Foot drums for a one man band?

chubbsdarcy

Junior Member
A completely self-contained foot controlled compact drum kit for a one man band!


Hello there, how do you do?

I am a solo singer/guitarist who wants to add real drums to my one man show.


I was considering going with Pete Farmer's awesome new Deluxe V.4 foot drum unit for quite some time,
however I won't have a chance to test out the unit before buying,
and while it may very well be worth every penny of the $1500 he is currently charging for it,
I am not completely comfortable with paying that kind of money for such a unique item sight unseen.
Besides that, being a drummer, I have been toying with incorporating some of the actual drums from my kit
into a setup which I could play using my feet.


BTW I'll be using the snare and the bass from my Pearl Rhythm traveller kit....


Here is what I've sketched out so far....


Being a right-handed drummer, I will primarily play the bass drum with my right foot and the snare drum with my left


The snare will be positioned vertically with the help of this:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drum...ngle-jig-floor-tom-to-bass-drum-converter-kit

and this:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/rhythmtech-rt7000-active-snare-system


Of course, to play the beats on my snare drum I will be using a bass drum pedal
and I thought that while I was at it, I may as well use a double bass drum pedal on my snare
and position the second pedal next to the pedal that will actually be beating the bass drum
so that I could fill in an extra snare beat here and there whenever I can.
Also, instead of of using standard bass drum beaters, I thought I'd use a couple of these:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drum...2-solid-wood-bass-drum-beater/446087000000000


In all honesty, when it comes to setting up my snare drum for this project,
I'm going to rip off this guy and follow his lead:

http://rhythm-art.com/blogs/2009/12/07/foot-operated-snare-drum/


So, I have my bass drum and my snare drum covered....
....NOW, to incorporate a crash and a set of hi-hats....
....here's where it gets sticky....and I'm stuck!!!


I have been thinking of adding an extra bass drum pedal
which would somehow hit a bass beat and a cymbal crash simultaneously....
The crash could possibly need to be positioned vertically as well,
down, behind and to the right of the bass drum-from the player's POV....


I am considering positioning the hi hats in a similar manner
in between the bass drum and the snare drum somehow.


Similarly, I have also been thinking of how I can attach a drum stick or a beater
to the main bass drum pedal and the main snare pedal as well in a manner so that
a hi hat beat can be sounded on each of the "1" and "3" beats of the bass drum
and on the "2" and "4" beats of the snare drum.


In fact, I could possibly even play eighth beats on the hi hats for that matter
if there was a way to use a set of flex-tip drumsticks such as these:

http://www.theslapstik.com/store.html


I think I have the basics covered and I can generally envision what I need to do
to make this drum kit come together, but I really don't know about what kind of hardware
and various clamps are available to me and what pieces I may have to come up with on my own.
There are no music stores anywhere near me at all so whatever drum hardware I buy
will need to be bought online.

I have never attempted anything like this before and I can use all the help I can get.
How many of you guys and gals out there have done anything similar to what I have described above
and how did you make your kit come together?

To put it really as simply as possible, how would you go about
incorporating an actual snare, an actual bass, a real crash and a real set of hi hats
into a compact drum kit which will allow me to play 4/4 rock and roll beats with my feet alone?

A completely self-contained foot controlled compact drum kit for a one man band!

Any thoughts guys?
Thank you very much!
Darcy Chubbs
 
Option 1: I've seen single-octive foot-pedal-keyboards used by a one-man guitarist/singer so he could play bass along with guitar. Find something like that which can output midi, and you can get all the sounds you could ever need, bass, snare, hat, bass+crash, etc.

Option 2: Use something electronic to supply your hihat track. This heavily simplifies your gear requirements, plus playing eighths on the hats all night long will tire you out.

Option 3: Play hihat with your left foot, play snare and bass with your right. On the right goes the bass drum with a single pedal. On the left goes a hihat stand (probably a 2 leg or legless stand, look into the Gibraltar off-time hihat attachment) if you're happy to play foot-chicks and splashes on the hats, or else a bass pedal with an x-hat if you want a stick striking the hat. The slap-stick thing looks like it might help. Also on the left is the snare drum attached to the jungle riser, with a lefty double bass pedal. Your right foot bounces between the bass pedal and slave snare pedal on the right, your left foot keeps time on the hats.

As for the crash, you can rig something up with another pedal immediately next to the bass pedal, so that you can stomp on both pedals at the same time for bass+crash.. Probably need to use a regular double pedal so that you can have the slave pedal next to the bass drum.

Honestly, that Farmer Foot Drum looks better and better due to being compact and does an awful lot for the money. I gather that you've already got drum hardware that you want to hodgepodge together; if you were starting from scratch the Foot Drum seems like a no-brainer.
 
Seeking some help for my one-man band foot drum project

Hi folks, I am seeking some assistance for my current foot drum project....

I have been a solo musician for nearly my entire career, playing lead guitar and vocals in my one man show
along with the assistance of a beat box for the drum and bass guitar parts.

I have become bored with using digital backing tracks to fill up my sound and I have been working on incorporating
real percussive elements from a real drum kit.

I have incorporated the snare and kick drums from my old Pearl Rhythm Traveller drum kit into my project.

The kick drum stands in its normal postion with the resonant head facing forward as normal
and I have the snare drum mounted on a solid homemade bracket so that it's standing on its end
with the resonant head facing forward as well. I am using two old kick pedals to produce beats
on each drum and I play the kick drum with my right foot and the snare drum with my left foot.

