Smart Pedals?

[Frostilicus]

Anyone ever tried these: http://www.homestead.com/playsmart/pedals.html ? What do you think? They seem pricy... and perhaps unnecessary!? But I wondered if they'd been used in anger.

[Walfin]

HAH, I remember stumbling across that site a year or two ago. I wonder how anyone could buy such an expensive pedal from website that looks so cheap. Do we really need more gimmicky pedals? I mean there's been some that use magnets others with compressed air..

Especially since you can play with your heel on conventional pedals aswell. Also I love the fact that he's also selling a book and a video to show how to use the pedal for an extra fee.

And OH, WOW some of the books also come with a hand written signature of the inventor. Really, there's nothing more I'd rather have than a signature from someone I've never heard of. REALLY!

But I guess it could be mildly entertaining to try them out.

[Class A Drummer]

I figure if they were so great... Why dont other companies make them?

[maddrummr]

Yea those pedals and the site look cheesy.

its probably some guy living out of his moms basement



not that thats wrong or anything

[Deathmetalconga]

HAH, I remember stumbling across that site a year or two ago. I wonder how anyone could buy such an expensive pedal from website that looks so cheap. Do we really need more gimmicky pedals? I mean there's been some that use magnets others with compressed air..

I agree. Innovation is dumb. The pedal evolved as much as it needed to when they developed the wood block contraption in 1903. This whole stuff with steel, aluminum, plastic pedals, replacing rope tuning with mechanical lugs, tubular hardware, racks, plastic heads, ply shells and don't even get me started on double pedals.

Well, you might disagree if you actually play any of those things, and think it's a stupid gimmick if you don't play them. That's the difference between innovation and gimmickry.
I try to keep an open mind about stuff, even if I never plan to play it.

[Deathmetalconga]

I figure if they were so great... Why dont other companies make them?

Uh, there's this thing called a Patent.

Plus, other drum companies are slow to adapt to change. People buy millions of foot pedals with the current configuration, so why change anything if it's profitable? Plus, you'd have immediate fistfights break out over if it works, how well it works, if it's a cheat, if it's harder, if it's worth they money, if it shortens life expectancy and if it contributes to global warming.

It's not worth it for the big manufacturers to radically innovate and re-invent something. Hell, they're still making 99 percent of their shells the same way there were 150 years ago.

So most people buy the most common, take-no-chances, run-of-the-mill mass-produced standardized stuff and radical innovation is left to quirky pioneers with a good vision and a bad Web site.

[fourstringdrums]

Uh, there's this thing called a Patent.

Plus, other drum companies are slow to adapt to change. People buy millions of foot pedals with the current configuration, so why change anything if it's profitable? Plus, you'd have immediate fistfights break out over if it works, how well it works, if it's a cheat, if it's harder, if it's worth they money, if it shortens life expectancy and if it contributes to global warming.

It's not worth it for the big manufacturers to radically innovate and re-invent something. Hell, they're still making 99 percent of their shells the same way there were 150 years ago.

So most people buy the most common, take-no-chances, run-of-the-mill mass-produced standardized stuff and radical innovation is left to quirky pioneers with a good vision and a bad Web site.

Not only that, but if it's a product such as a bass pedal that requires that you alter or change your technique all together, I would imagine that not many people are too keene on having to do that.

[Deathmetalconga]

Not only that, but if it's a product such as a bass pedal that requires that you alter or change your technique all together, I would imagine that not many people are too keene on having to do that.

Not unless there's sufficient marketing behind it and the price is low enough. Double bass pedals, for example, are a huge investment in time and effort to learn a new technique and very few people play them well - but they sell like hotcakes.

[Walfin]

I agree. Innovation is dumb. The pedal evolved as much as it needed to when they developed the wood block contraption in 1903. This whole stuff with steel, aluminum, plastic pedals, replacing rope tuning with mechanical lugs, tubular hardware, racks, plastic heads, ply shells and don't even get me started on double pedals.

Well, you might disagree if you actually play any of those things, and think it's a stupid gimmick if you don't play them. That's the difference between innovation and gimmickry.
I try to keep an open mind about stuff, even if I never plan to play it.

