What am I thinking? Double pedals now!

Please talk sense into this old guy. I am toying with the idea in picking up a used double pedal and see if I can maybe work it into a couple of tunes with my band. However the music I play rarely if ever calls for it. It's music from the 50's & 60's and I'm sure I could find a few spots where it might work, Is it worth it to go through the hassle of setting it up to be played for a few tunes during the night? Also what time commitments am I looking at to practice and get up to speed on the double pedal. So with that being said, anyone have a used one they want to get rid of? and any suggestions or ideas. are welcome.

save your dough.....


F

I picked up some double pedals a while back for no other reason than I thought it would be fun to try my hand at some new skills. I'd played for years with a single and never really thought about double pedals. Much like yourself, I've never played music where they would be considered a necessity. These days I don't do much live work at all and they are not imperative for the jam band I knock around with either, but I bought them for me and me alone.

I say, why not? It's nothing more than another skill in your arsenal. As for a practice routine....I guess it all depends on where you want to take it. I just try to incorporate them into grooves, so never feel the need for endless hours playing straight 16ths and not being satisfied that I can't break 1000bpm. I just try to train my feet in a similar fashion as I would my hands. I practice some rudiments etc for indepenance and will play straight 16ths for a while, but that's more just to build up some control as opposed to speed. If you're really serious, check out some of Derek Roddy's practice routines....the mans footwork is beastly. Above and beyond anything I'll ever need (or desire), but some of it is fun to try (albeit at muuuuuuuch slower tempos).

I have an IC Jr and and IC Power Glide for sale. $80 plus actual shipping for Jr and $150 plus actual shipping for the PG. Both have cases and are mostly original.

PM if interested.

If your thinking about one then you should get one.
It will definately expand your playing a bit.

Ian said:

I have an IC Jr and and IC Power Glide for sale. $80 plus actual shipping for Jr and $150 plus actual shipping for the PG. Both have cases and are mostly original.

PM if interested.

Click to expand...

Ian, Whats the IC jr? Smaller pedals?

Single chain and lighter weight. Think old 7000 to the double chain 5000.

The Jr feels great, it's just not seen as quite heavy duty as the PG.

Go ahead and get theim if you want to dink around on them. Double bass takes lots and lots of practice to get even a tiny bit good at. Personally, I think you'd be better off investing your practice time in things that are going to be of more use in a performance setting. Outside of a few genres, double pedals have little use and I have found 16ths on the bass drum actually annoys other musicians, even if it's done well.

I bought a set of Tama doubles back in the 80s.
I fooled around with them on and off for about a year.
Afterwards I would use them for practice now and then just for fun.
I have never used them much with a band because I never play music that requires them

I am now using the slave as a single pedal on my jazz kit.
The main pedal is in a storage container in my garage.

Try them if you want to.
They actually helped me with my hat playing!

The IC Jr's are OK.
I recently tried them while shopping for a new single.
I opted for an Iron Cobra single.
I like double chain Cobra better. It is a lot stronger and the footboard hinge is much better than the Jr's

What are we calling "up to speed"?

16ths @ 180? 200? 220? 240? 250?

What kind of music are you playing? If you're not playing something associated to metal or electronic then I'm not sure that double pedals are really all that necessary.

Maybe you could learn some clave instead?

Doubles are good for almost any genre. You dont have to play 240 bpm to use doubles.
I used to play Thrash Metal back in the day but now I use my doubles more for fills and accents.
They are required equipment IMO.

Homeularis said:

Doubles are good for almost any genre. You dont have to play 240 bpm to use doubles.
I used to play Thrash Metal back in the day but now I use my doubles more for fills and accents.
They are required equipment IMO.

Click to expand...

No one said you have to play 240bpm to use doubles. I use my double pedal(s) everyday but I wouldn't be so bold as to call them "required equipment".
That's a pretty big statement to make (especially on a forum like this).

He said its music from the fifties and sixties (which is why I inquired as to what genres he's mostly playing). This makes me think that double pedals (in beats, fills, or anything) may not be suitable stylistically. I'm guessing that he is playing covers.

From a general observation it would appear to me that it could well be more efficient (for 2bsticks) to invest time in something that would better enhance the music he is playing.

toddy said:

No one said you have to play 240bpm to use doubles. I use my double pedal(s) everyday but I wouldn't be so bold as to call them "required equipment".
That's a pretty big statement to make (especially on a forum like this).

He said its music from the fifties and sixties (which is why I inquired as to what genres he's mostly playing). This makes me think that double pedals (in beats, fills, or anything) may not be suitable stylistically. I'm guessing that he is playing covers.

From a general observation it would appear to me that it could well be more efficient (for 2bsticks) to invest time in something that would better enhance the music he is playing.

Click to expand...

Calm down Sparky, I wasent addressing you and there was nothing in my post that was disrespectful.
Did you see the IMO part?.
I also said that I use mine for accents and fills. All my opinions are valid "especially on a forum like this".
Did you actually read my post or what?.

Ok, The required part might be a little overkill but the point I'm trying to make is that it can expand your playing a bit just like I said in post #5.

I'm zen, no confrontation needed.
Ofcourse I saw the IMO part, everything on this forum generally is.
As for expanding your playing I agree with what you said, and in principle I thoroughly agree. I was simply trying to point out that it may be better for him to concentrate on something else to expand his playing. I'm not sure why we have any problem (at all).

As for sparky, if you mean bright spark then possibly.

No worries...I hate fighting, in fact I'm starting to tear up a little...jk.
All good.

Thanks for all the feedback on this. I realized at my gigs this past weekend that I am going to hold off on the double pedal. I know I would need time to work things out practicing before I would even consider taking a double pedal to a gig. Also the whole idea of setting it up and trying to make it fit between my snare and hi-hat stand for the amount of time I would use it is not worth it to me. Besides I do have other things that I am working on that will be more beneficial to my playing at this point in time.

Well i personally would go with the doubled pedal, i play all genres and jam all genres and it can be adapted to any music. You know there were people using double bass back in the 50's and 60's so i think it will fit in just fine. Its not that big of a deal carrying around one extra pedal either and if you have 4 or 5 inches to spare between your hat and snare you'll be fine. I don't think a double pedal or bass is required but look at any pro drummer these days i bet you'll see alot more with double then not. Just my opinion though no style is so exact and narrow that you can't incorporate any new system like double pedal into it.

i say grab the double pedal, its a heck of a lot of fun to play and it improves your coordination with your feet. ive heard from a lot of drummers that it helped them improve their hihat foot work too.

joeysnare said:

i say grab the double pedal, its a heck of a lot of fun to play and it improves your coordination with your feet. ive heard from a lot of drummers that it helped them improve their hihat foot work too.

Click to expand...

+1. I've been playing on two bass drums or on a double pedal for a long while. I would say that being able to free your hi hat foot from that anchor of the hi hat itself is a good thing. merely for the independence factor. It's nice to be able to play some opposite foot figures for no reason at all...

2bsticks said:

Thanks for all the feedback on this. I realized at my gigs this past weekend that I am going to hold off on the double pedal. I know I would need time to work things out practicing before I would even consider taking a double pedal to a gig. Also the whole idea of setting it up and trying to make it fit between my snare and hi-hat stand for the amount of time I would use it is not worth it to me. Besides I do have other things that I am working on that will be more beneficial to my playing at this point in time.

Click to expand...

no, no, no!!!! please reconsider

Double kicks are a lot of fun and, if nothing else, should strengthen the accuracy of your HH foot. Also, double KDs don't have to be loud - you can do "soft thunder" rumbling in the background that sounds awesome in some songs.