Chain vs Direct Drive..What do you perfer...and why

Mathew 7:21

Senior Member
Just like the title says, I would like to know what everyone is using and why you perfer one over the other.
 
I have three pedals, all chain, mainly because of price. Most of the direct drive pedals are a bit more expensive. I would like to try one, direct drive, but as of yet have not.
 
I use all chain drives. I tried direct drives and I couldn't justify spending the extra cash. I play single pedal. I didn't play any better with a direct drive pedal. I tried several different ones.
 
I tried the Pearl Demon Drive double pedal when it first came out, and was blown away. I played so much faster and more naturally on it than I ever have on another pedal. Fantastic experience, and I've tried it a few more times since then, and it really makes a huge impact on my double bass playing.

However, I'm a single bass guy who doesn't do too much complex footwork, and the cool stuff I do with my foot, I can already do on my Iron Cobra chain driven pedal, so I haven't bought a Demon Drive yet, because it doesn't suit the stuff I normally do. If it wasn't so expensive, though, I would buy one in a second, even if I don't play double bass very often, just because of how amazing it felt when I played it.
 
It depends on your playing style. If you play a lot of fast music, you can get slack in the chain, making a direct drive ideal. If you play a more traditional style, the chain drive feels more natural and comfortable.

I play a chain, but would change to direct drive if given the chance.
 
Direct drive myself, but I'm using an old Ludwig speed king. Kind of took a few days to get used to. However since then, every other pedal feels awkward to me now.
 
Strap....

Why?

I like the way it feels compared to the chain and direct drive pedals I've used\tried. I started on a leather strap Rogers Swivomatic, eventually went to a Camco chain\sprocket, traded that and bought an Iron Cobra chain\powerglide.

Tried an Iron Cobra flexi-drive and stayed there...
 
Playing Iron Cobra Double Pedal with chain, Gibraltar single pedals with chain and Axis double direct drive I'd say that certainly for me chain is better for the power and direct drive is better for the speed.

However bearing in mind how many professional drummers play chain pedal extremely fast I do believe that chain, strap and direct drives are not more than just a marketing attempt and points of difference for the manufacturers to differentiate themselves against each other in the minds of the end-users in order to compete. With the right foot technique drummers can play fast and powerful using any kind of drives. The rest is the marketing.

Sega

www.whatdrum.com
 
Strap....

Why?

I like the way it feels compared to the chain and direct drive pedals I've used\tried. I started on a leather strap Rogers Swivomatic, eventually went to a Camco chain\sprocket, traded that and bought an Iron Cobra chain\powerglide.

Tried an Iron Cobra flexi-drive and stayed there...

Another vote for strap here. Don't know why, but every chain I've used feels "heavy". I'm also an IC flexi-glide user.

Although it may be due to lack of extended experience with direct or chain drives, I can't really see how one is better than another for a particular style of music. My first pedal was an old Tama job with a leather strap, I had no problems doing doubles at higher bpm's and have no issues with the Kevlar straps they use now. I think that it's like say, stick selection - everyone has their preference and makes it work for the style of music they play.
 
I use two chain-drive pedals on my main kit and a strap-drive double pedal on my electronic kit at home. Both chain and strap pedals feel good to me, assuming they are quality pedals in the first place.

The direct-drive just wasn't working for me....but in all fairness I have only played one direct-drive pedal and that was the Axis Longboard pedal. I want to try the trick but nobody local carries one and they are so expensive anyways! I may get to it some day but for now my Eliminators are serving me quite well.
 
I have several different pedals I use probably because I really can't make my mind up on which feels better than the other. It seems as if my foot or feet can readily adjust to any pedal I have. I have chain drives in my Iron Cobra Power Glide double pedal, my very old Tama Rolling Glide, my Pearl Eliminator and my Yamaha. I really enjoy the feel of my Yamaha belt drive and have nothing but praise for my Trick Pro 1 V direct drive single pedal.

If I had to pick a favorite from one of the above, it would probably have to be the Trick. I say this because of it's extreme smoothness, the positioning of the controls, I no longer have to crawl on the floor for a simple tension adjustment and what's really paramount, it's completely noise free.

The Yamaha belt drive feels to me somewhere between the chain drives and the direct drives in response.

There's a pedal out there for everyone, you just have to try everyone you can get your hands or feet on.

Dennis
 
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