An ironic observation

There's also the issue of the parallel evolution of playing techniques and pedals.

The best example of this is probably proper heel/toe technique and long board pedals. Most people simply can't do heel/toe on a standard pedal, and have to adopt some variation of the technique or get a longer pedal.

That's not to say everyone is looking to modify their playing or type of pedal they use. For almost the whole time I've been playing, I played heel down/single pedal, and can do that pretty well with almost any pedal. Of course, some are easier or faster than others.
Some people do that forever and don't care to venture outside what works for them, and that's just fine.
It's only recently that I've been trying other techniques, and seeing some pedals are better suited to them than others.
 
Totally agree, wildbill. I remember trying out a Tama Speed Cobra at the store and started playing heel-toe almost instinctively. Very different feel to the pedal -- in comparison to the Pearl Eliminator I was coming from -- since the angle to the chain is smaller than it would be if it was a short board at the same height too, not too sure what implication that would have.

I kind of got the feeling that a longboard would work very well for a dancing kind of footstyle, but couldn't get the Speed Cobra to grow on me in the 10 minutes I played there. Plus, the piece looked like B-stock the store owner was trying to pawn off to me at full price, so I had a negative perception from the start.

I really liked the cobra coil spring, works really well if you can make use of it. I really want to try out more pedals, but seem to have run out of time to take a decision... Wish I could take a Speed King for a test run, seems really nifty and simple.

On the subject of new vs old., is more complex and more adjustments a good thing? Or bad?

- Reggae Mangle
 
On the subject of new vs old., is more complex and more adjustments a good thing? Or bad?
- Reggae Mangle
Unless they're poorly designed in the first place or they adversely affect the functionality of the pedal, I don't see how having more adjustments rather than less can be a bad thing.
If you're someone who likes to tweak their pedals to the Nth degree you can go for it and if not you can usually play them "out of the box".
 
I've owned DW3000 Double beater, surprisingly broke the foot plate during a set.
Bought the DW5000 used (mainly because my brother used them, and loved how he played)
I sold those for a new set of Iron Cobra's (with wooden beaters, IDK why?) It felt like I was running through mud.

I went back to the DW5000's I'm currently using. I took all of the weights off, put on those Slim beaters (IDK what they are called, but come from the Iron Cobra's?)

They're lighter, pretty comfortable (probably more comfortable once I go from the 24" BD to a 20" BD)

Sometimes I do find most other pedals more controllable than mine, simply because I've been lazy and need to tune/fix my gear.

Never paid over $150 bucks for a set of pedals. My friend had the DW9000's and he wanted to trade me for my 5's. HA
 
Unless they're poorly designed in the first place or they adversely affect the functionality of the pedal, I don't see how having more adjustments rather than less can be a bad thing.
If you're someone who likes to tweak their pedals to the Nth degree you can go for it and if not you can usually play them "out of the box".

Fewer adjustments can makes things a lot easier, in my experience.

I'm very much a non-tweaker now. In the past, I was a tweaker and was constantly changing the settings on everything I owned. It nearly got to the point that I was trying to compensate technique for settings. In the end, I realised I just had to leave everything alone once it was comfortable and work on my technique - no matter what the pedal.

I can now dial a pedal in to where I want it within thirty seconds, provided it hasn't got a hundred adjustments. It is personal but I really loathe anything with over-specific or overly-niche settings. Too often, they're the things that get broken by people like me with hams for hands and too little patience.
 
The original double bass pedal was a monstrosity that had a bent slave beater to allow it to strike near center and the slave itself was awful. No double bass player yearns for the days of the original DW double pedals.

True enough! I still have my original bent-beater single-chain DW5000 monstrosity bought new when it first came out, and it still works perfectly well (at least, as well as that whacked-out slave can possibly work). I have always loved the feel of that original single-chain master though, especially once I installed the ball-bearing hinges, and I have never used the slave enough for it to have pissed me off *that* badly.

I never found anything that would beat that master until I bought my nearly-as-old used strap drive (with the more modern integrated slave/master casting, but the old small bearing sizes), and replaced all the bearings. I've since bought another identical strapper for the E-kit. I keep telling myself to sell the old Frankenstein double, but I just can't make myself do it. It is indeed a pedal that only its mother could love. But I might need that master again someday...

What I *ought* to do is sell some of the other 4 or 5 pedals I have laying around that didn't make the cut. Argh. Still, restored semi-old-school pedals can be a big bang-for-the-buck leader. I'll let other folks be the ones to cut their throats on the bleeding edge of technology at this point!
 
Unless they're poorly designed in the first place or they adversely affect the functionality of the pedal, I don't see how having more adjustments rather than less can be a bad thing.

Fewer adjustments can makes things a lot easier, in my experience.


