pedal, bass drum set up Catalina Maple

whaz

Member
I got a Catalina Maple kit for my kid for a very late xmas present and it's set up ok it seems, except the bass drum to bass pedal connection (Gibraltar 5611, I think, single pedal) seems weird. The problem (if it is) is that the heel of the pedal doesn't sit flat on the rug when the pedal is attached to the bass drum rim. So when your heel pushes the pedal down it moves the bass drum and all attached to it upward, which seems very wrong. The kick pedal is supposed to move the skin, not the whole kit! right? I did elevate the bass drum about an inch off the carpet using the legs, and this made things slightly better, but clearly didn't fix the problem.

What I don't understand about this pedal is that the base angles up a few degrees at the toe part of the pedal. This seems to indicate that the rim should come in at an angle to allow the base to stay flat. Instead, even with the bass drum raised by the front legs, the point at which the angle starts on the pedal functions as a rocker, raising and lowering the bass drum when pressure is applied to the heel of the pedal. This is surely is not what is supposed to happen.

Anyway sorry for long post, any help appreciated. I'm prolly missing something obvious . . .
 
Interesting, Please put up a pic so we can see what is happening better.
It sounds like some sort of a clamping issue with the pedal.
If you lift the front of the bass drum up slightly higher will the problem go away?
If the pedal is not clamped tight enough this can happen.
 
If the carpet in the room is thick and padded and then you put a drum rug down the layers of carpet can be too spongy and the problem can occur.
 
thx for the response. No, further raising the front of the drum doesn't help. If I could raise the back of the drum where it attaches to the pedal that would do it. However that seems silly. Is it just me or does a lot of drum hardware seem overengineered these days? About a thousand tons of metal arrived with this kit. Anyway, that's beside the point.

I'm not quite connected enough recently to post pics --it's on the list of things to do in the 21st century, ha.
 
OK, so it's not the carpet.
The only time that I have had a pedal rock and the back of a pedal come up is when the pedal was not clamped properly to the hoop or the carpet was thick and spongy.

Gretsch Catalina kits are well designed and Gibraltar hardware is also well designed.
I just ordered all Gibraltar hardware for my new Mapex Saturn kit.
I swear by Gibraltar hardware.
You bought real nice stuff for your son.
There is a lot of highly engineered components in things like hardware and tom mounts these days. I myself just got used to suspension mounts.
I hated them at first but they grew on me and I understand them now.
I'm sure that you will solve the problem.
 
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Yeah, I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. It seems like it must have something to do with the clamp. I'm gonna have an experienced drummer look at it in the next couple days, just thought I'd see if I could figger it out through the interweb first. Thx for the replies, I really appreciate it.
 
Also make sure that the bass plate of the pedal is sitting flat on the floor and it does not skew from one side to the other when the clamp is tightened. When you have it tightened, use the tip of your finger to feel if both sides of the floor plate are making contact with the floor. Also make sure that the front of the bass drum is not ridding too high. I have mine adjusted just high enough to get the tips of my fingers under the front hoop of the drum.

Dennis
 
Bum... I've just posted a reply to this thread in another version of it, sorry, wasn't aware that a duplicate was around. :)
 
yeah, sorrry about that duplicate, my bad. I tried to delete it but couldn't find the option!? to do so.
 
Also make sure that the bass plate of the pedal is sitting flat on the floor and it does not skew from one side to the other when the clamp is tightened. When you have it tightened, use the tip of your finger to feel if both sides of the floor plate are making contact with the floor. Also make sure that the front of the bass drum is not ridding too high. I have mine adjusted just high enough to get the tips of my fingers under the front hoop of the drum.

Dennis

yeah I tried different heights and now set to how you have yours, no difference.

In order to get the base plate to sit flat I have to actually raise the bass drum about an inch
where it attaches to the pedal. Then of course when I let the bass drum down the heel of the pedal pops up. There is very little up and down play available in the clamp so I can't open it widely enough to allow the pedal to sit flat. Yikes. The only options I can imagine as someone fairly unfamiliar with all this are to either put some sort of support under the bass drum where the pedal attaches or to wrangle up some sort of shim for the heel of the pedal base. Both of which seem at least a little nuts in this day and age, ha.

I'll prolly talk to the folks I bought it from 2morrow to see if they can help.
 
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