help: dialing in Axis longboard

[johnnyfivetimes]

i just bought a double longboard pedal and im having a hard time dialing in the action. it seems its either too light(on impact) or too heavy and feels slugish. anybody have any tips for getting a good combination of power and speed? if so what settings are you using? and what beater? Im using the sonic hammer that came with it, but i wish it was heavier to get more oomph out of the bass drum, but when i use a different beater i get the oomph, but the padal has to be pushed down too far for my liking to make impact. ARRRRGGGGG!!!!!! this thing is nice, but im starting to feel like i want to throw it in the trash from lack of the oommph factor

[sticksnstonesrus]

First...which longboard? AL-2 or XL-2?

I'm using the AL-2. I didn't like the weight-e-ness of the sonic hammers...felt too heavy and sluggish. I went with a lighter beater (some off market brand). Compensated the weight by putting the static beater distance from the batter a little closer than middle of the stroke. Pedal height adjusted a little lower than the default it came as.

The springs (heavier weight) I have wound all the way up.

The most defining difference in how the Axis pedal plays is in your feet/legs. Your playing must adjust to the differences in the Axis direct drive. Gonna have to continue to deal with it until your feet become more familiar to how they play. Took me a couple months before I was back to "normal".

Good luck.

Andy

[johnnyfivetimes]

im playing the a series. i find the beater itself too light, , it just seems when i mess with the settings, theres no middle ground for me as far as power and sensitivity. it either goes from too light an impact to too heavy(sluggish heavy feeling action, not the weight itself). i love the bigger footboard, its the first that has ever fit my feet, size 12 with shoes on makes most pedals feel like jr models im now realizing. so, what would you say specificly as far as technique is concerned you had to adjust to get back to feeling "normal" on the pedal . oh , and how do you guys have your sonic hammers set( "not that theres anything wrong with that") And i now realize that the public school system failed me after reading my initial post, oh well.

[sticksnstonesrus]

My only suggestion would be this.

Try not to rush the "comforting" that you're going through. Also, try not to have large expectations right off the bat. Remember, practice makes permanent...therefore changes are very hard to implement.

Thus. Only make a change...one change at a time. Like changing spring tensions...slightly. Play it for a while...like a day. Make a change the next day if you don't like it. Change the footboard height...then play it for like a day, or longer. I think you'll be happier in the long run if your focus is more simplified in trying not to change too many variables at once. I'd say that's the only issues with the technologically advanced pedals nowadays...too many cool things to screw with...lol.

Andy

[johnnyfivetimes]

i wish axis had the foresight to make the adjustments drumkey operated instead of those stupid teeny allen keys. i feel like one wrong move and itll strip the groves out.

[sticksnstonesrus]

Sometimes I agree...but drumkey adjusters can get bulky...plus people have a real bad habit of wrenching those till they strip. The small, dainty, micro set-screws is the best you're going to get with such an advanced pedal. Yes, it sucks having three different wrenches and yes, it sucks having to watch how much torque you apply. Welcome to a drum-tech nightmare. As a drummer...enjoy it.

[johnnyfivetimes]

def a nightmare. i switched the beater out and have been using a yamaha felt tip, the kind you adjust behind the beater and the heads rotates so it hits the drum stright. i like the impact it makes with the drum, but i still wish i could adjust the footboard height independently of the beater, i feel i have to push just slightly farther than what is comfortable

[sticksnstonesrus]

Wait minute...the AL's have the toe adjuster that allows you to move the footboard height without changing the beater angle. It does chane the power-applied though. If that isn't your fancy, doesn't Axis offer footboard adjuster plates that screw in underneath the toe? Yet something else to investigate.

[johnnyfivetimes]

i didnt know there was a toe adjustment. So I can adjust the footboard independently of the beater? How do i do it?

[sticksnstonesrus]

If your pedal doesn't look like this (minus the black) than it isn't an AL series. The toe adjust is simple...turn the wing (see yellow arrows), move the adjuster, tighten the wing back up.

http://www.picpile.net/ims/pic_450w0ZKg/25557.jpg

[johnnyfivetimes]

ohhhhh, that thing. I though you meant i could actually asjust the footboard up and down while keeping the beater still. ive messed with that feel adjuster, i seem to like it all the way forward when using the sonic hammer and more in the middle with the yamaha beater. what settings did you try with the different beater?

[sticksnstonesrus]

The setting in that pic above are what I presently play. Beaters and all.

[johnnyfivetimes]

ok, i figured out today(after spending all afternoon puuling my hair out adjusting this stupid thing) specificly what my issue is. if i get it set where i can get it to rebound quick enough to do quick doubles heel up, i lose all the power when i go back to heel down( i play both heel up and heel down depending on the desired number of notes). And when i get it set so heel down playing is responsive and quick, the opposite happens and i cant get the quick doubles, or much power, from heel up. This thing is driving me nuts, i wish dw would just make longer footboards, a 9000 double with big footboards would be awesome, because that pedal is much easier to adjust. ok, insert primal rage scream right here!!!!!!!!

[sticksnstonesrus]

Easy killer. While you might not be happy with pedals...the same situation could exist with any pedal. I'd say no matter what you do, you should ease off the high expectation for success. Change takes a while bro'. Gotta give it a chance.

[johnnyfivetimes]

i know it wont help me play better instantly, but for 500 and some odd dollars, this thing should be MUCH easier to adjust, and should not take so long to find the "zone" for playability. the fact that you cant adjust the footboard independently of the beater is lame. this will def be my last purchase of a pedal without that feature, i bought this without having played it simply to get a bigger footboard, so my fault there.

[sticksnstonesrus]

But it does....I just showed you that in the pic bro...

[johnnyfivetimes]

were not thinking of the same adjustment, that little knob adjusts the action/leverage- not the actual pedal board height. im specificly talking about how on most pedals you can undue a drumkey screw and the pedal board will move up or down while the beater remains in a fixed position. so since i like my beater to come in contact with the drumhead sooner than is allowed with the axis, its a bummer

[sticksnstonesrus]

oh...yeah...I see your point. Maybe you're overthinking it? I didn't seem to have such a hard time getting into them...

Time, my friend...time.

[xush]

I believe there are shims available to adjust the footboard angle/height for the Axis pedals;
that's pretty much the only way you can do it. As you've observed, the variable-drive lever doesn't address this~

I searched the website for the shims, but couldn't find them. Will keep looking- I'm sure I've seen them offered as a kit somewhere-

[johnnyfivetimes]

cool, thanks for the help

[johnnyfivetimes]

ok, i finaly got this!!!! i guess i just needed a couple weeks, with an hour or so on the bass drum pad. Now that im used top it, i can go faster , easier than ever before. I found that for quick heel up strokes, the secret is to flop your ankle back and forth across the pedal. it sounds weird, but i literaly move the heel of my foot3-6 inches to the left and right of the foot board while keeping my toes attached to the footboard, and this seems to keep the heel up hits powerful while keeping the speed up as well. for heel down, my heel is actualy a good 2-3 inches off the foot board, to where my toes just meet that little cut out near the middle of the board, and its so easy to go fast in this position. thanks to everyone for the replys and putting up with my neck vein bursting outbreaks, they were worth it now that i know how to use this thing. do yourself a favor and get a longboard