After much experimentation with various beaters of different materials with various adjustments on the pedals,
I have managed to fine-tune my kick and snare drums to the point where they work for me

I have been struggling for quite sometime with a way to incorporate a set of hi hats
or another combination of percussive elements which will add that double-stroke
"four-on-the-floor" style of rhythm to my beat,
and I was recently inspired by the following items I just discovered:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/meinl-foot-cabasa

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/lp-fusheki-foot-shaker-bracket-w-maraca

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/meinl-foot-tambourine-steel-jingles-black

as well as the post made by Deathmetalconga, #15 down this page:

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=482404#post482404

The wheels started turning and I thought:
"What if I could have a kick drum pedal on each of my drums which also housed a cabasa
and a shaker or a maraca of some kind with the high-end jingle of a tambourine added in there for good measure?"
If I had double-stroked cabasa beat playing with each stroke I make on the kick and the snare,
as well as a single maraca/shaker & tambourine beat sounding simultaneously,
I would have my sound rounded out fairly decently!

Now, I am not extremely handy, I don't have a lot of tools to work with, and I don't have access to a decent hardware nearby
so I thought I'd inquire about anyone who might be into doing custom fabrication on drum hardware and pedals
as I would be interested in commissioning a job like this to someone who has experience in doing this kind of work.

To put it plainly, I'm seeking a pair of great quality kick drum pedals with a cabasa, a shaker/maraca, and jingles added to them,
and if anybody would be willing to help me out in my quest have such a pair of units fabricated, not unlike the units I've linked to above,
I would be very grateful!

Thank you so much guys, all the best!

Darcy
 
I have been struggling for quite sometime with a way to incorporate a set of hi hats
or another combination of percussive elements which will add that double-stroke
"four-on-the-floor" style of rhythm to my beat,
and I was recently inspired by the following items I just discovered:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/meinl-foot-cabasa

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/lp-fusheki-foot-shaker-bracket-w-maraca

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/meinl-foot-tambourine-steel-jingles-black

as well as the post made by Deathmetalconga, #15 down this page:

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?p=482404#post482404

To put it plainly, I'm seeking a pair of great quality kick drum pedals with a cabasa, a shaker/maraca, and jingles added to them,
and if anybody would be willing to help me out in my quest have such a pair of units fabricated, not unlike the units I've linked to above,
I would be very grateful!

Thank you so much guys, all the best!

Darcy
 
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A guy I play with is a Farmers Foot- Drum endorser (Eric Jaquay). I've seen and played those things. Definitely worth it, and very well made.
 
Hi!
Just hope my idea can offer little help!
IMG_2817.jpg

DIY a "Cajon" type body to attached the 10" as kick drum, 8" as snare.Bent the Kick pedal shaft.cut your old hi-hat stand and attached it to the box body.
Regards,
Peter
 
Check out Side Kick Drums to see the new "Snare Kick Riser Stand" which holds a snare drum on its side to be used with a bass drum pedal. For one man bands or acoustic duo's it's great as you can add bass drum and snare with your feet while playing guitar or keyboard. It's priced very reasonable also. www.sidekickdrums.com
 

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Hi guys,

It's been awhile since I've visited this page and I've been meaning to keep you updated on my progress, although there hasn't been a lot to report as I've never advanced much farther than the snare drum and bass drum stage of my drum kit.

However, I've recently discovered this cool little rig and am intrigued at how I might incorporate this into my drum rig that I can use it to play some hi hat beats remotely!

The Gibraltar Cajon Pedal in the following link http://www.drumcenternh.com/review/product/list/id/38518/category/2/.

I think I can incorporporate a pair of these into the foot drum kit I play in my one man band setup but I have a question or two first.

In hopes of giving you a clearer picture of what my foot drum kit consists of so that you might better understand my intended use for a pair of these Cajon pedals, I will describe my drum kit to you in its present form.

I presently play a Farmer bass drum with a standard bass drum and beater with my right foot, and I play a Sidekick snare drum mounted on its side in a stand with a standard bass drum pedal and a wooden drum stick beater tip mounted into it.

I happened to be shopping for a new replacement pair of bass drum pedals for my foot drum kit at the time I first discovered these Cajon pedals and it got me to thinking "Wouldn't it be awesome if I could mount a beater to each of the remote pedal portion to each of these Cajon pedals, effectively turning the remote sections into bass drum pedals in their own right, which would allow the slave end of these Cajon pedal units to be used to play other percussion sounds, for instance I might macgyver a setup together which might allow the slave beaters to play a set of hi hats in some way".

Don't worry, I've sketched out a way to incorporate set of hi hats so that these pedals will play them, no issue there. The biggest question I have is this: Would you say it would be possible to disassemble the remote pedal and attach a cam to it which will allow the attachment of a bass drum beater to it, effectively turning the remote pedal portion of this unit into a bass drum pedal itself in its own right?

I know, simple enough question right? And I took the long way around to asking it, but I just wanted to make it as clear as I can just what I intend to use these pedals for should I end up purchasing them. You see, I envision the remotes of these Cajon pedals positioned and mounted directly to each of my foot drums (bass and snare) with a beater mounted to each one, allowing the remote to function as a kick pedal for each of my drums as well as being a remote driving each one of the slaves which are now playing beats on my hi hats.

I hope this description doesn't leave you scratching your heads and wondering what is wrong with me as I am sure that the guys at Gibraltar never envisioned anybody out there using these new Cajon pedals in the manner I have described using them, but this remote cable set up has me intrigued, and I have been longing to add some additional percussion to my drum kit such as hi hats for a long time now.

I'm eagerly awaiting a reply to hear your thoughts, thank you kindly folks!

Darcy
 
I'd encourage you to check out Richard Johnston. Here's a youtube vid. He doesn't use anything beyond the basics or that requires advanced engineering. Bass drum, snare tilted in the basket with a beater for that, and a hi hat right next to it. I haven't seen him for a while, but it appears that he added a tom in this video as well.
 
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