Innovation isn't dumb. The way this "revolutionary heel driven bass drum pedal" comes off, seems to be though. It's a sad but true fact that marketing plays a major role in all product development. And that site sure can't sell it. The whole site looks like a bad commercial on the home shopping network, and the pedal itself looks real cheap and uncomfortable. That's what I meant by gimmicky. Would you drop 400 dollars for that pedal just based on what you've seen there?

I mean, I came across it in the first place, because I was googling for a heel driven pedal. I was curious to find out if such things existed, and this is what I found :(

Yeah, I could change my mind if tried it, but then again so could you. If the pedal was so fantastic, surely someone would have managed to test it and spread the word.

[Wavelength]

It amuses me when he describes using normal pedals as "torture". I gather the pedal's inventor has so bad foot technique that he can't even spell the word correctly.

[maddrummr]

Ok so i tried simulating how this pedal would work compared to the regular pedal.

For me, my leg is outstreatched a little so it feels relaxed. In order to get relaxed with this technique it seems you would have to make your leg at a 90 degree angle and your bass drum would be like right up to your foot. To me this doesnt seem comfortible at all.

just my thoughts

[fourstringdrums]

Not unless there's sufficient marketing behind it and the price is low enough. Double bass pedals, for example, are a huge investment in time and effort to learn a new technique and very few people play them well - but they sell like hotcakes.

I don't think of the double pedal as something that took alot of experimenting technique wise before people felt comfortable with it, not like this pedal. A double bass pedal just meant doing the same thing with your left foot that you do with your right, and in some cases using motions you might have already used on the hi-hat anyway.

[hauk]

It amuses me when he describes using normal pedals as "torture". I gather the pedal's inventor has so bad foot technique that he can't even spell the word correctly.

eh.. hate to bring something off topic in here, but if that's not how you spell torture, how do you?

[drozzy]

I would like to try one of these. Whenever i practice sans-pedals i always use my heels to replicate the bass pedal.

However the cost... and lack of decent webpage has me thinking differently.

[dea]

Very interesting concept.

However, how does one tackle the heel-toe problem? My first thought was to sit this pedal next to your hi-hat. Place the balls of your foot on the hi-hat like normal, set your foot at an angle to get your heel on this new pedal. That could work(?) This definitely deserves a looksie.

[furbeedog@gmail.com]

I think he meant that he couldn't spell foot technique

[hauk]

Ah... that would indeed make more sense.

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

That thing looks like a bear trap. I'm not putting my foot in it. It keeps your foot in a position that would be like you wearing high heels... :)

[drumbandit]

That is how you spell torture??? Does anyone own one of the pedals?

Tom

[d.c.drummer]

That actuall made me i use my heel almost exclusively but that bedal takes awway all the toe options and even some of the heel options.

[georgeman]

Lets go back to November of 1971

Heel toe pedal http://www.google.com/patents?id=F_cBAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA1970&dq=bass+drum+pedal#PPA1970,M1

Lets go even futher back to september 1924

http://www.google.com/patents?id=rttZAAAAEBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=bass+drum+pedal

and finaly
The orignal patent for the exclusive heel pedal with out the toe

http://www.google.com/patents?id=BNdTAAAAEBAJ&pg=PP1&dq=bass+drum+pedal

-george

[bonzo49]

Im always unimpressed when it says the "easiest way." Great solutions for problems, where the ONLY solution is hard work. If you are gonna do something may as well do it properly.

[Skitch]

Yea those pedals and the site look cheesy.

its probably some guy living out of his moms basement

In Vancouver



Mike

http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com

http://www.youtube.com/drummermikemccraw
http://www.myspace.com/drummermikemccraw

[they_call_me_diesel]

I agree. Innovation is dumb. The pedal evolved as much as it needed to when they developed the wood block contraption in 1903. This whole stuff with steel, aluminum, plastic pedals, replacing rope tuning with mechanical lugs, tubular hardware, racks, plastic heads, ply shells and don't even get me started on double pedals.
What r u talking about?? Innovation is what has brought drumming to the level it's at now... if more people shared ur opinion we'd still be banging stones and sticks together and calling that drumming!!! I never thought I would read something like that coming from a drummer!!! Innovation is everything!!! Im seriously astounded that a senior member would say that... IM DISGUSTED!!

[Wavelength]

What r u talking about?? Innovation is what has brought drumming to the level it's at now... if more people shared ur opinion we'd still be banging stones and sticks together and calling that drumming!!! I never thought I would read something like that coming from a drummer!!! Innovation is everything!!! Im seriously astounded that a senior member would say that... IM DISGUSTED!!

