LP 388M Multi Gajate Bass Pedal

Out of the box, I couldn't use it. The movable part of the centerpiece would move back and forth under the impact of the beater. This not only made playing feel wrong, but also produced undesirable sounds. I contacted Thomann, but they were unable to tell me whether this was a defect or not—I did get a gift card for €25, though.

Anyway, I can't be bothered to take instruments on and off. So, I figured I'd try and get it up to snuff. I tried tightening the screws, replacing the spring with a stronger one, applying padding, and other things. Nothing really worked. In the end, though, I put large rubber bands around the mounting rods and stretched them around the back. It pulls the movable part of the stand backwards, preventing it from pivoting back and forth.

With that, it works. But with a price tag like this, I shouldn't really have had to do any DIY. Whoever designed this thing needs to go back to the drawing board and make it a hell of a lot more stable. Another thing is that you're not able to put larger instruments on it, like a tambourine—they're not going to be able to clear the pedal when you rotate the stand. I ended up modifying a hi-hat tambourine and making a custom mounting rod, which solved the problem. I don't think I'm going to get it to work with my pedal-mounted maraca, though—there's no way to make it stable enough.

I'm happy with it now, though. All's well that ends well, I suppose.

I'd seen people playing tambourines, woodblocks etc with their feet and wondered how it was done. Well the Gajate Multi stand is your answer. I particularly like the way that you can mount 3 items to it - I use a tambourine, jamblock and cowbell and you can spin the whole mechanism depending which one you need to use. Save a lot of faffing about putting new instruments onto the stand between songs. It's a a bit pricey but pretty unique so fair enough.

Not the most complicated piece of kit in the world but the best ideas are simple. It is sturdy, well made, clever and easy to use. Can't say fairer than that really. Thomann whisked this out to me in just 3 days from Germany. If you need to play some foot percussion because you have run out of hands then this is for you. Highly recommended.