Ludwig Speed King pedal...Quality?

Drummertist

Silver Member
I just wanted to ask about Ludwig's Speed King pedal. Looks cool with the direct drive and everything but wanted to know about the build quality and smoothness.

What are it's pro's and cons?

Thanks,
 
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I just wanted to ask about Ludwig's Speed King pedal. Looks cool with the direct drive and everything but wanted to know about the build quality and smoothness.

What are it's pro's and cons?

Thanks,

It's Noisy, mine use to squeak. It's Not a Fast pedal.
It would NOT be a 1st choice pedal..
I think I gave mine away..
 
The quality is good, but as mentioned, they're not everyone's cup of tea. It's a classic design with virtually no improvements in 50+ years, and pedals in the '60s and '70s began surpassing it as far as speed, smoothness, and power. I love Ludwig, and bless their hearts for keeping the pedal alive, but I can name 20 other pedals that play better. Even Ludwig's "Pro" pedals (made by Gibraltar I think) are better pedals, and less expensive! In fact, those are some of the best pedals for the money.

Bermuda
 
Quality is excellent.
Speed: Fast (Listened to a dude named Bonham recently?)

That said, I used both a SK & a Pearl P2000C Eliminator. Both have very different "feel". However, you can't beat the SK for simplicity, reliability & ease of use. On the flip side, the technology in the P2000C allows me to configure the pedal for any mood I'm in at any time.

Peace
 
Well what are some of the pro's and con's of Ludwig's "Pro" pedals?
How do they compare to pedals like Iron Cobra, DW's, Pearls, or Trick's?
 
You need to put your foot on one, and play one. If you like the feel of the Speed King, if you find it a comfortable pedal, those are positives. If you don't like the feel, and you can't get comfortable with it, those would be negatives. The ball is always in "your court", not ours, when dealing with pedal selection.
 
Well what are some of the pro's and con's of Ludwig's "Pro" pedals?
How do they compare to pedals like Iron Cobra, DW's, Pearls, or Trick's?

First, Trick is in another league altogether, the DW9000 and Pearl Demon are a close 2nd. Pearl's Eliminator is third, and I'd say the Pro and Iron Cobra are just under the Eliminator and pretty comparable to each other - both sweet pedals - with the Pro being about $50 less than the IC.

Just my 3¢, having owned the Trick, IC, Eliminator & DW, and played the Demon at NAMM quite a bit.

Bermuda
 
i have to disagree with most people here, I've never had any speed issues with the speed king but i grew up playing one so it was the only pedal i knew until i was 18. I think that the speed king is as fast as any other pedal. period. I think it has to do more with the compressed spring action than anything else. Ludwig needs to modernize it though with better parts, the original design is basically unchanged from 1937 and for smoothness, any modern pedal will be way smoother. As for direct drive, i think there's way too much emphasis on strap v chain v direct. They all do the same thing. The only clear advantage i see is on the trick's 3 way or demon's 2 way positioning, but to me, if you replaced it with the same length of strap, it would be doing the same thing.
 
The Speed King is definitely a classic. The guys at the music sttore used to joke around and call it the "Slow King," but I think it's as good as your foot. Bonham certainly didn't have any problems with it.
 
Sled King... Squeak King... :)
 
Ludwig needs to modernize it though with better parts, the original design is basically unchanged from 1937 and for smoothness, any modern pedal will be way smoother.
If they did that, it wouldn't be a Speed King. As it is, Ludwig basically only sells the SK to Bonhammites, old school purists, and pedal collectors. Ludwig makes (and has for a while) better pedals. And very few people buy them. When you can pick one up off eBay for $25-$75, why buy a new one for $119? Last one I bought cost me $25. Here's a home mod., that makes it a "better" pedal, I think. A floor plate.
 

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As I recall from my old days of using nothing but a SK, they seem to rebound faster and with more force than most other pedals. Like someone else posted earlier, I really think Ludwig was on to something by using two compression springs in the posts rather than a single expansive spring on the outside. It's too bad they never took this design into the 1970's and beyond. It seems that after WFL sold Ludwig, their product innovation effort got frozen in time.
 
If they did that, it wouldn't be a Speed King. As it is, Ludwig basically only sells the SK to Bonhammites, old school purists, and pedal collectors.


That's a good point, Harry, from a collectors standpoint, it's very cool to be able to match up a brand new speed king to a newly restored vintage kit. I've been waiting for ludwig to modernize the spring compression pedal though now for like 20 years and i finally ended up buying the Trick pedal for the compression action. I don't see why they can't have 2 pedals of the same action though, one a "classic" and the other one "modern". I'd be the first guy to buy a speed king with a modern long board foot plate, adjustible beater, multi-position direct drive linkage and of course... NINJA BEARINGS!!!!!! Kowabunga!!!!!!!
 

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The new ones imho aren't like the one I had in the 60's.Jim Petty at jp2creations,reconditions old ones.They come out just like the vintage original,complete with a new powdercoating.
 
I think its very different then modern pedals. I own a vintage speed king and love it. Modern pedals are all about going as fast as you can. The speed king is for more control I feel. It sticks to your foot better(cause of the twin springs), is smoother then any pedal i feel, and the control lets you do intercit patterns. If you buy one, it doesn't matter what pedal you've been playing, a SK is a whole different feel. So if you find one at a shop or such, play it for a good 1/2hr or more so you can really get used to it, and then determine when your used to it if it fits your needs. The quality is second to none, and the pedals are designed so you can replace anywith with basic home tools. Not little custom made gagdets that cost a lot and only work for 1 pedal. I like a foot board to really stick to my feet, so if your like me and have the springs tightened up high to get control, then a SK would be a good choice. Instead of having 1 spring tighten up tight(creating drag, and friction, slowing your performance), have 2(like in the SK) tightened up 1/2 of what you did with the other pedal. So the pedal with still be smoother, and stick to your foot.
 
I had the Speed King on my Holiday Rogers kit back in the very early 70's. Was pretty good, then I switched to the Rogers swivomatic. The Rogers swivomatic for me was a much faster pedal, and had much better rebound. The SK was good, but the Rogers was night and day over the SK.
Giving my age away! LOL
 
It is not the most modern pedal, for sure, and yes, they can squeak ("Since I've Been Lovin' You", anyone?)

But I played Speed Kings for years... and so did Bonzo, and so did Peart, and so did many drummers. They have stayed around because they work.

As with any pedal, the feel is going to suit some and not suit others. Play before you buy, as with anything else if possible.
 
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