Anybody switch from double to single?

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I'm thinking about ditching the double pedal for a single. I find that every time I play the two pedals, it sounds cliché, or tired, or corny.

I switched from two bass drums to one back in the early 80s, then back to two a few years later, then to a double pedal in the late 80s.

Anyone else switched to one pedal? If so, how do you feel it changed your approach?
 
I made the switch several years ago. I don't miss it at all. I did find that I have refined my right foot a bit more since dropping the double pedal, but that says more about me than anything else. I could easily have put that same work in before.

The types of music that I play and enjoy today don't lose anything because of the absence of that other pedal. I'm happy with my choice.
 
I've owned double pedals and used them and put them away, mostly I use a single as the music I play doesn't require it at all, but it's nice to have the option, I suppose. I say put your double in the closet, break out a single and play it like that. When the urge hits again, you'll have a double to use.

In my experience I've seen fellow drummers get rid of something, and then a few days, get a call from somebody looking to hire them because they had a certain piece of gear.
 
I sort of went the opposite. After spending most of my drumming years with a single, I got a double. And while I still find them a bit of a novelty, I like them and have made some progress with them.

That said, if I were ever to start playing gigs again, it would be with a single.
 
I actually just re-attached my double pedal to my V-drums and have started shedding a little. I always get the itch to get fast when I go through a death metal phase (like now). I'm gonna have some time during the day for the next two weeks so I'm gonna see if I can gain any speed in that time. If I don't see any improvements I'll probably get discouraged and back in the closet they'll go...
 
I use doubles for exercise. I have a blast with them even though I don't play music with bands that requires them. Playing doubles helps me with jazz and other genres of music that I play. I say keep messing around with them for the fun of it.
 
I did the switch a few years ago...and won't go back to double. I just like controlling the high hat all the time. There are so many different sounds you can get out of them.
 
I switched for various reasons and I'm glad I did. I could never master switching between a groove that required opening and closing your hihat back to a double bass thing. That combined with having a double pedal made it to easy for me to cheat on doubles and triples. My favorite drummer plays single so amazingly that I knew to have a shot at playing like him I'd have to ditch the double and buckle down on my single technique. I play recreationally so I don't need to play double bass although I do hear some killer double bass songs that make me want to go back sometimes. Overall I feel like I'm a better drummer w/o the double, no regrets here other than trying to find that elusive perfect single pedal.
 
My main reason for wanting to abandon the double pedal is that playing anything with it always seems ostentatious. They're not subtle in any way, and I feel that they're only appropriate in very heavy music. But then I put on the live Chick Corea record (Tokyo Blue Note w/ Patitucci on bass and Vinnie on drums) and I hear Vinnie playing a double pedal on an 18" bass drum, and I figure, what the hell? :)
 
I feel like just because it's there doesn't mean I have to use it. Of course I wouldn't play "Back in Black" with 16" note running double bass, but if the music calls for it I want to be able to supply it.
 
I feel like just because it's there doesn't mean I have to use it. Of course I wouldn't play "Back in Black" with 16" note running double bass, but if the music calls for it I want to be able to supply it.

That's certainly not an unreasonable position. I just think there is a very small percentage of music that calls for it, and I don't play any of it, which is why I went with a single. I was just using the double pedal for occasional flash.

Bob has an interesting take on it, using the double pedal as an exercise tool.
 
I did the switch a few years ago...and won't go back to double. I just like controlling the high hat all the time. There are so many different sounds you can get out of them.

This sounds more like a personal issue or comfort issue rather than a practicality issue and sorry to be so forward but is a ridiculous excuse as to why you would not use a double pedal. Either what you play or how you like to be creative calls for one or it doesn't. Not being able to play the hats properly or creatively because there is an extra pedal next to your hi hat pedal is a deeper issue in your skills or comfort behind a set. Not because a double pedal is useless. Honestly I am really taken back by the amount of "excuses" or explanations from people in the drum world as to why double pedals are not used by them or others. For some reason it's like the double pedal abused a family member at some point and now it's on everyone's **** list. It's another piece of drum equipment that has it's uses, get over it! If set up properly you only have to move your foot over a few inches to be fully on the footboard and I can play the hats perfectly fine with or without a double pedal. If you want to play them closed or open with double pedals get a hi hat clutch or get a set of remote hats to put to your right or left and keep them open or closed.

Really who gives a damn what you use to get the job done or to be creative with! Christ when did people start becoming equipment or hardware snobs?? Double pedals are NOT just used for constant 8th note doubles up to blazing 32nd notes. Watch a Benny Greb video and you'll understand there is no limit to how it can be used. Also there are plenty of highly regarded drummers out there that use them too, like Tony Royster Jr, Dennis Chambers, Chris Coleman and many more I'm sure. There are certain parts in songs that I like to jam to that call for straight 8th notes or even 16th notes and without a double pedal you can't play it properly (and no playing heel toe doubles on a single pedal and diddles on the floor tom like Mike Johnston doesn't count). Also many songs call for two quick 16th note doubles at the end of 8th or 16th note drum fills.

Like was said it's good to have it when you need it or want it. Don't want it hooked up, just want to play a basic setup for a while either for being creative or because the music or gigs call for it fine, disconnect it and put it away. If you play a mix of genres all the time it's probably best to keep it there.

Sorry for the rant but the idiocy that I see said about double pedals is getting to be ridiculous and tiresome.
 
