What do you think of the demon drive double pedal?

drummingman

Gold Member
I have seen a number of threads on the pearl fourm where people have had problems with the demon drive (i just saw one where a guy was talking about a screw stripping when trying to covert the pedal from short board to long board. Here is the thread. http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/sh...ht=demon+drive

I have read that some poeple have had problems with the pedal clamping to a bass drum hoop. One said that it made the back of the pedal raise off the floor and he was not able to get that fixed. I also read that the pedal clamp has a hard time clamping to thicker bass drum hoops. Anyone had any problems with this?

These are just some of the issues that i have seen where people have had problems with the demon drive.

I have also seen reviews and threads where people have said that they have not had really any problems with the demon drive.

I am thinking about buying the demon drive double pedal and i just want to know if you that own the double pedal demon drive are happy with yours? Has pearl fixed all the problems with this double pedal so that if i buy one now it will be working great? This pedal is not cheep and i dont want to spend a lot of money on it just to have all kinds of problems and have to send it back.

So all you owners of this pedal please tell me what you think of it.
 
We have experienced none of these issues. My son uses a Sonor and a Tama kit with no problems attaching to the bass drum hoop. He also gigs regularly an attaches to a huge variety of donor kits.
Only think I can think of is the user complaining of this doesn’t know to raise the front of his kick to level with the back.

A striped screw is also likely a user issue not a design issue. They likely strip screws on other equipment as well through little or to much torque.

However he didn’t like the stock beaters and we swapped out to the optional pearl wood beaters. He loves these but they ate through a super kick 2 in a week. Installed a new SK2 and a Kevlar double patch and it’s been fine for 6 or 8 months.


No other issues at all.
 
My advice.... GET IT!!! I had it since it came out and loved every second of it - except 3 months after I bought it for $800 they dropped the price to $650. My playing got a whole lot smoother and faster. I'd pay $800 for it again.

I have had a minor problem with the heal of the pedal lifting off the ground, but only 1/64" if that. Not noticeable at all when you play.
 
I think it's a waste of money IMO. I have tried a couple of them they were all the same. It would smooth and easy to push down to a certain point. About the last inch before the beater hit the head is where the pedal stopped. From this point you have to put more leg into it. Nothing smooth or fast about that. Yeah Pearl came up with a kool looking pedal and gave it a badass name..but really it's not gonna make you play any better. I think the Eliminator is still by far a better product than the Demon Drive.

You wanna develop pedal speed try using a old Ludwig speed king. I personally cannot get that style of pedal moving but I've seen a few drummers that could and you put them on any pedal and nothing hindered their playing. It's the drummer that rules the pedal. I honestly cannot justify 500-600 for a double pedal. I have used Axis pedals and they are a strong pedal and quick/smooth, Pick up a used one you can't go wrong. I mean if you have the cash for a Demon Drive go for it if thats what you want. But I personally would not even use it if they even gave it to me.
 
I have seen a number of threads on the pearl fourm where people have had problems with the demon drive .......

.....(i just saw one where a guy was talking about a screw stripping when trying to covert the pedal from short board to long board. > 1 below <

...I have read that some people have had problems with the pedal clamping to a bass drum hoop and lifting.> 2 below <

..... I also read that the pedal clamp has a hard time clamping to thicker bass drum hoops. Anyone had any problems with this? > 3 below <

....So all you owners of this pedal please tell me what you think of it.

1) If the guy put in 3 of the 4 screws tight then tried to force in the 4th at a bad angle - maybe so - no problem with mine.

2) pedal lifts (a little) if hoop adjustment is not correct before tightening.

3) No hoop problem, the thickness adjustment is there - use it.

There are so many adjustments - if you spend the time to test ALL the positions - you will find the PERFECT feel for you.

The quad beater from pearl works great with the Demons.
 
I think it's a waste of money IMO. I have tried a couple of them they were all the same. It would smooth and easy to push down to a certain point. About the last inch before the beater hit the head is where the pedal stopped. ....

Sure you could set it up like that >> where it does not hit the drum head << but why would you do that????
 
My advice.... GET IT!!! I had it since it came out and loved every second of it - except 3 months after I bought it for $800 they dropped the price to $650. My playing got a whole lot smoother and faster. I'd pay $800 for it again.

I have had a minor problem with the heal of the pedal lifting off the ground, but only 1/64" if that. Not noticeable at all when you play.

