Iron Cobra vs. Gibraltar Intruder Direct-Drive

brandon.g911

Junior Member
Ok, so I'm kind of in a quandary, and I need some advice. I'm deciding between two double pedals, Tama Iron Cobra, the industry standard, and the Gibraltar Intruder Direct Drive (http://accessories.musiciansfriend....Intruder-Direct-Drive-Double-Pedal?sku=490717). There is about an $80 dollar difference between the two pedals (IC's are more), which isn't too much, but it is a factor. I've played the Iron Cobra before, and compared to my pedals, very low end Mapexes, were amazing and I loved them. However, I have no way of trying out the Intruders as no one carries them around here. I've gotten to play on the Gibraltar Avengers and I was quite impressed with them given their price though. Does anyone have any advice on the Intruders? Are they as adjustable as the IC's? Do they wear well? Is the direct drive on this pedal worth the hype? Any advice or tips would be awesome.

Thanks Guys,
Brandon
 
I own a Gibraltar Intruder double pedal direct drive. Its a fine pedal except for a two huge issues.
1. The bass drum clamp sucks, or rather it doesn't work after a week of use. I had to use duct tape on the hoop to get it to kinda stay
2. I've worn out just about every bearing on the pedal after 3 months of use. It squeaks and creaks and feels gritty.
When I got this pedal I wasnt good at my bass drum skills yet, but as I got better the pedal wore out badly to the point where I went back to my $100 pacific double pedal.
my advice, spend your money on good hardware, stuff that will last. last thing you want happening is your pedal comming off your bass drum at a show or seizing up on you, which is what my intruder did
 
I haven't tried the intruder, but I have tried the IC and I compared it to a DW 5000AD3. I thought the IC was more smooth and powerful, but maybe that was because the DW 5000AD3 is more meant for fast playing. Still though I liked the IC better.
 
Iron Cobra by a country mile

1. The bass drum clamp sucks, or rather it doesn't work after a week of use. I had to use duct tape on the hoop to get it to kinda stay
2. I've worn out just about every bearing on the pedal after 3 months of use. It squeaks and creaks and feels gritty.
I suspect that its probably your technique and not the pedals
 
I've owned the IC Power Glide for about 4 years and have found it to be practically bulletproof. There are several adjustments you can make on it to fine tune it to your liking and I'm sure you can play just as fast on it as you could the DW pedal. The church I used to go had a DW5000 pedal on their drum kit and I actually preferred my IC. IMO most DW stuff is just overbuilt and overpriced...sturdy stuff stuff though, just not my thing.
Don't worry about dropping the cash on the IC; it will probably outlast your drum kit. I don't think the Gibraltar pedal would. However, they do seem to make great hardware, I don't know why they can't seem to get it together with their pedals.
 
I have owned a Gibraltar intruder for about 6 years (the older style of course) I love it I have never had any sort of problem with it, and it is very heavy duty....I cannot say anything about the re-designed style however. I have tried the new one out at my local drum shop and liked it alot...The drum shop owners are very Pro-Gibraltar so they have a ton of them...I did perfer the dirrect drive when i tried it out....(mine is the double chain cam drive)
 
I've tried both and I think the IC is great whereas I found the Gibralter fairly poor imo. It seemed more like a 'semi-pro' product rather than a 'pro' product. It just didn't do anything for me and didn't see to be anything special.
 
i know its not on the list but i own a double iron cobra and my dw 9000 blows it away.
 
i know its not on the list but i own a double iron cobra and my dw 9000 blows it away.

That's not even semi-relevant.

I'd seriously suggest the Iron Cobra for three reasons:
1) You've played the IC and you liked it, whereas you cannot play the Gibraltor.
2) Iron Cobra's have a history of being workhorses, so it's going to make that extra money investment very worth it down the road.
3) You didn't mention if the IC you played was direct drive, but if it wasn't, and you've never played a direct drive pedal, then you definitely don't want to buy one before playing it.

Hope this helps.
 
Awesome. Thanks guys. I'm really really leaning towards the IC's. Plus, I can just go pick them up at a local shop immediately instead of having to wait for a while for shipping and pay for shippping and handling. I just need a bit more cash saved up because I was saving for the Gibraltar (I'm a Sr. in High school and I don't have a job because of time restraints for school). Thank you everyone for your advice. I'll let you know my decision.
Sincerely,
Brandon
 
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