Super noob Speed King question

HatedRonnie

Junior Member
I am so new to drums I'm still getting new callouses on my hands and the only pedal I have found that I like is a speed king. My question is should I be playing this thing heel up or heel down? The heel plat is locked (should I unlock it?) and if I have the throne up high I feel better heel up and lower heel down. I feel faster heel up but am new enough to teach myself to go either way. I know this is a random ass long question but any help would be awesome. Thanks.
 
There's no "should", really. Play it however you want to play it. In the locked position, that benefits heel down, in that the footboard extended gives your heel a leverage point.​
Unlocking the heel plate, and flipping it around, gives you a raised (primitive, though it might be) heel block. I love the Speed King. I just wish I could play one better, now. But as part of my pedal collection, well, no collection should be without one.​
This greatly improves the Speed King, in my opinion.​
 

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Heel up and down aren't mutually exclusive options. You use both, depending on what you're playing.
 
First make sure your legs are at 90 degrees to the floor, then see if heel up or down is more comfortable for you.
 
Thanks guys, if I sit legs level to the floor I seem to play faster heel up. Heel down my legs wear out fast for some reason, probably just lack of use in that way.
 
Look at some Thomas Lang in reguards to playing heel up, or down. To hell with sticking with one technique. Play heel down as much as you can and build the muscles, and then play heel up when neccesary. Try to keep the two evenly developed and then play with both. As Thomas Lang explains it, playing with heel up all the time is not dynamic. With a little training and development, you can get the same power and speed out of heel down. You should switch out between the two often to better preserve yourself and build stamina.
 
Toddmc nailed it on the head. In my experience, the most important aspect of bass drum playing is your leg angle. If it's not sitting at just past 90 degrees, you're losing speed, strength, and stamina. Make sure that you're adjusting to accommodate that.

As far as heel up or heel down, it has to do with preference, playing style, and possibly the song. Don't think that learning one now will keep you from using the other! I started of playing punk rock and used a heel up technique but I found that my legs got tired pretty quickly since I was new. I spent the next couple years playing funk and some contemporary music (mainly because its what I could find a band for) and trained my heel-down playing. Strengthening that "shin" muscle has really helped my stamina and consistency. Once again, I changed styles and did some Hard core music, which almost requires playing heel-up. (Some people can do incredible double bass heel-down, but the majority sticks to heel-up).

Now when I play, I sit with my heel on the pedal and play like that. If the song gets bigger, I might bring my heel off. It really just has to do with experience and what's comfortable for what you're playing.

So don't stress! Just keep playing and take a whack at the other one every now and then!
 
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