Pearl Demon drive

BlastBeast

Junior Member
Hi all,

I'm planning on upgrading my pedals and i'm aiming on the demon drive. just wanna ask if
is there any issues with these pedals? like durability and stuff.. also have my eyes at Axis X longboards.. i would love to see all your comments thanks!
 
Hi all,

I'm planning on upgrading my pedals and i'm aiming on the demon drive. just wanna ask if
is there any issues with these pedals? like durability and stuff.. also have my eyes at Axis X longboards.. i would love to see all your comments thanks!

I own the demon drives. Absolutely nothing wrong with them. one of the most amazing pedals ever. so smooth and fast ad you you have complete control over it. the left pedal feels the same as the right one.

What styles of drums do you do? Extreme metal drummers prefer axis pedals because they are lighter, softer and faster. but you have less control over them, althought you will get used to them. If you're going to get Axis though, why not get the Axis A's?

Both pedals are really great, but really you gotta just go down to the drum shop and try both of them out yourself.
 
One of the things I like about the demon drives is that out of the box you can convert the double into 2 singles. And they have the longboard/shortboard conversion. I enjoy that flexibility. Saving my cash to get a set soon.
 
I can't say I have liked the Demon drives to be honest, I much prefer my Axis Longboard Nd the previous comment about the Axis having less control is ridiculous IMHO. I have found the Axis pedals to be much smoother and responsive than the Demon drives. I am. Of saying there is anything wrong with the Demon drives, it is just my opinion the Axis Longboards are superior.
 
1- You might find the OEM felt beaters too light. They have a soft urethane insert between the felt and the shaft to reduce shock.... perhaps to accommodate electronic pad users. I have used the Pearl Demon wood beaters and they are next to perfect, but I don't like the wood attack on the bass drum head. I much prefer a felt attack. I have a set of Iron Cobra beaters I got on eBay before I got the Demons. I've been told those are perfect. Not too heavy (like the DWs I have from my 5003s).
2- If you like your hi-hat stand really close to your left pedal, it will butt up against the left pedal's wide plate. I am trying to see if I can order a narrow single Demon left plate.
3- Use more Velcro than what comes in the box for the left pedal. In fact, Velcro makes a coarser grade of Velcro that's perfect.
Other than that, you will thoroughly enjoy your new Demons. Take time to adjust it and get a feel for what you do to it.
CHEERS
 
Being so smooth, you might say you want more pedal feel, in that sense it's a bit too perfect but with some heavier beaters (I use 2 sided plastic/felt dw) you can get that slingshot feel. The Z link works and of course it's great to have the option to switch from longboard to shortboard (I realized shortboard is better for me). If I decided to play a double bass set I wouldn't need to buy new pedals, that's another great thing, I can just break mine up.

I noticed the width of the footboard too but it's not a problem at all. You can't really ask for more in a pedal, but then I think any of the top offerings will make you happy if you put the effort into getting used to them. I found the axis too light and had no feel but I was coming from an iron cobra which was a heavier pedal, so I did want something in that kind of ballpark.

Something to note though - Virgil Donati was a frontman for the DD advertising campaign and he switched back to the eliminators.
 
I've owned Axis A series (single and double), Trick Pro-1V (single and double), and Pearl Demon Drive (single only) pedals, and here's what I found...

Axis: If you have a heavy foot and like to "bury the beater", the adjustments will most likely eventually start to slip, and the U-joints on the double pedal driveshaft will start to feel sloppy. That said, it is a very smooth and quick pedal. You just can't be TOO rough with it.

Pearl: Good power. I hate felt beaters, so I used the wood one. This pedal is sooooo adjustable, yet I couldn't find a setting that didn't feel heavy under my foot, and a bit sluggish. I prefer the Eliminator, as far as Pearl pedals go.

Trick: Best of the three. Very smooth and quick. Lots of adjustments (all of which are very quick and easy to do). The driveshaft and U-joints on the double are very nice and solid. The stock beaters were a bit light, so I switched them out for DW dual-sided beaters (I used the plastic side). A word of warning though: The bass drum hoop clamp doesn't hold onto the hoop tight enough to keep the bass drum from creeping away from the pedal under heavier playing.

