I received a pair of these gloves to review here at the Drummer Cafe ... but had to pull the review for reasons I won't get into.
Here's a segment of that review that may answer some of your questions.
REVIEWAs drummers and percussionists, we should all applaud James Lento for his innovative product, the Triplet Drum Gloves. Anytime someone furthers or pontential helps the art of drumming by creating a product for the percussion community, they are to be congratulated!
The pair of gloves I reviewed were a little too big for me; I should have asked for a Medium size rather than Large. Also, if I had taken the time to measure my hands as described my Jim Lento on the Triplet Drum Glove website, I probably would have been a lot better off; my bad.
As mentioned, I received a large pair of the Triplet Drum Gloves which came with a 10-minute DVD in which Jim demonstrates and explains the various ways to use the gloves. I watched the video ... and it did help me understand what the product was about and how I should go about using the gloves.
Upon examination I could see that the gloves were well made, and that the "triplet" in the product's name comes from the fact that there are three elastic bands which makes the glove do what it does ... hold the drumstick with the most basic grip. The Velcro around the open end of the glove allowed me to tighten the glove more snugly. It still didn't feel as comfortable as I would need it to be if I were to use these gloves on a regular basis, but again, I'm sure the lack of comfort was due to my (wrong) size request ... and that I don't like playing drums while wearing gloves.
What you see in the video and how Jim demonstrates the use of the gloves is accurate. The bands on the gloves hold the stick in position so that you can literally open up your hands with outstretched fingers and play the drum or practice pad. Pretty cool. The sticks are held in place by the straps, and you can use any combination of the three straps ... as Jim demonstrates in the video ... to achieve the feel and alignment that works best for you.
You can use Matched or Traditional grip with the gloves, and with the three band choices, you can use the gloves in a vareity ways.
After working with the gloves for awhile, I can see how they could benefit individuals who suffer from one or more of the following, even if they plan to play bare-handed.
- Dropping drumsticks.
- Too tight of a grip or fulcrum.
- Hand fatigue or injuries.
- Poor grip.
I personally won't be using these gloves in the future; I have never liked playing with any gloves, and rarely come into a situation where I feel like I would even need them ... even with the claimed benefits. I'm happy with my grip(s) and I don't have a problem with dropping sticks, gripping the stick too tight, stick/brush/mallet alignment, etc. As for my students, I don't think I would ever want to start them out with these gloves ... unless they had some serious grip problems that I couldn't fix or help them with on my own. Even though the gloves do help with a basic alignment of the stick ... I don't agree with the phrase "perfect alignment". Why? Because "perfect" is completely subjective and relative. My belief is that everyone's hands are different and therefore each person's grip is going to be slightly different. For me, the gloves just don't allow for complete mobility and flexibility with my approach.
Keep in mind, I don't like to play with gloves ... so my opinions and assessments (like this review) are going to be based on that stance. I think the Triplet Drum Gloves are great, and a fantastic invention, but I just don't think they are for everyone ... and certainly not for me.
The bottom line: The Triplet Drum Gloves work as shown in the video. Only you can decide if they fulfill all the claims. If you have a problem with your grip and you can't seem to resolve the issue(s) on your own or with a teacher, you should seriously consider checking out the Triplet Drum Gloves; they just might be what the doctor ordered.
