Adjusting pedals

Sorry for the newbie question but I have been trying to adjust my Mapex 900 series kick pedal and I get it to where it feels good with a single kick (a really good WHACK!) but when I try to do multiple kicks, the first one WHACKS and the rest kinda peter out with slack in the chain. How can I adjust it to give a positive WHACK every time I kick (even fast). I tightened and loosened the spring, I moved the beater back farther but then it hits the top of my foot. It's almost like the foot peal is not off the ground enough, is there a way to raise the pedal and maintain the proper distance of the beater? Thanks for any advice.....
 
Here is a few pictures if it helps....

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Thanks again!
 
Kind of hard to tell from that pic but what size kick are you playing and are you hitting the center of the head or above center? Seems like you have the beater shaft out there pretty far. What kind of tension do you have your batter and reso set to?
 
Kind of hard to tell from that pic but what size kick are you playing and are you hitting the center of the head or above center? Seems like you have the beater shaft out there pretty far. What kind of tension do you have your batter and reso set to?

It's a 22" and I think it's just a little above center. I haven't really changed the tension on the heads yet because I don't really know how to tune them up. They seem pretty tight..... Thanks for the response.
 
First thing I'd do is lower the beater position to center or just below center. It takes more work to swing that beater extended out like that. Secondly you should look into how to tune your bass drum and adjust the tension of the heads to find the best feel for you and the best sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UBl_UzXUE&feature=related

Thanks so much I'll get right to it. I'm going to start from scratch with all of my drums and tune them up. Thanks again!
 
If you haven't check out the other videos that Bob Gatzen has up they are awesome. I think starting with head tension would be the best place to start for your problem. It can have a dramatic effect on how your beater bounces and reacts.

Also there are to screws above the spring, not sure what they are for have you adjusted those or can you tell what they possibly adjust?
 
I don't know if this will work for you but you can try it. I tune my toms and snare to notes I don't do this for my bass drum. My bass drum batter I start finger tight and turn the drum key to 6 o'clock on every lug (12 o'clock being your starting point)
6 oclock is 1/2 turn. From there I even out the pitches for each lug and I'm good. I use a clear ps3 batter.

For the reso I use a ported ebony ambassador, so I go to 9 o'clock for each lug and then even out. The reason I go higher on my reso is to cut the sustain a bit (since I'm using a single ply reso) If I was to use a ps3 reso I would probably tune front and back the same in order to increase sustain. so 6' oclock both sides. Um. It really helps having someone kick the drum while you dial in the reso for the first time, when you get it down then its just a matter of repeating what you did initially.

Again this may or maynot work for you, just make sure that you at least have a clear tone from the head before you start fine tuning. For me I find with the ps3 on my drum it doesn't take much to get a clear tone. It may be different for another drum. Experimentation is key.

good luck.
 
Thanks guys. I think I have my bass drum, toms, and snare all tuned in the way I like them but I am still having an impossible time with this kick pedal. I have taken it apart and tried every adjustment there is and it still hits very weak. I can get one good whap out of it and then it just gets mushy and wont hit good. You can barely hear it sometimes and I am kicking it pretty hard. I would be worn out if I had to kick that hard every time..... It's like it has to be cocked each time. Is it just a piece of crap or me???
 
get a new pedal ive never liked mapex pedals get something you can truely adjust and get right sell the mapex buy an eliminator or a dw 9000
 
Hey Brain,

From looking at the pictures, it's looks to me like the beater is resting too close to the head. So, I suggest bringing the beater back an inch or two.... maybe more. Your footboard angle looks OK so try and adjust it the beater seperately from the footboard. By bringing the beater back you will get more rebound which will give you more volume. Think of it this way... if you are playing a drum with the stick two inches from the head it will be softer than if the stick is four inches from the head.

I would also raise the beater a bit as well. If the beater is too short you will not get very much volume out of the drum. Here's another stick analogy: Having the beater positioned low is like playing a drum while gripping the stick in the middle. When you strick the drum there is less volume due to the amount of wood between your grip and the tip of the stick. Move your hand back and you will automatically get more volume.

Hope that helps!

Mike Packer
 
Thanks for the help guys. I thought that the best sound comes from hitting the drum head in the center of it? Is this true? If so, I don't have too much room to play with in the position of the beater. I actually had to shorten it from the position in the picture to get it to strike the center..... The adjustments on the pedal just don't seem to make it hit on the second and subsequent kicks. It just plain peters out like the chain slacks up....
 
On kick drums 18-22" I don't think you need to worry too much about hitting the skin dead center....Mine isn't because it just doesn't work the same because the shaft length is too short, and I get plenty of punch....
 
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