Very contrary schools of thought.

My question stems from a persecution disorder. The day after I set my pedal the way I want it and leave my house, people change the settings so that I can be "controlled"....

Got so bad I had to get rid of my Eliminators... Does that mean the bad guys won?

(!)

- Reggae Mangle
 
You'll have to explain this one to me. While I can understand buying vintage drums to get that vintage sound, why go for vintage pedals as well (other than to keep the whole kit old Skool)? To get that vintage, not-so-great feel of yesteryear (but whatever feels good to the individual I guess)?

Yes, whatever works best for you in the end, the latest design or a vintage pedal, but don't under estimate some old " vintage" designs, some current models are still being build using the very same basic function/structure as their "vintage" counterparts.

On the subject of new vs old., is more complex and more adjustments a good thing? Or bad?

It depends on the person I guess, but I'd say it's better to have more, who can do more can do less, so with certain pedals, you can almost reproduce the "feel" of many other pedals.

If you're an experienced player, chances are you'll know what you want and what works for you, and this can help in the pedal choices.

However, a beginner or intermediate player might not have found his/her best suited technique/feel/need etc, so a pedal which can be morphed into many different "settings" and "feel", like the Mapex Falcon, for exemple, can be an advantage for those players.

Incidentally, when Tama released the Camco in 1981 - 82, it had some featured adjustment readily avaible, you were able to adjust the footplate and the beater angle, independently form each other, but at set angles on the pedal.
 
Henri, I'm going to disagree with your assertion that more adjustable pedals may be better for beginners.

In my own experience, having too many adjustments early on means that a player can sometimes try to adjust the pedal too much in the first months of their playing. Rather than learning a basic technique and then tweaking the pedal to taste, many players instead try to make the pedal work for them without developing a fundamental technique initially. Furthermore, if the pedal settings are changed frequently (every day, for instance) in the first months of playing, this can actually hinder the development of embryonic technique.

I'll draw an analogy with sticks. I doubt many of us here would recommend a new player playing with a different set of sticks every day - of different weights, lengths, tapers, etc. Doing so may hinder the development of a coherent technique. Instead, the common advice is to go for a stick somewhere in the middle (like a 5A) and work from there after the basic technique has been formed.

I feel the same way about pedals. Set the tension, angle, etc. somewhere in the middle and then - after technique has been developed - adjust to taste.
 
Henri, I'm going to disagree with your assertion that more adjustable pedals may be better for beginners.

In my own experience, having too many adjustments early on means that a player can sometimes try to adjust the pedal too much in the first months of their playing. Rather than learning a basic technique and then tweaking the pedal to taste, many players instead try to make the pedal work for them without developing a fundamental technique initially. Furthermore, if the pedal settings are changed frequently (every day, for instance) in the first months of playing, this can actually hinder the development of embryonic technique.

I'll draw an analogy with sticks. I doubt many of us here would recommend a new player playing with a different set of sticks every day - of different weights, lengths, tapers, etc. Doing so may hinder the development of a coherent technique. Instead, the common advice is to go for a stick somewhere in the middle (like a 5A) and work from there after the basic technique has been formed.

I feel the same way about pedals. Set the tension, angle, etc. somewhere in the middle and then - after technique has been developed - adjust to taste.

Totally agree Duncan, a good basic fundamental approach is what's required for a beginner for the few steps into drumming life, my post was more about pedal choices, is it better to have more than less for your hard earned money, as I said, who can do more can do less, you can certainly set a multi-adjsutemnts pedal "somewhere in the middle" as you put it, and I wasn't implying changing the setting every couple of hours, lol, but when you're ready, you can adjust to taste :)

Why buying so many pedals? if you can buy one that can do it all... back then when I chosed the Camco in the early 80's, I played the pedal for over 28 years, but it was getting a bit tired, lol.

I still recommend a new starter/intermediate player to purchase a pedal of good quality with adjustments, they'll save money in the long run, so many guys buy and change pedals every so often, I don't get it, buy the best you can, once, it will deliver for years to come.

That's the difference with experienced or pro players, they know what works and what doesn't, a beginner doesn't know.
 
Camco pedal is awesome, I have one from the mid 80's.....didn't realize just how good that pedal was till I just got a 3000.
 
Harking back to the OP. I has a Speed King for a long time and always liked it. I now have a new Trick pedal and it's brilliant - extremely adjustable and generally feels good. Wasn't keen on the beater, though. I like felt.
 
Harking back to the OP. I has a Speed King for a long time and always liked it. I now have a new Trick pedal and it's brilliant - extremely adjustable and generally feels good. Wasn't keen on the beater, though. I like felt.

Wow Grae - a Trick pedal and those new Guru's? What's going on over there? We definitely want photos!
 
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