Flagship pedals from the big brands

I own a DW5000 and a DW9000. They're both great pedals. I like the 9000 because of how infinitely adjustable it is, and how beefy and tough it is. The 5000 is still great, however. The only real difference in feel between the two is that the 9000 is just a bit smoother than the 5000.

Heck, before I owned the 5000, I owned a Gretsch Blackhawk kick pedal. I bought it for $30 new. For that price, it was an incredible pedal. A little sluggish, but it was easy to get used to. Before that, I had a cheap Dixon pedal. I loved that pedal. It may have been a cheapo, but it was smooth and quick.

It's all about what your preferences are.

I like the Demon Drive, but it can be a little sluggish at times. I think I like Eliminators, but I've never played one that didn't have the footboard at much too low of an angle. I don't have much experience with Iron Cobras, but they seemed great the few times I played on them.

Ask yourself what you want in a pedal, and then go try some out. For my money, I've yet to play a pedal that felt as good as a 9000. Maybe an Axis, but I haven't had much of a chance to really sit down with one.

Emmaticus00 said:

Excuse me, I try to get my feet and hands on everything I can. I just want opinions. And just because you say "not trying to be a jerk" doesn't make you any less of a jerk.

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Well Im sorry then. I just get tired of "the best" questions that seem to be inexhaustible on the internet.

gretsch-o-rama said:

Well maybe I have a problem with asking strangers on how to spend my own money instead of getting out of the house and trying some gear for yourself....not trying to be a jerk, but "best" means pretty much nothing.

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Well, maybe you could try a little harder...

You may have "a problem", but your opinion alone doesn't justify/qualify for asking for a thread to be locked.

No one's forcing you to read thread(s) that you dislike or don't agree with... I read much more than I post on this forum, but it never occurred to me to ask for a thread to be locked on the basis of it's content, if I don't like it, I dismiss it and ignore it, but I'll respect the member which started the thread.

gretsch-o-rama said:

Well Im sorry then. I just get tired of "the best" questions that seem to be inexhaustible on the internet.

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The "best" is very subjective and down to personal tastes, always has and always will be... of course we often disagree with the "best" things, but that how people judge things, material things, by being the best of this or the best of that, it's normal and will continue to creep in all over the internet and in real life, such is life... and don't get me started on who's the best drummer... we all know that the best drummers are the ones we love and admire, my best is not your best (or it might be, who knows) ... you'll gonna get more and more tired I guess, but you know that best than I do

bermuda said:

Asking which is the lightest or quietest pedal, or which has the most or least adjustments, would be easy questions to answer...

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I agree, still not easy to answer the question, but you cannot argue if a pedal has all the adjustments possible know to the human race.

bermuda said:

There's no universal worst either, I suppose. There are people who still love their old Speed King, despite 99.9% of us who'd agree there are "better" pedals out there.

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Absolutely true...

I had several pedals during my years of drumming, but one model stayed with me for 28 years, the Tama Camco, both in single and double versions, back in the early 80's I felt it was the "best" ever pedal on the market (sorry best-o-rama) and I still have them, I love the feel I get from this simple design.

But despite my faithful patnership with the Tama Camco, I wanted a taste of the modern stuff, but which one to go for... so many to choose from, so after a long research, many trials, I opted for the Mapex Falcon, why? simply because it's a pedal that can "imitate" most of the modern pedals out there, it has so many options that you can actually replicate the feel of many other pedal brands, you can fit 3 different drive systems, chains, strap and direct drive, 2 different cams, round cam and accelerator cam, it has interchangeable weights which affect the balance of your pedal at the turn of a drum key, it has also all the other adjustments, independent beater angle, independent footboard angle, spring tension, etc, it's like buying many pedals in just one pedal... all to say that I managed to fit the best options to suit my playing, and if I wish to, I can change it to a completely different feel/pedal, not many pedals can do this...

bermuda said:

Don't even get me started on the Gibraltar Catapult!

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Please Jon, elaborate if you don't mind... I always found that pedal mechanism very strange indeed, did you ever play it?

