Beater doesn't bounce back all the way

Seagull5

Junior Member
First of all, I'd like to say hi to all of you since this is my first post at the drummerworld forums!

Okay, now that we've had that, let's get on with it ;) Yesterday me and my band were practicing, when suddenly I noticed that the beater on my Pearl bass pedal hardly bounces back from the bass drum. I replaced the pedal with another one already lying around in the practice space, and I immediately noticed a huge difference: not only did it bounce back properly, the bass drum sounded (and felt) much better, and louder! I guess it's because of my relative inexperience (I've been drumming for only 2,5 years) that I didn't notice this before... Turns out I have been playing with a largely muted bass drum for months!

Of course, I would like t know how to solve this problem. I already tried loosening and tightening the spring, but it didn't change anything. Also, I tried connecting the second pedal (it's a double pedal system, but I only use the main pedal), and although it didn't solve the problem, I noticed the second beater IS functioning properly.

To illustrate the problem, here are two images.

IMG_0997.jpg

This is the pedal in the desired position, before I play a bass drum stroke.

IMG_0996.jpg

And this is the pedal in the faulty position, to which it returns after every stroke.

Does this sound familiar to any of you? Do you know what I have to do to solve this issue?

Thanks guys!
 
A friend of mine had a problem similar to this before, and I think I know what's wrong with your pedal.

There is an adjustment screw on the right side of the pedal. It is the connecting piece between the spring and the shaft that the beater is mounted on, and sometimes the components in this piece can wear down or come loose. I don't have an exact diagram, so I'd suggest dismantling the linking components for the spring and rotation shaft and checking out what parts there are that could be adjusted. If I remember correctly, my friend needed a particularly small Allen Wrench to fix his problem, and even then the part wore down eventually.

I'm a Pearl guy all the way, but this was a bad mistake for them to make.
 
A friend of mine had a problem similar to this before, and I think I know what's wrong with your pedal.

There is an adjustment screw on the right side of the pedal. It is the connecting piece between the spring and the shaft that the beater is mounted on, and sometimes the components in this piece can wear down or come loose. I don't have an exact diagram, so I'd suggest dismantling the linking components for the spring and rotation shaft and checking out what parts there are that could be adjusted. If I remember correctly, my friend needed a particularly small Allen Wrench to fix his problem, and even then the part wore down eventually.

I'm a Pearl guy all the way, but this was a bad mistake for them to make.

I believe the friend being referred to is me. However unlike your pedal, my double pedal is a giant piece of junk. I actually had a similar problem for several months, and I just dealt with it. over time I became fed up and looked up how to fix [my pedals name] sure enough I found a vid and discovered it was a common problem in my pedal. I will post that video for you so you can get an illustration, but you will basically want to try this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FQMbPQK6KE
I will note that your problem may actually be linked to something being jammed up or dirty in that area so clean it out first and then try adjusting it as seen in the video.
 
I think either the beater or the cam is moving on the shaft. Looking carefully at the photographs I compared the position of the cam with the beater. It looks different in the lower picture. Something has moved.
 
On the top of the cam that connects the spring to the axel, there is a drum key screw. Loosen it. Rotate the beater to where you want it to be. Then tighten the screw. Done.
 
Thanks for the help guys, I think you helped me figure it out! I took a closer look at the pedal, and I took apart the whole mechanism like Coldhardsteel said. After putting it together again, it appears to be functioning correctly, there is no 'lag' between the kick and the pedal starting to move!
 
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