If more people shared your sense of humor, we'd still be attending minstrel shows and calling that quality entertainment...

Come on, Mr. I-Use-More-Text-Styling-Options-Than-You-Can-Shake-A-Stick-At, of all the drummers around here, DMC is probably the most eager to follow new innovations and indeed create them himself.

[Legacyrik]

Not unless there's sufficient marketing behind it and the price is low enough. Double bass pedals, for example, are a huge investment in time and effort to learn a new technique and very few people play them well - but they sell like hotcakes.

Yes, but you literally wouldn't be able to "play" on anything but this pedal after awhile. At least it would seem. so you buy this, you had really better buy into it's theory.

[MoeDrummer]

I think I'll re-invent the pedal and make one that is played by coming up off your chair and coming back down onto the mechanism, whatever it may be. See, 'cause you wouldn't need your right foot to play the pedal, you could then just use it to lift all of your mass off the chair and then land back down, losing all your balance and flailing wildly as you clumsily fell into the stack sitting behind your patented "bass-throne". Wait... ummm... maybe I need to rethink this.

I have to admit that his idea would probably work better than mine. I'd be willing to give it a try, but not at that price. He'd do well to use some of that money and get a better site too, it's all about the presentation...

Moe

[Mr. Pasquini]

What r u talking about?? Innovation is what has brought drumming to the level it's at now... if more people shared ur opinion we'd still be banging stones and sticks together and calling that drumming!!! I never thought I would read something like that coming from a drummer!!! Innovation is everything!!! Im seriously astounded that a senior member would say that... IM DISGUSTED!!

Go look at everything on DMC's kit. There are no kits on here as innovative as his... Not to dis anyone, his is just kinda special. He's one of the only people on here who uses a Dualist, the most debated piece of drum equipment of all time. Meet people before you assume things.

Oh, and a senior member has nothing to do with who you are, it's just your post count. I'm one of the newer members here and I have well over 400 posts.

[hawk9290]

Oh, and a senior member has nothing to do with who you are, it's just your post count.
Hence IronCobra......


anyways, the pedal really is not good for legs- theres a reason why they tell women not to wear high-heels all the time and this pedal puts the foot in the same position. Given that I play 6 hours a day quite often, this "invention" is not going to do anything except hurt me. Something like the VRuk is ok, but even then, I really don't like anything that substitutes bad technique in order to make a drummer sound good. Maybe this pedal will catch on someday, but it needs some refinement first. Innovation is good, but it should not be focused on reinventing the wheel, but improving the wheel to make it more useful.

[doublebass]

What a lame apparatus that is!! U know maybe i should make the next step to lameness and make a pedal that works like the pedals in cars! The more you push it the more speed you get!Would that be lame enough?

[foursticks]

In this industry, 'smart' basically means 'another useless invention designed to rob people of their money.'

[IDDrummer]

What r u talking about?? Innovation is what has brought drumming to the level it's at now... if more people shared ur opinion we'd still be banging stones and sticks together and calling that drumming!!! I never thought I would read something like that coming from a drummer!!! Innovation is everything!!! Im seriously astounded that a senior member would say that... IM DISGUSTED!!

Learn to recognize sarcasm...

[Deathmetalconga]

Learn to recognize sarcasm...

I was going to point out that my first post in this thread was totally sarcastic, but I guess they_call_me_diesel didn't get it. Anyone who's seen my stuff know I embrace difference and innovation.

[dea]

This is not a gimmick. From a bio-mechanics point of view, this design is far better than the standard designs. Industry is always slow to adopt because they know how stubborn and closed minded people can be. They know any revolutionary design takes time to become mainstream. So, they sit around and wait until it starts to pick up and then scramble to find a design that can accomplish the same thing without infringing on their patent.

For folks like myself that employ both heel and toe, this pedal is heaven sent. The reason?... Well if you put two of these guys - on each one side of your hat - you now have some wonderful heel driven fx. Very easy to go from your hat to these heel pedals and *without having to open your hat ( toe is still on hat applying pressure )*. This is neat because you can play your hats as usual ( with all of the open close control you normally have ) and still be able to include fx ( cowbell, tambo, whatever you like ).