Mad About Drums said:

Well, maybe you could try a little harder...

You may have "a problem", but your opinion alone doesn't justify/qualify for asking for a thread to be locked.

No one's forcing you to read thread(s) that you dislike or don't agree with... I read much more than I post on this forum, but it never occurred to me to ask for a thread to be locked on the basis of it's content, if I don't like it, I dismiss it and ignore it, but I'll respect the member which started the thread.



The "best" is very subjective and down to personal tastes, always has and always will be... of course we often disagree with the "best" things, but that how people judge things, material things, by being the best of this or the best of that, it's normal and will continue to creep in all over the internet and in real life, such is life... and don't get me started on who's the best drummer... we all know that the best drummers are the ones we love and admire, my best is not your best (or it might be, who knows) ... you'll gonna get more and more tired I guess, but you know that best than I do


I had several pedals during my years of drumming, but one model stayed with me for 28 years, the Tama Camco, both in single and double versions, back in the early 80's I felt it was the "best" ever pedal on the market (sorry best-o-rama) and I still have them, I love the feel I get from this simple design.
?

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Well I was just seeing if we could take it one step further and agree there is no best because there will always be something(or someone) better, given enough time. I often see threads that start with these "best" questions(that I dont respond to) end in aguements, much like this one. Because "best" implies opinion and people always will argue over that. I was just seeing if a moderator would maybe stop this unenlightening thread. I dont want to control this forum, I just want to help make it better.i.e. find more interesting stuff I can talk about. I feel my accumlation of knowledge about drumming is better than most and im just looking for like minded people. Ya know how musicians say you should play with musicians that are better than you? Well i say the same should go for drummers hanging with drummers. Im just trying to bring it up a notch without the ego. Although you can call me a jerk.

Id also lime to say the concept of best is mostly consumer/marketing driven that so many people buy into. Ive learned this about drumming. Gear can help make you comfortable (or do you have to be comfortable to have good gear?) But what YOU do within your instrument is far greater than"i play gretsch drums"

Mad About Drums said:

Please Jon, elaborate if you don't mind... I always found that pedal mechanism very strange indeed, did you ever play it?

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I have tried the Catapult, and it's fine - not great, but fine - for playing 1/4, maybe 8th notes at moderate tempos. The mechanics of the big arm being pushed, and hurling the beater towrds the head, creates a lot of unusual momentum. Just stomping out slow 1/4s is okay, but as soon as the speed framps up, and because the footboard isn't attached to the arm it's pushing, there's a literal disconnect between the footboard and the beater, so there's no real control.

You can tell something's going to be strange just by handling the pedal and seeing how it works, but the instant you put your foot on and try to play it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

It's amazing that the pedal was issued at all... it's like they did no testing and didn't ask any players if they thought it was a necessary/smart idea. I think it lasted a year, maybe two, then mercifully killed off. I though about buying one just because it's so ridiculous. If any stores still have them, they're going cheap.

Bermuda

gretsch-o-rama said:

I feel my accumlation of knowledge about drumming is better than most...

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I'm sure this comment makes everyone feeling good about what they know about drumming... but not everyone is a seasoned player, many are still right at the beginning and still want to increase their knowledge, even if it's a little "boring" for the experienced players, this forum is for all members at all levels... as I said, pick and chose the threads that are of interest to you and ignore the other ones, simple...

gretsch-o-rama said:

Gear can help make you comfortable (or do you have to be comfortable to have good gear?) But what YOU do within your instrument is far greater than"i play gretsch drums"

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I wholeheartedly agree with you here

bermuda said:

...but as soon as the speed framps up, and because the footboard isn't attached to the arm it's pushing, there's a literal disconnect between the footboard and the beater, so there's no real control.

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Thanks Jon

Well, speed and control is high on anybody's wish list, I guess it makes the design obsolete.

For those who are not familiar with the design, here's a pic of said catapult pedal...

That Catapult kind of reminds me of the Gibraltar Cajon pedal they introduced but that one you don't play directly on. Its definitely "special, but not in the good way...

