Double pedal - left foot bad? or left pedal bad?

[h3r3tic]

Hey guys, I have a serious problem!
I've got some guys showing up on my garage which are responsable for a festival that will begin saturday my double pedal sounds so bad.

The problem is that I'm not sure if it's my left foot or my left pedal. But I think it's the pedal itself...

Is there anyway to get this problem solved. Cause I only have one day to fix this out
Thanks

[sonor master]

ive tried a double bass pedal for a weak and ive got problem whit my left foot cause is not stronger than the right so i dont think its a pedal problem

[Drum-Head]

May I ask what makes you think it's the pedal that is the problem? Also, what do you mean by "my double pedal sounds so bad"?

I do not mean to be rude, but most of the time when a drummer asks this kind of question the answer is that it's the drummer. I did it back when I started! lol.

[h3r3tic]

I mean that my left stroke sounds weaker...
Please, tell me what should I do to overcome this problem. I have only one day :/

[d.c.drummer]

Its probably a mix of both. Most of the time you can kind of remedy the problem by using the adjestments to get it as close to your other pedal as possible, but that not may be the entire problem.

Take your left foot and spin your throne araound so you are playing your main pedal with your left foot. Still feel different? Probably. After years of playing, some people still dont have even feeling feet.

[h3r3tic]

even on non fast tempos it just sounds so week... :(

[h3r3tic]

oh!! If I play heel down it sounds more even

[hungrypo]

hey...i had the same problem when i first got my double pedal. i even went around to drum mesage boards asking the same sort of questions. it is a combination of pedal design and foot technique that keeps the slave (left) pedal from feeling the same as the master unit. a lot of steady practice and fine tuning the adjustments will help, but the added mass of the linkage will always make the slave unit less responsive than the master.

also the master pedal works by "pulling" the beater towards the drum head. meaning when you press on the pedal, the force goes downward on the cam and pulls the beater directly. when you press on the slave unit, it pulls on the cam which then twists the linkage, which then twists the beater towards the drum head. there's 3x the energy transfer happening, meaning there's 3x the energy loss.

[Drum-Head]

I mean that my left stroke sounds weaker...
Please, tell me what should I do to overcome this problem. I have only one day :/

Sorry, but that will not happen - this is not something you can overcome in one day. It is normal that the the left stroke sounds weaker at first, but it's all about the hard work practicing to get your strokes even. All of us double pedal players have been there!

You must realize that slave pedal will never feel exactly the same as the main pedal - this is not a defect in the pedal - and thus is something you will have to adapt to. You mentioned playing heal down with your left foot. In this particular context I would not advocate doing so. Why? Because instead of actually practicing on a weak point, you are using a quick-fix to sort of bypass the problem. Don't do that. Use your playing technique you usually play with and practice, practice, practice...

Virgil Donati mentioned in an article:

"Achieving anything worthwhile takes time and effort: drumming is no exception. Take time to learn - nothing comes overnight. And believe in yourself - you can do it!"


Regards,
Christopher.

[h3r3tic]

Thank you so much people ;)
I will work hard!!