Beater thoughts

Mr Orange

Member
Hi All!
I just got a new pedal, a Speed Cobra, which I'm very pleased with so far. As always I play around with different settings to a point when I'm pleased and after that I never change anything.

One thing I have not tried in the past is different beater weight. Now I got a weight with my new beater that you can slide do get different weight ratios. I don't use it for the moment.

Have you guys any experience with this?

What is the main rule, heavy beater vs light beater.

I'm a single pedal guy. I don't want the heavier beaters oumph to be on the cost of a quick retraction.

Thanks for any input.
Jörgen
 
I don't think there is a rule since pedals are such a personal thing. What might work for some may not be right for you. The best thing to do is to try out the weight and try different beaters and see what works for you. After years of using an Iron Cobra with all the adjustments, i went back to my standard Tama Pedal that came with my kit when i bought it in the late 80's. The only adjustment on it is the spring tension. I'm using the new Iron Cobra felt beater on the older pedal and the slide weght is set almost in the middle of the beater shaft. But of course, this may not work for you.

Bottom line is you have to experiment. I have been playing for almost 35 years and I'm still experimenting!
 
I don't think there is a rule since pedals are such a personal thing. What might work for some may not be right for you. The best thing to do is to try out the weight and try different beaters and see what works for you. After years of using an Iron Cobra with all the adjustments, i went back to my standard Tama Pedal that came with my kit when i bought it in the late 80's. The only adjustment on it is the spring tension. I'm using the new Iron Cobra felt beater on the older pedal and the slide weght is set almost in the middle of the beater shaft. But of course, this may not work for you.

Bottom line is you have to experiment. I have been playing for almost 35 years and I'm still experimenting!


Yeah he pretty much covered it. I've personally not felt the need to use the beater weights on my pedals. The good thing is you can try it, change the position of it on the beater and if you don't like it pull it off.
 
For whats it's worth. I was looking for a pedal to replace a DW 3000, not that it was bad just wanted better. Loved the Pearl Eliminator, felt like it hit much harder and faster than anything else. I over think everything. I bought the DW 9000 because of the way it was built, figured I'd grow into it.But I didn't like the feel of the beaters, just felt like they were holding it back. After researching it to death I tried the Trick 1V beater. That was the trick, sorry pun intended, night and day difference, in tone, feel and speed. A good drummer will sound good on anything, I need all the help I can get. Pedals, beaters, done...... If you want a fast light pedal, I love em, totally adjustable. Twice the price of IC's, but hey Titanium is expensive to machine ;-) they look like they should be in a Dr's office.
 
My philosophy is to resist esoterica like Trick/Axis and DW9000 because when you sit at someone else's kit you need to shine. Get used to and play mid-range pedals and you can apply your skills anywhere.

The DW3000 is a perfectly decent pedal.

Davo
 
My philosophy is to resist esoterica like Trick/Axis and DW9000 because when you sit at someone else's kit you need to shine. Get used to and play mid-range pedals and you can apply your skills anywhere.

The DW3000 is a perfectly decent pedal.

Davo

Why not get used the pedal I really like and just take it with me if I have to play someone else's kit? Very,Very rarely when I played out on a regular basis did I ever use another drummer's kit, think it happened one time.
 
Taking your own is cool. But where do you stop? Pedal, hats, fav ride etc.

Davo

Well that would be your call but seeing how the bass pedal gets used the most I would definitely take my own if I was playing a kit and pedal I had never played before. That way if I found out I didn't like the pedal I could swap out, don't see any problems taking my own cymbals either so that I had them available if needed, those are part of "your" sound and only takes minutes to swap out.
 
...

I own an PEARL Eliminator and a DW 5000, and use them both. I tried the very expensive PEARL Demon Drive at a store yesterday, and played a gig with a cheapo, crappy old TAMA 'somethin' pedal last weekend.

The Demon Drive was the shittest pedal I've ever laid my foot on and right now I'm thinking if I can buy that crappy ol Tama from the club owner, I'd be a pretty happy guy.

This gear business is strange.. shiny new things dont always come with gurantees of delight and old isnt always old. Nothing wrong with mixing and matching either. Experiment and ye shall find joy eventually..

...
 
Hi All!
I just got a new pedal, a Speed Cobra.... weight ... slide ... I don't use it for the moment....I'm a single pedal guy. I don't want the heavier beaters oumph to be on the cost of a quick retraction.....
Main rule ... there are no rules ... except don't bash Ringo.​
Experiment ... play around. Find out what works for you. After all, once you've bought the gear, playing around with it is free/cheap entertainment. The only thing I ever do with those silly, adjustable, counter-weight things is "take them off".​
As far as my single pedal goes, I play a Yamaha Flying Dragon Direct Drive. Mostly I use either the stock, hard felt beater, or I use a Vater VB, and when I switch them, I don't mess with anything (adjustments) else.​
 
I have a pair of very light dual surface beaters (actually made by Stagg) that I have used for the last 5 years. When I have needed a heavy beater, I own a pair of Danmar red wood beaters. I love their sound, but they are like rocks on sticks. Somewhere in the middle is the DW standard beater, which always seems to lose its felt on me.

As far as pedals, I have a twenty-plus-year-old Pearl double pedal that is only now beginning to show its age. So I wouldn't chalk very much performance criticality on the pedal as much as I would the player...
 
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