Calling all double bass players!

[Zoofie]

Hey folks!
Just a quick question/poll.
When you play double bass , what part of the pedal is your feet on?
As in high (next to beater) , middle or quite low?
What do you think are the benifits of playing lower , higher whatever?

Lol......not really a poll at all , but oh well :P
Cheers! :D

[jondrumming]

Slow = Near front of footboard
Medium = Move back to the middle
Fast = Move back a little bit more, closer to the rear

[Hedon]

middle-rear pretty much

[Zoofie]

Oh cool cheers.
So for faster double bass you suggest near the bottom of the pedal?
Thanks!

[stabmasterarson]

yeah I play in the middle of the pedal to the rear depending on how fast I'm going. When I go really fast I play heel down.

[Big Chris]

I tend to play the middle of the footboard too.

I have found that when I play faster, my foot position on the pedal doesn't alter much, but my foot becomes more horizontal. (heel gets lower).

[dairyairman]

So for faster double bass you suggest near the bottom of the pedal?
Thanks!

i wouldn't say "near the bottom" but it definitely seems to help to move your feet back when playing fast.

[Hedon]

yeah I play in the middle of the pedal to the rear depending on how fast I'm going. When I go really fast I play heel down.

hey man i dont like to be rude but what the hell
can you explain?

[KnockOut86]

hey man i dont like to be rude but what the hell
can you explain?

What is there to explain?

[JT1]

hey man i dont like to be rude but what the hell
can you explain?

He means he will have his foot in the middle of the footboard probably for slower tempos and as he gets faster, his foot will end up going down the footboard towards the bottom. Many people do this as when you get faster, the sweet spot changes. Usually for heel up players, the faster you go, the further down the footboard you go and he said he plays heel down when going really fast which means that he drops his heel so his foot is almost flat on the footboard this again is very common in quick double bass drumming.

[Fiery]

Changes form day to day depending on how strong my feet feel and how responsive the bass drum head feels. I think it also changes during playing as I get warmed up and then gradually get tired.

But, in general, it's pretty similar to what most people here described. I play near the middle most of the time, going to the top for really slow double kick playing and moving toward the heelplate when really pushing myself to play faster for a longer period of time than I really can. For all tempos and beats that I'm pretty solid at, my feet don't really move from the middle position.

The benefits of playing in that position for me are increased responsiveness of the pedal and less movement necessary to get a good swing of the beater.

[stabmasterarson]

He means he will have his foot in the middle of the footboard probably for slower tempos and as he gets faster, his foot will end up going down the footboard towards the bottom. Many people do this as when you get faster, the sweet spot changes. Usually for heel up players, the faster you go, the further down the footboard you go and he said he plays heel down when going really fast which means that he drops his heel so his foot is almost flat on the footboard this again is very common in quick double bass drumming.

thanks JT, that's what I meant

[theindian]

For last few months I have been playing double pedal and pretty much all my bass drum work right in the middle. Not heel down but still very low, close to flat foot. My big toe is right above the A in Axis on the longboard.
I used to move around and play lower on the pedal when I got to a tempo that was close to my higher speeds but this became a problem when switching between fast and slow strokes, ie. 8th's to 16'th's to 8's etc. I have since cut out the excess motion, and picked a point on the footboard that feels natural and generally good all around. The upper middle seemed like the most natural spot where I had control over speed, volume and rebound. I still use slide a little bit for some double strokes but I generally feel more control and balance if I stay in the same spot and use similar motions. The motions just get smaller with faster notes.

[Zoofie]

Awesome thanks for the response guys.
So does Chris Adler have really long arms then? Because he plays really far back from the kit it seems :O
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeWTKUXm3tU

Sorry again , i was just wondering what the advantages of sitting further back as apposed to forward more is?
Thanks!

[stabmasterarson]

if you sit further back your legs are in a more comfortable position to go fast. If you sit so your knees are bent at 90 degrees you get tired faster and can hurt your knees possibly.

If you sit further back you have to angle your toms a bit more and bring them closer so you can comfortably play them unless you are an orangutan. Chris Adlers toms are pretty angled along with his snare if you look.

I couldn't get my toms in the right position using the bass drum mounts so I got a rack to allow me to sit farther back and still hit my toms.

[JT1]

thanks JT, that's what I meant

Ah no problem at all man

[SamOmina73]

Seems there are a few drums and the bass connoiseurs here... I need to find a copy of Aphrodites Aftershock, so if you have it, or you know where to find it Ive looked for ages then give us a heads-up. Ithankyou