Two Questions on Basic Pedal Adjustments

Here's a question on basic pedal adjustments (doesn't matter the brand):

If a player feels like the pedal does not react quick enough to allow me to play doubles quickly (think: Bonham), is the spring tension too loose or too tight? Would the foot board angle have anything to do with that issue?

Second question: in a double bass pedal set-up (master/slave configuration), should the slave pedal have an equal amount of bounces from the head to a resting position as does the master pedal? Or, is some energy naturally lost to not allow that?

Thanks.

Footboard/beater reaction is very subjective. Some prefer a looser tension so the beater can move faster, and others like it tighter so the footboard doesn't "get away" from the foot, which can result in loss of control.

It also depends on how hard you step on the pedal, often governed by the volume you need. If playing lighter, your feet are more agile than having to expend the energy to play harder, so there's better speed and articulation. In that case, less spring tension makes the job easier.

Know also that footboard height, beater angle, cam positioning, and where you place your foot on the footboard, do affect how the pedal plays. But it's all personal preference, like snare height, tuning, tom angles, cymbal placement, stick size, finishes, etc.

AND... longboards require a bit more effort than standard footboard lengths (it's a basic leverage thing.) Let's put it this way, Bonham would not like playing a longboard.

Best bet is to play with the adjustments until the pedal reacts the way you like. Shouldn't take long to dial in, maybe 10-15 minutes?

Bermuda

vxla said:

Second question: in a double bass pedal set-up (master/slave configuration), should the slave pedal have an equal amount of bounces from the head to a resting position as does the master pedal? Or, is some energy naturally lost to not allow that?

Click to expand...

No. Some energy is always dissipated due to the distance of the drive cam from the beater and all the linkages etc along the drive shaft.

The rest of your question has no definitive answer, Bermuda has accurately explained why. You've just gotta keep playing around until something fits you.