I wished I had loads of extra cash right now because I would purchase two of them immediately and hook them up as mentioned.

[dea]

Remember, there is a difference between sitting and standing. The high heels argument only applies to when your standing.

When your sitting and your toe is higher than your heel, it naturally lifts your knees higher than your hips. This is healthier for your back in a sitting position.

[Halidman]

It does look a bit gimicky, for want of a better word, But i wouldnt mind tryin em out :)

[PreppieNerd]

It claims that the heel is the most natural striker, but with that pedal you have to operate from the leg. With traditional pedals you can operate drom either the leg or ankle.

[Ironcobra]

when i first started drumming, i dreamed of a pedal that could use just the heel like this one, i didn't think it existed, but i was wrong, but i dont think i would buy from a site like that

[Deathmetalconga]

This is not a gimmick. From a bio-mechanics point of view, this design is far better than the standard designs. Industry is always slow to adopt because they know how stubborn and closed minded people can be. They know any revolutionary design takes time to become mainstream. So, they sit around and wait until it starts to pick up and then scramble to find a design that can accomplish the same thing without infringing on their patent.

For folks like myself that employ both heel and toe, this pedal is heaven sent. The reason?... Well if you put two of these guys - on each one side of your hat - you now have some wonderful heel driven fx. Very easy to go from your hat to these heel pedals and *without having to open your hat ( toe is still on hat applying pressure )*. This is neat because you can play your hats as usual ( with all of the open close control you normally have ) and still be able to include fx ( cowbell, tambo, whatever you like ).

I wished I had loads of extra cash right now because I would purchase two of them immediately and hook them up as mentioned.

Very well put. We like to think the gear we have now is perfected over a mere 100 years of Western trap drum development. In reality, there are many, many ways of doing the same thing and some might be an improvement on the current designs. Just because something doesn't have a major manufacturer behind it doesn't mean it's a bad design. Major manufacturers put profit first and they are not too willing to challenge a design that's successfully made money for 100 years.

[ledzepjb]

What r u talking about?? Innovation is what has brought drumming to the level it's at now... if more people shared ur opinion we'd still be banging stones and sticks together and calling that drumming!!! I never thought I would read something like that coming from a drummer!!! Innovation is everything!!! Im seriously astounded that a senior member would say that... IM DISGUSTED!!

Just because he's a senior memeber doesent mean he knows anything about drums( I'm not saying that true DMC, 'cause ive heard you play and your great). A person could come on to the site and just start commenting on other peoples playing( saying things like : your type of music isnt my style but your drumming is good, or: that was cool). Or go on to Your Gear and write on every Pearl kit : Pearl for life!!!Then there are the people who only quote others' posts and write '' i second that''(they dont write anything concstuctive at all)

[Rockingfreakapotamus]

Just imagine playing "Immigrant Song" on one of those pedals. . . give it a try.


Your face would explode.

x

[Les Ismore]

Just imagine playing "Immigrant Song" on one of those pedals. . . give it a try.


Your face would explode.

x

Can you play 'Immigrant Song' on your new Gibraltar Catapult Rockingfreakapotamus?

[aruration]

Man!! That smart pedal gives me the creeps. I would never think of putting my feet on it

[Les Ismore]

Honestly I'm afraid to try it, it probably does everything the inventor says it does. I'm not yet ready to make the switch after putting so many years into traditional pedals.

You can simulate the movement right now. Lean forward feet planted, raise heel (keep ball planted) and drop. Notice how anchord your center of gravity feels.

Once you raise the balls of your feet 'off' of something (even slightly), your floating for a split second, when you come back down you have to adjust, or you 'have' adjusted your upper body forward or backward.

With balls of your feet always planted, you never float, your always solid. You do have to lean forward and this takes some decent abdominal muscles, which you would no doubt develop.

You would need 'Smart HH' to make this purely satisfying.

[Rockingfreakapotamus]

Can you play 'Immigrant Song' on your new Gibraltar Catapult Rockingfreakapotamus?

Yes, yes i can. it was one of the licks i tried out when using it for the first time in the store i bought it, :D

[MrTomatoBalls]

Everbody's right about the crappy website. But I have tried them and they are great! If you learn to use the properly you don't even need dubble bass anymore. Those things are verry fast and easy. But I wouldn't buy them from that website.