Nearly all this year's forthcoming percussion gear was on show at the Frankfurt Trade Fair. Some of it's just hitting the shops now; some is still to come. Pete Randall guides you through the new product maze.

The purpose of my mission to Frankfurt earlier this year was to view the latest products in the world of drums and percussion, and just about anything you can hit that makes a noise. After a six-hour delay at Heathrow airport (due to a frozen plane) and with only one runway in operation, we eventually arrived at midnight on Saturday, and got a good night's rest preparing ourselves for the onslaught of new products. By the time you read this report, some of the new gear will be in the shops, some will still be to come. What follows are my first impressions of 1985's new arrivals.

The first stand to offer anything new to the budding skin-basher was Premier's, which had on display the APK, Black Shadow and Resonator kits along with all their other lines. The latest news from Premier is the ProLock range of stands and a 252 double pedal, which can be coupled up with an existing 252 pedal if you already own one. The ProLock range looks very good on the face of it, and all the stands have a new adjustment collar that can function as either a memory or telescoping clamp, whichever is preferred. There are two snare stands in the range, one of which looks very similar to the old Tristar, plus a new stand which has an offset snare cradle that reminds me of the Yamaha 9000 series snare stand - but the good news is that this is about £25 cheaper, and every bit as good by the look of it!

The range covers two snare stands, one straight cymbal stand, one boom and two hi-hat stands. One of these has twin springs like the old TriLock, but this time the springs are housed in a steel tube each side (which gives a bit more protection than the old one). The other hi-hat has a single central spring, and also in the range is a double tom stand and a stool.

Just up the hall from Premier was the D-Drum stand, where I met sales manager Mark Hickling, who invited me into a soundproofed room to hear the D-Drum rack system digital kit. This is really an extension of the D-Drum system, utilising digital chip pre-recorded sounds in rack form, and being triggered not as before by the little rubber pad, but by round Simmons-type pads, complete with moulded plastic body, real tuneable heads and real pressed steel rims. Another reviewer described the bass drum pad as 'the weirdest kick drum in the galaxy', and this sums up my sentiments exactly from a visual angle - but let me assure you, this kit is no gimmick. It sounds fantastic, and I'm not given to extolling the virtues of electronic drums with overwhelming enthusiasm! The bad news is that it will retail at about £2,500 in the U.K., which isn't cheap; but that's the only factor that might detract from sales and put people off parting with the readies. The system is, of course, expandable, and the price quoted is for a standard five-drum kit with a flight-cased rack, Tama stands, leads and all fitments.

Next on my list was the Ultimate Percussion stand, which had the K2-X and UP-5 electronic kits on demonstration. These are basic analogue kits with Premier stands, each having five rubber pads, a controller and leads. The UP-5 has only three preset sounds, which are the most widely used electronic percussive noises. On the other hand, the K2-X offers more for your money and has a built-in sequencer, which is really fun to use - especially, for example, when setting up a rhythm and playing fills over it. The K2-X is rather like the Simmons SDS8 in design, and has a factory preset switch on each of the eight channels, as well as a sequencer in/out switch. This means that you can programme a sequence into the kit and while that s playing you can play a different pattern over the top.

We told you about the Hayman re-launch last month, but there's some more info on it. The new kits are made in Taiwan and, apart from the new improved tom-tom holders and Pearl style spurs, look very similar to the original. It would have been nice to see the Haymans made in England as before, but this would probably have made them too expensive. I see the Hayman kits fitting into the slot that the Pearl Export and Premier APK now occupy, price- and quality-wise. I hope it succeeds, because it has a unique look about it and it's instantly recognisable. Both power tom and standard tom kits are available, with full sets of hardware and chrome snares.

Sonor have a few new things on the way, starting with the 'Performer" kit, which is a cheaper range of Sonor drums but in keeping with the Phonic, Light and Signature series; very well-made and solid-looking, and an ideal middle-priced kit for somebody looking for German quality. One of the new Sonor kits, called the High-Tech, is visually very stunning, with black nut boxes and rims. They sold me on it by looks alone, but it sounds good, too!

Another new product from Sonor is a very impressive range of oak congas, with just the right thickness of heads for a wooden conga to produce a bright sound with a nice, warm tone. The stands on the congas are probably the best designed in recent years, with adjustable rubber stoppers to set the conga at the right height and to protect the superb wood shell from being marked by the stand rims.

