Slipping bass drum beater?

Hi there. Quick question, more out of curiosity at this point than anything.

Many years ago I bought a double kick pedal. The pedal had only one screw per beater shaft, and the beaters repeatedly slipped out during playing. I would retighten them but they would just come loose again within seconds. I finally ended up having someone drill a notch into the beater shafts where the screws would fit and that solved the problem.

I no longer have that pedal. Today I am using a mid-range pedal with *two* screws holding the beaters in, and have never had a problem with them slipping out. BUT as I look at my options for better pedals down the road, I would want to avoid a repeat of that issue.

I am a bit surprised that most pro-level pedals only seem to use one screw per beater.

Has anyone had any issues with beaters slipping out? Have you been able to fix this in ways that don't involve goop or messy stuff? Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

Cheap screws, as in soft metal or wear and tear will result in a lack of holding strength over time to the point of it not holding anymore. How can that be fixed on those worn out areas I'm not sure but that's generally what would cause this problem. I guess Lock-tite on the screw would work that's if it's still able to be threaded.

Honestly I've never experienced a beater slipping out like that, whether it's on floor model Pearl double pedals, DW 3000's or Tama IC's. The single screw has yet to fail me but I also don't over tighten and it seems the stuff I bought was made with decent materials.

I should add that the pedal was like that brand new out of the box. Straight away the beaters constantly slipped.

What was the name of the pedal? Could be that the screws were cheap metal or that the shafts of the beater were too small? Though like I say I haven't had this problem on a wide range of pedals that I've owned.

XplosiveDrummer said:

What was the name of the pedal? Could be that the screws were cheap metal or that the shafts of the beater were too small? Though like I say I haven't had this problem on a wide range of pedals that I've owned.

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It was one of the Flying Dragon pedals from Yamaha. Of course those have been discontinued and they have those newer ones now.

Oh wow. Yeah I'm not sure about those. I'm sure there are some who really know that series of pedals so maybe they'll chime in at some point.

What were you thinking of getting down the road?

XplosiveDrummer said:

Oh wow. Yeah I'm not sure about those. I'm sure there are some who really know that series of pedals so maybe they'll chime in at some point.

What were you thinking of getting down the road?

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There are so many to choose from I would be hard pressed to decide. I was looking into the newer Yamahas since overall I liked the ones I had. I am not sure how they compare to the old ones though. Seems some of the features have been removed. Also nobody seems to carry them locally. I wonder if Yamaha has backed out of the pedal market somewhat.

I am wanting to try my hand at speed metal, 200+ BPM extended double kick drumming. So I would want a pedal that is responsive enough for that kind of playing. My current pedal is a mid-range PDP I bought about seven years ago and it has held up well. I have been practicing what I can on it but I am not sure if it is the best for that kind of music.

But overall, since I play a wide variety of music I would want a pedal that is solid and versatile. Not one specifically designed for metalheads or some other demographic.

I am not inclined to run out and buy an Axis or Trick pedal, as I feel with some practice I could probably do what I want to do on a less expensive pedal. Although if I really ended up liking them who knows. I am not a fan of DW for various reasons, though I am open to the PDP line.

Km6543 said:

Has anyone had any issues with beaters slipping out? Have you been able to fix this in ways that don't involve goop or messy stuff?

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How big is your beater?

If the shaft isnt big enough for the opening, then I'm afraid goop and messy stuff is unavoidable.

PS- Are you using too much lubricant, by any chance?


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Km6543 said:

...Many years ago I bought a double kick pedal. The pedal had only one screw per beater shaft, and the beaters repeatedly slipped out during playing. I would retighten them but they would just come loose again within seconds. ..

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Assuming there weren't stripped threads from the factory (you'd be able to tell because you wouldn't be able to feel it tighten down),

the only thing I can think of that might cause that would be that the screws were too short - long enough to feel like it tightened, (but it was really bottoming out on the casting),
but too short to get a good hold on the shaft. Seems pretty unlikely from a company like Yamaha, but I guess stranger things have happened.

Km6543 said:

... I was looking into the newer Yamahas since overall I liked the ones I had. I am not sure how they compare to the old ones though. Seems some of the features have been removed. Also nobody seems to carry them locally. I wonder if Yamaha has backed out of the pedal market somewhat...

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Yamaha offers a pretty good selection of pedals - belt, chain, direct drive, in single and doubles: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/drums/hardware/footpedals/

I've got 3 sets of Yamaha doubles and a whole bunch of singles, and have never had a problem with loose beaters.

I understand some people had problems with the Flying Dragons. One of my sets is a 9315dp - it looks like a FD, but without the foot board decals. It was a model or two after the FD's.

Here's what Yamaha says about the beater thing now: "....The hole in the beater hubs are tear drop shaped so it securely holds the beater shafts and keeps the new two-sided beaters from spinning...'

I'm sure you saw my thread about the set I got yesterday: http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110141

Anyways - I have no problem recommending any of the Yamaha pedals to anyone. They make just about anything someone would want, and their prices are usually middle range - not super cheap, but not outrageously expensive either.

Maybe use a drill stop.