Mad About Drums said:

I'm sure this comment makes everyone feeling good about what they know about drumming... but not everyone is a seasoned player, many are still right at the beginning and still want to increase their knowledge, even if it's a little "boring" for the experienced players, this forum is for all members at all levels... as I said, pick and chose the threads that are of interest to you and ignore the other ones, simple...

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You entirely missed my point. My point was that Id like to share what I feel Ive gained to help others have a faster progression. But you're right, people learn a lot better when they teach themselves.

Best might (and i have yet to meet one who own them) be Czarcie Kopyto. Talked through email & apperantly they only get built on order. Apart from engraving the footplate you can have other things customized aswell. (but of a base model to customize to your own needs).

From the looks they seem to have taken the axis concept & did their own thing with it. Their price is up there with the flagship pedals though.

Probably takes a while to get the full advantage of their customizations so only for those that know what they want.

I've wondered this same question that the OP posed...so I bought a bunch:

Pearl Demon Drive
Axis (the AX-X i think)
Trick Pro1V
Tama Speed Cobra
dw9000
dw7000
dw3000
Pearl p900

I kept all of them and rotate them cause I like gear. My first realization is that you don;t have to spend the big bucks to get a great pedal...I could do everything I need with a p900 from Pearl for under $100. I will guarantee that a guy like McBrain who is a single pedal demon could use any of those pedals and get the job done.

To me, the Trick wins because of the ability to reach down, grab the tension knob and instantly change the spring tension...between songs if one wishes. The Trick also hits harder than the Demon Drive and Axis..all three of those are direct drive. The pearl demon drive is so smooth and quiet that it alarms me...

That said, I can go out and do a gig with any of them and lose nothing..I'm a single bass player and the most difficult thing I do is Immigrant Song for a point of reference...so I'm not blazing any trails here.

I like all of the pedals and can use them all. The dw9000 is a little smoother than the 7000 but not to the point of a big deal/

Me...I need every advantage I can get because I probably have the worst right foot in the history of drumming....it takes an excruciatingly long time to improve for me

I really like the Yamaha FP-9500C pedal.

shemp said:

Pearl p900

I kept all of them and rotate them cause I like gear. My first realization is that you don;t have to spend the big bucks to get a great pedal...I could do everything I need with a p900 from Pearl for under $100. I will guarantee that a guy like McBrain who is a single pedal demon could use any of those pedals and get the job done.

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I'm so glad you said this. I have the double version of this pedal, and I have no problems executing anything with it, from Bonham triplets to death metal doubles. It is incredibly responsive, extremely adjustable, and has a good solid feel to it. Just because it is affordable, it should in no way be passed up as not good enough.

shemp said:

I've wondered this same question that the OP posed...so I bought a bunch:

Pearl Demon Drive
Axis (the AX-X i think)
Trick Pro1V
Tama Speed Cobra
dw9000
dw7000
dw3000
Pearl p900

... My first realization is that you don;t have to spend the big bucks to get a great pedal....

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Ha ha - another crazy guy with a boat load of pedals. I've got pedals laying around all over the place. Most are a lot less expensive than yours though.

The only problem with that realization (I had it too), is that it probably won't be believed by most people until experienced.
You can't really get a good feel for what you can do with a pedal in a short time in a store.
I guess you could sort of do it, by buying from a place that has a reasonably long return period.
The thing about the various pedals I have is that they all have strong and weak points, that can only be discovered with extended periods of use.
Also, no pedal is a substitute for practice.

wildbill said:

Ha ha - another crazy guy with a boat load of pedals. I've got pedals laying around all over the place. Most are a lot less expensive than yours though.

The only problem with that realization (I had it too), is that it probably won't be believed by most people until experienced.
You can't really get a good feel for what you can do with a pedal in a short time in a store.
I guess you could sort of do it, by buying from a place that has a reasonably long return period.
The thing about the various pedals I have is that they all have strong and weak points, that can only be discovered with extended periods of use.
Also, no pedal is a substitute for practice.

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Haha! Yea, im kinda nutty with the pedals, but I enjoy it. Agree, none of them will make someone a better player, still gotta put in the time.