Also new from Sonor (by way of A.K.G. Microphones) are drum mikes which affix to the drum rim and which are no bigger than the average ballpoint pen, weighing a mere 0.3 oz. These mikes offer very high gain before feedback, the frequency response is very smooth, and they are supposed to only pick up the sounds directly in front, which gives good separation for each drum. The mike is fixed by a small holder which swivels up and down and can be locked in place by a rotary knob. The stem, which is mounted on the rim clamp, is a type of gooseneck, allowing accurate positioning. Although not altogether new, Sonor also have an excellent double pedal based on the Signature pedal: this, like the Premier 252, can also be linked up to an existing Signature pedal.

Meanwhile, on the Gretsch stand an impressive array of wood finishes in all colours made the Gretsch drum kits stand out above the competition for sheer looks alone. I'm sure the traditional sound of Gretsch drums doesn't need any explanation from me, and, apart from a few new colours, they look the same as always; sheer class. The Gretsch company have taken the 'Rims System' from the Gauger company to mount the drums, which is a superb idea, and I can think of no other drum more deserving than Gretsch to demonstrate the pure, rich, undistorted tones of a drum shell without drilling huge great holes and putting loads of fittings on it. For the benefit of the uninformed, 'Rims' comprises a strip of high-quality steel extending approximately half way round the drum, with flanges through which the lugs pass and rest on vibration-isolating grommets. A steel plate attached to this strip connects the drum manufacturer's mount. The weight of the drum is supported at two opposite lugs, and the drum itself is suspended with no metal parts contacting the shell.

On the Percussion side, the most impressive newcomers were a company called P.J. Drums and Percussion of Denmark, whose Timbales were so good I ordered a pair for myself - although a pair would cost about £340 by the time they reached U.K. shops! Solid brass shells, heavy-duty stands and a cowbell stand are standard, and the sizes are 10", 12", 13", 14" and 15". The 10" and 12" have a great high pitched sound, ideal for Latin or Reggae, and the bigger sizes are similar to LP's thunder timbales and are really loud. The congas and bongoes are up to a very high standard, made of Scandinavian birchwood, and the shells are cut into shape instead of being made by the usual bending process. Fibreglass congas are also available, with LP-style rims and two-tone colour separated by a silver band round the middle. This company also sells Surdos, Pandeiros, Tamborines, Cuicas, Berimbaus and all the usual Brazilian percussion instruments.

While on the subject of congas, a company called M.D. from Chile were also displaying some very attractive wood and fibreglass congas. The wood shells were African mahogany, ash and chestnut, with calf skins of a good thickness, and they sounded superb.

One of the most impressive percussion stands was that of the German company Meinl, who make cymbals, bongoes and congas. They had a soundproofed room that was a hive of drumming activity every time I passed by. Demonstrations by Nippy Noya (percussion), Sid Gautama (drums) and other drum guests had the room permanently packed.

I must admit to missing the truly amazing Dragon china type cymbals the first day on this stand, but I returned on day two after Dave Mattacks raved about them - and this man knows his cymbals! He was right; they are very good - the secret seems to be that they buy metal from China and the cymbals sound like a china type should sound: smooth, well-rounded, but explosive when hit hard, and with just the right amount of roughness in the sound. Check it out - it's a good one!

Dynacord, M.P.C., Tama, Techstar, Pearl, Liss Electronics and many others had electronic kits to show, along with those St. Albans innovators Simmons, who were demonstrating all their current products, but with nothing new for the show. Simmons are, I feel, still leading the market in this field, and will probably continue to do so for a while yet. Digital sampling is the general area everybody seems to be exploring, and I think we'll see vast improvements over the next few years in electronic drums, with more sounds to choose from, programming facilities, use of digital chips, real drum sampling - perhaps even the drum equivalent of a Fairlight? All this is very much on the cards, and the possibilities are extremely exciting.

The new companies to watch for current good product in this field are M.P.C. of Cambridge, Pearl and Ultimate Percussion, all of whose lines are very competitive in price, easy to operate and (above all) actually available. There are many others I could mention, but most of them will either never reach these shores, or be very expensive if they do, and it would take another page or so to detail them all. Watch out for the Roland system (mentioned last month). No price has yet been fixed, and we won't have it in the U.K. till late Summer - but it looks [good].

Next month I'll be back with reviews and news. Meanwhile, do check out some of the new products, and see what you think!