in.

I had looked at some for Christmas, and didn't get one. Thought about it for my birthday, but didn't get one then, either.

The middle bonuses of the year just got paid out from work. So I took Colby along with me to the Drum Headquarters in St. Peters, and got one. They have a good selection of hi-hat pedals. They're all lined up with cymbals on them. Colby and I tried out ALL of them. She really liked stepping on them and making the cymbals go "chick". They had Iron Cobra pedals, Gibraltar, Yamaha, DW, and Pearl.

I ended up selecting the Pearl H-2000 Eliminator series hi-hat pedal. It was already the front runner because I've got the matching bass drum pedal, and I LOVE it. The action is smooth. The pedal is almost infinitely adjustable. I can change the footboard angle, the spring tension. I can change the cam in the middle of the chain to alter the action and response of the pedal. It's very cool.

So I've finally upgraded all of the hardware from my original drum set, which I bought when I was in 7th or 8th grade. I've upgraded the drums, too.

Palmer's Room has a gig coming up in just over a week, so I'll get to give it a full test then. I have no doubt that it'll do everything I want and hope for.