Now, having said all THAT... While the Trick is the smoothest pedal I've ever played, and it is very fast, etc., it felt kind of sterile to me. Almost TOO perfect. It seemed to disappear under my feet (feeling-wise). For the past couple weeks, I've been using a Camco pedal from the 80s that I got off craigslist for fifty bucks. It's fast, light, adjustable enough for me, and I can feel it under my foot. It just feels great, like a comfy old worn-in pair of tennis shoes.

I'm not saying that the other pedals are inferior in any way. They just weren't MY cup of tea. Just saying that you shouldn't overlook cheaper or older pedals simply because they are cheap/old. I did it for years... Axis, Trick, Demon Drive, Sonor Giant Step, DW 5000 (before the 9000 came out), Tama Iron Cobra, Pearl Eliminator, Premier EDP... Every time a new pedal came out, I had to try it. All that time, all I needed was $50.
 
You shouldn't overlook cheaper or older pedals simply because they are cheap/old. I did it for years. Every time a new pedal came out, I had to try it. All that time, all I needed was $50.

Spot on. I bought a Mapex Mars pedal from Craig's for $20. That thing has been the most rock solid, all around pedal I've had in a long time. Yet most people pan it for being "entry level".

I've had the good ones over the years: DW5k, Pearl 900 series, Tama IC...and have found that the PDP's/Mapex's and even a Pulse pedal I had for awhile did the duties just as well. And all priced for the "common player".
 
I'm scarred now.
I just bought a double demon drive.
havn't even taken it out of the box yet because it's the most expensive piece of hardware I've ever owned.
While it was being shipped to me, a craig's List person called me back from the week before, when I was looking at used pedals, and sold me a $65 Mapex direct drive pedal that I'm currently using.
Seems fine so far.
All this talk of people not really liking the demon drive is making me want to send back a potentially pricey mistake

(・д・)
 
I had one for a short period of time. Really liked the way it felt but I had a ton of issues with the build quality. Mine felt very fragile and the footboard had these orange metal discs that rattled pretty loudly when I played heel up. Overall, I ended up returning it after a few days and buying an Axis.
 
I'm scarred now.
I just bought a double demon drive.
havn't even taken it out of the box yet because it's the most expensive piece of hardware I've ever owned.
While it was being shipped to me, a craig's List person called me back from the week before, when I was looking at used pedals, and sold me a $65 Mapex direct drive pedal that I'm currently using.
Seems fine so far.
All this talk of people not really liking the demon drive is making me want to send back a potentially pricey mistake

(・д・)

Keep them. I’m somewhat biased as a Pearl Artist, but the Demons are solid. The comment of “loose discs under your feet” means you have to read the manual and see what is adjustable. It all is and you get the tools to adjust it with. Did you get the chain or the direct drive? I’m a big fan of the direct drive.
 
Keep them. I’m somewhat biased as a Pearl Artist, but the Demons are solid. The comment of “loose discs under your feet” means you have to read the manual and see what is adjustable. It all is and you get the tools to adjust it with. Did you get the chain or the direct drive? I’m a big fan of the direct drive.

I got the direct drive version
Still have not taken it out of the box.
I'm practicing on a used set of Mapex right now.
i think it is a raptor, but it doesn't have any writing or serial numbers on it.
 

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Keep them. I’m somewhat biased as a Pearl Artist, but the Demons are solid. The comment of “loose discs under your feet” means you have to read the manual and see what is adjustable. It all is and you get the tools to adjust it with. Did you get the chain or the direct drive? I’m a big fan of the direct drive.

It's good to know that those discs were adjustable. I got my pedal second hand with no tools or directions and couldnt figure those things out for the life of me! I thought it was a rather strange design choice for an otherwise nice feeling pedal.
 
I finally opened up the box to my demon drives.
But the sharp edges of the pedal ripped up the inside of it's carrying case.
Did this happen to you guys too?
 
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