Double bass used in professional situation....

(Future)DWdrummer

(Future)DWdrummer

Senior Member
I'm a 16 year old drummer. I have a double bass pedal. I LOVE to go crazy with my double bass pedal while jamming in the garage :).... Just curious, how often do any of you use a double bass pedal in a professional situation?.. With a band live, in the studio. wherever it is you play... I'd asume not very often, buut Then again, what do i know? haha
 
I have one but I don't really use it unless the music calls for it- which, in pretty much anything not "metal", is not called for. If I still played in my hardcore band or had a prog metal band, I would use one. They are fun but often not needed. Currently I do not use one at gigs (though I do for my covers).
 
In every original band I've been in, it's been used, even if only in select spots.

The band that almost got signed, when I auditioned, double bass was a requirement, even though it was NOT in all their songs, or a big part of their sound.

In doing cover bands, blues gigs, and such, never use it.

A while back I made a thread of non-metal songs/drummers using double bass:
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69243

Some just in solos, some just in experiments.

But it pops up in some unexpected places, like Prince's "Darling Nicky", John (Cougar) Mellencamps "Love and Happiness" and a few Journey songs.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
In every original band I've been in, it's been used, even if only in select spots.

In doing cover bands, blues gigs, and such, never use it.
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This pretty much sums it up for me as well. I tend to use it as just another option during fills, but occasionally it works its way into the groove.
 
It all depends on the genre of music. Some times it goes a week or two before I have to track someone using a double bass drum or double pedal for that matter. If we're talking about some of the Metal formats, well I see very little of those.

Personally I have a set of Tama Iron Cobra pedals that I bought about five years ago after knowing that I was going to have surgery to my right foot. After about two months of playing my bass drum with just my left foot, I went back to using just a single pedal and only use the double for controlled foot exercises now and then.

Dennis
 
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If the music calls for it, go for it. I've generally thought of double bass as a parallel to having two hands on every other part of the kit, so why deny the footies, right? Now, slamming a pair of bass drums just to show off gets tiresome, so get that out of your system in your practice time.

Hot tip: practice the rudiments with your double pedal. It will take time, of course, but eventually you end up with the dexterity to place whatever patterns you need into the music without messing your own flow up (using diddles and so forth to keep your foot timing in line with the groove you are playing in).
 
FutureDWdrummer. I use mine about 20 percent of the time. It is fun and a valuable tool to have, but don't neglect the versatility of the Hi hats, you can do a lot of cool stuff with the hi hats but not if your always on the double bass.
 
Double bass is something that looks cool in theory but unless you're working in specific genres, is fairly useless. There are select instances of some Fusion players using them and one or two Jazz players but the vast majority of heavy double-bass work is in Metal.

Most of the work session players will get will not be Metal, unless you're a Metal specialist and there isn't a lot of money in just playing Metal!

Learn it, use it - like any other tool - just know when not to as well. Nothing is more irritating than poorly-used double bass.
 
most people think double pedal is for just metal or rock music. Listen to some Dave Mathews band (Carter Beauford) he uses it alot and quiet tastefully i must say. I also notice a few jazz guys playing them, seems crazy but it can be a great tool if not overdone.
 
I practice double pedal stuff pretty regularly, but it’s mostly just for technical exercises. When it comes to actually playing actual songs, I hardly use it. Except sometimes in a rare fill. But I totally love flailing on the double kick in huge train-wreck rock endings! That alone makes it worthwhile to bring out to gigs.
 
It can be useful, like I said but in the grand scheme of things it's not a priority. The music that requires a double pedal is dwarfed by the amount of music that doesn't. That's not to say it doesn't have a place - it absolutely does - but if you're a beginning drummer I would personally put it somewhere near the bottom of the 'priority' list, after time, tone, consistency, hi-hat playing and single-bass work.
 
One of the big pedal producers is more likely to pick you up if your music uses their expensive products (double pedal).

If you don't have designs on endorsements, not such a concern unless you like having the flavor at your disposal.

I dont make $ with Drumming....so I should probably wander off at this point....
 
If you're playing metal (any of the 13,945 sub-genres of it), you'll need the double-pedal skills.

If you're playing anything else, you don't need it, ever. But it can be nice to have.

I enjoy it most as a condiment rather than a main course, to use a food analogy. It's another option, a way to build something up to yet another level of intensity.
 
Since I suck at double bass, I rarely do it. The only time seems to be when the song is ending and I'm doing a cymbal washout.
 
All the time, since I play a lot of power metal stuff where its use is pretty much mandated!
It's definitely an important skill to have in your arsenal, but shouldn't be allowed to take precedence over hand technique, sound, musicality or any of the other fundamental things about drumming. And it's a lot of work to get really good at it, too.
 
8Mile said:
If you're playing metal (any of the 13,945 sub-genres of it), you'll need the double-pedal skills.

If you're playing anything else, you don't need it, ever. But it can be nice to have.

I enjoy it most as a condiment rather than a main course, to use a food analogy. It's another option, a way to build something up to yet another level of intensity.
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A lot of the stuff I'm playing now would be categorised as metal, and I'm using a single pedal. There has never been a sitution where I would have felt the need for a double pedal.

Then again I think it has more to do with playing style / creative decisions than the genre itself.

About 50% of metal bands could do without the double pedal stuff
 
I guess the clue is "professional situation"... Whilst double-bass drum chops are essential in metal drumming, there are not that many drummers that make real money out of it. I am thinking of pretty well-known heavy rock guys when I say that too.

So for most of us it's filed under "Desirable" but not "Essential".
 
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