Learned my Lesson "try before you buy"

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Pimento

Senior Member
Well i must admit that ive totally learned this lesson. Years ago the IC was beign played by the big dudes in metal, i had heard belt driven was better for your knees (years of kneeling on steel as a welder really took its toll, extensive physio and taking it easy has fixed the issue for now)

Well for years i was in a band as mosto f you know that shunned any double kick work, which was fine, but now that im in a band that craves it, im learning that my iron cobras dont feel right to me at ALL. So i went to the local shop today to check out some new prospects on the "higher end" brands. I had been looking at the axis longboards, but some info about them made me look elsewhere, i tried a DW 5000, and man what a difference. I loved this pedal. I also went and tried out the Pearl Demon Drive pedal, and i must say, after 15 minutes of playing on an electric kit, my mind is now made up. I can play the same patterns on my IC, but on the demon drive it was EFFORTLESS.

So i can tell you, had i been open to pearl pedals earlier, i might be a happier drummer today and not looking to shell out $700 for a new pedal only a few years later.
 
Pimento said:
Well i must admit that ive totally learned this lesson. Years ago the IC was beign played by the big dudes in metal, i had heard belt driven was better for your knees (years of kneeling on steel as a welder really took its toll, extensive physio and taking it easy has fixed the issue for now)

Well for years i was in a band as mosto f you know that shunned any double kick work, which was fine, but now that im in a band that craves it, im learning that my iron cobras dont feel right to me at ALL. So i went to the local shop today to check out some new prospects on the "higher end" brands. I had been looking at the axis longboards, but some info about them made me look elsewhere, i tried a DW 5000, and man what a difference. I loved this pedal. I also went and tried out the Pearl Demon Drive pedal, and i must say, after 15 minutes of playing on an electric kit, my mind is now made up. I can play the same patterns on my IC, but on the demon drive it was EFFORTLESS.

So i can tell you, had i been open to pearl pedals earlier, i might be a happier drummer today and not looking to shell out $700 for a new pedal only a few years later.
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Not necessarily, depending on when you were looking the demon drive probably wasn't out and the fact it's direct drive it dramatically affects how the pedal feels and reacts compared to chain and strap. I don't believe pearl had a direct drive pedal out prior to the demon drive.

Hope you didn't drop $700 on it because there are plenty of places that sell it ALLOT cheaper!!! If you haven't bought it yet you might also want to check out the yamaha line of direct drive pedals.
 
The demon drive was $700, but im ok with paying for the extra service at the shop i know im going to get.

I tried the yamaha, its really a toss up between the Axis, Demon drive, and the DW 5000. Those all felt the best to me.

I also must compliment Yamaha on their new foam pads, i really liked the feeling of the kit i played, not 100% acoustic feeling, but closer than most.
 
700 hundred dollars on a pedal? I don't own kits that expensive.

I'm no pedal expert, but I have a hard time believing sub 300 dollar pedals
are not as good as 700 dollar ones. Wow. Didn't even know a 700 dollar pedal existed.
 
Frank said:
700 hundred dollars on a pedal? I don't own kits that expensive.

I'm no pedal expert, but I have a hard time believing sub 300 dollar pedals
are not as good as 700 dollar ones. Wow. Didn't even know a 700 dollar pedal existed.
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the Axis is almost 800 in my neck of the woods and several others are well over 500, all depends on what part of the planet youre buying at...

congrats on the new pedal pimento! im heading out again today looking at pedals myself, trying to decide between the Eliminator, Speedcobra and Yamaha directdrive - my trouble is that ive never played double pedals before, so i have been changing my mind every other week, tricky...
 
Ainulindale said:
the Axis is almost 800 in my neck of the woods and several others are well over 500, all depends on what part of the planet youre buying at...

congrats on the new pedal pimento! im heading out again today looking at pedals myself, trying to decide between the Eliminator, Speedcobra and Yamaha directdrive - my trouble is that ive never played double pedals before, so i have been changing my mind every other week, tricky...
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Yeah, ive been in your shoes before. Honestly,. i would limit my choices to what you can get your hands on and play, then play each one for a bit and see what one you like better.

The test i used wasnt speed but it was the "How easy is it for mr to keep an 8th note roll going at roughly 120 bpm" since you can develop speed with practice, it just made sense to me to have the basics be easy
 
Pimento said:
Yeah, ive been in your shoes before. Honestly,. i would limit my choices to what you can get your hands on and play, then play each one for a bit and see what one you like better.

The test i used wasnt speed but it was the "How easy is it for mr to keep an 8th note roll going at roughly 120 bpm" since you can develop speed with practice, it just made sense to me to have the basics be easy
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thanks for the tip man, i got to play all three today and i really like the Speedcobra, its just so easy to play, buttery smooth...
 
Yeah, i dont have an issue with power, i have long ass tree trunk legs so the lighter pedals seem to work a little better for me......thought itd be the other way around, but thats how i got into this mess
 
Ainulindale said:
thanks for the tip man, i got to play all three today and i really like the Speedcobra, its just so easy to play, buttery smooth...
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I tested about a dozen pedals (they were on e-kits which worried me a little) including demon drive,axis,trick,dw's but feel in love with the speed cobra it was the one that seemed completely effortless..after about 3 weeks on my acuostic kit I've noticed a big difference in my playing...for me they are great double pedals!!!
 
braincramp said:
I tested about a dozen pedals (they were on e-kits which worried me a little) including demon drive,axis,trick,dw's but feel in love with the speed cobra it was the one that seemed completely effortless..after about 3 weeks on my acuostic kit I've noticed a big difference in my playing...for me they are great double pedals!!!
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effortless is the word, picked up my new SpeedCobra today - love it!
 
Ainulindale said:
effortless is the word, picked up my new SpeedCobra today - love it!
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I am right there with you. After much debate, in my own head, I decided on the Speed Cobras'. So far so good. I just played a gig last Saturday with them and after dialing them in, they were great!

It took a bit of time to get them dialed in. Further, the main beater kept moving back on me and destroying the top of my foot(still have a nice bruise there). I decided to really crank that baby down and it stayed in place..for now; I have yet to play them since the show. I do love the feel of these, but I fear the quality is not that high. They feel a bit cheap in certain areas when adjusting and such. After using the case all of 3 times the one plastic latch snapped off, okay no biggie. My concern is the longevity of pedal mechanism's themselves. Only time will tell....

I do see Axis or Trick in my future; for the time being though I hope the SC's hold up. FYI, I am not a hard player, quite the opposite. When one has a long foot board it is easy to "lay into them" in slower passages; at least for me it is. I tend to play back on the foot board in quick passages and then back to heel-toe in the not so quick passages.

I think I am going to start a "Speed Cobra Longevity" thread. Anyone and everyone whom is playing these please feel free to chime in!
 
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