To answer the original question, I stopped using the thing in the first place because the music I'm playing now (funk and old-school rock) simply doesn't call for it. The only time I used it was when I played some metal covers back in the day but even then it wasn't the crazy fast stuff. I was never that good at it so it hasn't changed my approach in that it wasn't really a huge part of my approach to begin with. If I end up improving my double bass skill it will be purely for my own satisfaction and maybe to do some recording of metal ideas I have.

I don't think it's necessary to abandon it completely unless it really does nothing for you. Otherwise keep it around. You never know, it may come in handy or you just might have a change of heart. It's not like it's a huge piece of gear to store.
 
This sounds more like a personal issue or comfort issue rather than a practicality issue and sorry to be so forward but is a ridiculous excuse as to why you would not use a double pedal.

Ridiculous? Hardly. He prefers to devote his left foot to the hi-hat, and doesn't miss the double pedal.
 
I don't think it's necessary to abandon it completely unless it really does nothing for you.

I think it's gotten to that point. Like I said in my first post, it just sounds corny to me now. I seem to be drawn more to phrases that combine two or three sound sources , more hi-hat, and a lighter sound.
 
Ridiculous? Hardly. He prefers to devote his left foot to the hi-hat, and doesn't miss the double pedal.

Ridiculous might of been a bit harsh but I will say his reasoning is quite odd. I can devote my left foot to my hi hat pedal all day without getting hung up between the two. My comment wasn't directed completely at his post just in general.

Honestly, having an extra pedal next to the hi hat pedal should have no affect on your ability to play them how you want IF it's set up properly. Maybe he had too big of a gap between the main and slave pedal which put his hi hat further away from him than it should of. You may or may not be surprised at how improperly set up people's double bass pedals can be which will aid in their distaste for them. In fact my hi hat is probably no more than an inch or two at the most further away than it would be without the double pedal. It's almost as if the pedal isn't there.

Like I said there has to be a more practical reason other than "I can't control the hi hat or get the sounds I like from it."
 
Without the double pedal there, I find that you're forced to:
A) develop your right foot to higher degree
B) play something involving other sound sources that will probably sound more musical, less bombastic, and take up less sonic space

BUT, in some genres, the double bass drum (or double pedal) is a crucial component, so this criticism wouldn't apply.
 
I like my double bass pedal. Opens up all kinds of new vocabulary (kkrlrl, kklrlr, kkkklrlr, kkkrlr, etc ,etc). Same with independence stuff. 1/16 down there and paradiddle on top , etc, etc. could go on and on. The more the possibilities , the better .
 
This sounds more like a personal issue or comfort issue rather than a practicality issue and sorry to be so forward but is a ridiculous excuse as to why you would not use a double pedal. Either what you play or how you like to be creative calls for one or it doesn't. Not being able to play the hats properly or creatively because there is an extra pedal next to your hi hat pedal is a deeper issue in your skills or comfort behind a set. Not because a double pedal is useless. Honestly I am really taken back by the amount of "excuses" or explanations from people in the drum world as to why double pedals are not used by them or others. For some reason it's like the double pedal abused a family member at some point and now it's on everyone's **** list. It's another piece of drum equipment that has it's uses, get over it! If set up properly you only have to move your foot over a few inches to be fully on the footboard and I can play the hats perfectly fine with or without a double pedal. If you want to play them closed or open with double pedals get a hi hat clutch or get a set of remote hats to put to your right or left and keep them open or closed.

Really who gives a damn what you use to get the job done or to be creative with! Christ when did people start becoming equipment or hardware snobs?? Double pedals are NOT just used for constant 8th note doubles up to blazing 32nd notes. Watch a Benny Greb video and you'll understand there is no limit to how it can be used. Also there are plenty of highly regarded drummers out there that use them too, like Tony Royster Jr, Dennis Chambers, Chris Coleman and many more I'm sure. There are certain parts in songs that I like to jam to that call for straight 8th notes or even 16th notes and without a double pedal you can't play it properly (and no playing heel toe doubles on a single pedal and diddles on the floor tom like Mike Johnston doesn't count). Also many songs call for two quick 16th note doubles at the end of 8th or 16th note drum fills.

Like was said it's good to have it when you need it or want it. Don't want it hooked up, just want to play a basic setup for a while either for being creative or because the music or gigs call for it fine, disconnect it and put it away. If you play a mix of genres all the time it's probably best to keep it there.

Sorry for the rant but the idiocy that I see said about double pedals is getting to be ridiculous and tiresome.

Wow mate! Someone steal your cookie? The OP asked if anyone switched from double to single pedal...and I answered with my .02.

Of course it's a personal and a comfort issue. I played double for years, and got quite proficient at it (for the gigs I was in at the time). I still have the slave in its case...just never feel the need to bust it out anymore. On the practicality side, I just don't play the type of music that demands a double pedal anymore. Why the hell should I carry around extra gear that I probably won't use?

Not that I don't appreciate folks that can use a double pedal well, far from it. It's just not the sounds I enjoy or want to make myself.

But as I said before, I like to nuance the high hat...and it's not something you can achieve with a high hat clutch. I can legitimately get 20 to 30 different sounds,(and feelings) out of the high hat with my foot controlling it...maybe more. Cut that in at least half without being on the footboard.

I suppose I'm a bit more of a Steve Jordan wannabe than a Tim Alexander wannabe. Ridiculous to be sure.
 
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