And now it's $530...a nice drop in price.
 
I think it's a waste of money IMO. I have tried a couple of them they were all the same. It would smooth and easy to push down to a certain point. About the last inch before the beater hit the head is where the pedal stopped. From this point you have to put more leg into it. Nothing smooth or fast about that.

That sounds more like a set up issue than a pedal issue to me. The pedal works just fine, if it stopped before the head for you, then I'm calling user error.

Trust me, the beater hits the head........if it doesn't, then it's a mystery to me why I keep hearing the deep resonant thump of the kick drum each time I put my foot down on the DD.
 
I haven't had any problems with mine thus far. (I've owned one for a solid 8 months).

What I liked about it was not that is was was a direct drive or long board or any of that. What I liked was the adjustability of the pedal. I spent about an hour tweaking the settings and was able to find the perfect settings for my feet.

The one thing I'm not a fan of is the beaters though...

-Jonathan
 
The one thing I'm not a fan of is the beaters though...

Agreed......as per my post in the linked thread, I swapped mine out for quad beaters. I much prefer the feel of a little more weight higher up on the pedal.

I don't think we're alone either......looks like a few people are getting rid of the stock ones.
 
Sure you could set it up like that >> where it does not hit the drum head << but why would you do that????

It's not that it's set up like that. From the beginning of the stroke all the way to the impact of the head is not smooth. 92% of the stroke is smooth the last 8% of it you have to put the effort in it. I don't like it, and it was everyone I ever tried.
 
Very disappointed with this pedal and the Pearl Company and will never buy another Pearl product again.An older drummer friend of mine asked me to come over and try out the Demon that he just bought and tell me what i thought about it because he knew that i played lots of double bass and used a DW 9002.I tried it and thought that it was pretty smooth,but not worth the money.He told me he didn't want it because double bass wasn't for him and he would give me a good deal if i wanted to buy it,so i tried it out for a while and decided i would buy it because it was a pretty good deal and i could always use another double pedal and it did feel pretty smooth.I used it for a couple weeks and one of the screws on the drive shaft attaching to the pedal striped out when i was setting up for a show !! I couldn't believe it and called Pearl for some support seeing that the pedal was only a couple months old and was told that because i was not the original purchaser that they could not do anything for me ! ! ! I told them that i had used and still own Ludwig,Yamaha,Tama,Axis,Jaques Cappelle,and DW pedals over the last 30 years and never had any screws strip on any of those pedals.He told me that i should play those pedals instead after i said to him,so you don't stand behind your product even when it is pretty clear that the product itself is defective ? For those who think i overtightened and did it myself then why didn't i strip any other screws on any other pedals in the the last 30 years ? ? I think it has to do with the fact that the material they use for the driveshaft is cheap plain and simple.
 
I think... I would rather buy trick or axis. and I have. both.
 
Very disappointed with this pedal and the Pearl Company and will never buy another Pearl product again.An older drummer friend of mine asked me to come over and try out the Demon that he just bought and tell me what i thought about it because he knew that i played lots of double bass and used a DW 9002.I tried it and thought that it was pretty smooth,but not worth the money.He told me he didn't want it because double bass wasn't for him and he would give me a good deal if i wanted to buy it,so i tried it out for a while and decided i would buy it because it was a pretty good deal and i could always use another double pedal and it did feel pretty smooth.I used it for a couple weeks and one of the screws on the drive shaft attaching to the pedal striped out when i was setting up for a show !! I couldn't believe it and called Pearl for some support seeing that the pedal was only a couple months old and was told that because i was not the original purchaser that they could not do anything for me ! ! ! I told them that i had used and still own Ludwig,Yamaha,Tama,Axis,Jaques Cappelle,and DW pedals over the last 30 years and never had any screws strip on any of those pedals.He told me that i should play those pedals instead after i said to him,so you don't stand behind your product even when it is pretty clear that the product itself is defective ? For those who think i overtightened and did it myself then why didn't i strip any other screws on any other pedals in the the last 30 years ? ? I think it has to do with the fact that the material they use for the driveshaft is cheap plain and simple.
DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS CHEAPLY MADE JUNK.
 
I think it has to do with the fact that the material they use for the driveshaft is cheap plain and simple.

I would say the threads on the length adjustment of the Z LINK is crap, like most all other pedals connecting shafts. PEARLS no different, they're right in there with crap.
 

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