First test on the Yamaha FP-9D pedal

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
Got the Yamaha FP9 direct drive pedal yesterday and today was my first time on it. It also comes in a chain model if you prefer that, but I thought I’d see if I can still play a direct drive after a few years (I learned on a Speed King when I was a kid, then every pedal since then has been of the Camco variety with either a strap or a chain.

The cool thing about this pedal is that it’s dead silent. You hear nothing when moving it and it’s as smooth as silk in operation. I futzed around with it and discovered I like the spring fairly loose - and that’s adjustable from the throne (just reach down and turn a knob). Both pedal and beater angle are independent of each other (nice touch I think all high end pedals do). And attached is a video of my first time on it - I think it’s a keeper. Definitely worth the $350 price tag.

And excuse the socks 😉

 
I have the FP9-C and think it's a really remarkable pedal-- for me it's the only high end pedal that feels like it was worth the expense. Huge fan. I'm glad you are liking your direct drive!
 
I have the FP9-C and think it's a really remarkable pedal-- for me it's the only high end pedal that feels like it was worth the expense. Huge fan. I'm glad you are liking your direct drive!
It's funny because a few years back I tried the Yamaha Flying Dragon Direct Drive, and before that I had the Pearl Demon Direct Drive, and farther back I tried the Trick Pro-1V, and the Axis-A pedal - and none of those felt comfortable enough for me to stick with it. This one seems to tick all the boxes for me to want to play it. I don't know if it's because I woke up this morning not having played yet, and just jumped on the pedal, without doing an A-B comparison of what it replaced, or if my technique was just now ready for direct drive.

I do like the beater with the heaviest weight attached to it. It feels alot better with the weight than without. So I'm not sure if I'll stick to the Yamaha beater, or just find a beater that weighs more (Danmar? DW?), but for now the Yamaha beater with the weight is nice - I just don't want to be in one of those positions where I lose the weights during transport or something. I do think the DW two-way beater is as heavy as the Yamaha beater with the heaviest weight. Also, out of the box, the spring was too highly tightened. I loosened it up to what I'm used to and I think it's as loose as it will go before the knob comes off! So I'll keep an eye on that as well. But whoever came up with the idea of having that tension knob face up at the player deserves a raise. It's much nicer aesthetically than the Rogers Swiv-O-Matic way of having a spring arm facing up at you.

I guess I'll remove the footboard plastic now ;)
 
I sold my FP-9D after getting my Flying Dragon chain drive last year. Tried a bunch of DD pedals and FP-9D was it for a while. I still discovered I prefer the single chain, or double chain converted to strap much more than DD. I had the FP-9C prior to the D model and I actually should have kept with that one. For me the D model connecting rod would sometimes top out against the rubber stopper. I know, I know, adjust it....I just never found the perfect spot for it to be springy enough and not too springy to not hit the stop when I moved my foot off the pedal slightly to get my version of the slide technique to work properly. Every time I did, I'd get a kthump, and the beater was back on it's way to the head, so when I landed, there was no power.

That's actually how good that pedal is, but it just didn't work for me in the end. The one big ding against that pedal for me was Yamaha taking away the functionality of the slave pedal. It can't be used as a pedal by itself even with parts. If you only have the single, this is a non-issue, but I have my master attached to a practice pad set, which makes the slave a breeze to swap between the practice pad and kit. Always nice to have a backup pedal too.

Too bad I didn't know you wanted the FP-9D. I sold it a few months ago and probably the worst I've ever done on any used gear. The e-bay market was terrible and probably still is. You could have had my double for half of what you paid. On a good note though, I got the Flying Dragon double for $150, but someone here got an even better deal on them with a case.
 
I sold my FP-9D after getting my Flying Dragon chain drive last year. Tried a bunch of DD pedals and FP-9D was it for a while. I still discovered I prefer the single chain, or double chain converted to strap much more than DD. I had the FP-9C prior to the D model and I actually should have kept with that one. For me the D model connecting rod would sometimes top out against the rubber stopper. I know, I know, adjust it....I just never found the perfect spot for it to be springy enough and not too springy to not hit the stop when I moved my foot off the pedal slightly to get my version of the slide technique to work properly. Every time I did, I'd get a kthump, and the beater was back on it's way to the head, so when I landed, there was no power.

That's actually how good that pedal is, but it just didn't work for me in the end. The one big ding against that pedal for me was Yamaha taking away the functionality of the slave pedal. It can't be used as a pedal by itself even with parts. If you only have the single, this is a non-issue, but I have my master attached to a practice pad set, which makes the slave a breeze to swap between the practice pad and kit. Always nice to have a backup pedal too.

Too bad I didn't know you wanted the FP-9D. I sold it a few months ago and probably the worst I've ever done on any used gear. The e-bay market was terrible and probably still is. You could have had my double for half of what you paid. On a good note though, I got the Flying Dragon double for $150, but someone here got an even better deal on them with a case.
Sorry to hear it. Probably wouldn’t work for me anyway since I’m a lefty anyway 😕
 
It's funny because a few years back I tried the Yamaha Flying Dragon Direct Drive, and before that I had the Pearl Demon Direct Drive, and farther back I tried the Trick Pro-1V, and the Axis-A pedal - and none of those felt comfortable enough for me to stick with it. This one seems to tick all the boxes for me to want to play it. I don't know if it's because I woke up this morning not having played yet, and just jumped on the pedal, without doing an A-B comparison of what it replaced, or if my technique was just now ready for direct drive.

I do like the beater with the heaviest weight attached to it. It feels alot better with the weight than without. So I'm not sure if I'll stick to the Yamaha beater, or just find a beater that weighs more (Danmar? DW?), but for now the Yamaha beater with the weight is nice - I just don't want to be in one of those positions where I lose the weights during transport or something. I do think the DW two-way beater is as heavy as the Yamaha beater with the heaviest weight. Also, out of the box, the spring was too highly tightened. I loosened it up to what I'm used to and I think it's as loose as it will go before the knob comes off! So I'll keep an eye on that as well. But whoever came up with the idea of having that tension knob face up at the player deserves a raise. It's much nicer aesthetically than the Rogers Swiv-O-Matic way of having a spring arm facing up at you.

I guess I'll remove the footboard plastic now ;)

Glad you dig it. The sad problem with the beater is that it actually wears out pretty quickly, or at least it did for me. It was great while it lasted

I've paired mine with one of these-- the DWSM110 control beater and for me, this really works as it should and is SUPER flexible. I've been extremely impressed:

 
Glad you dig it. The sad problem with the beater is that it actually wears out pretty quickly, or at least it did for me. It was great while it lasted

I've paired mine with one of these-- the DWSM110 control beater and for me, this really works as it should and is SUPER flexible. I've been extremely impressed:

Thanks for the tip! I’ll check it out sometime but the regular ol’ DW beater is fitting in well so far. I’m tempted to try an old school white felt beater by Danmar - those seem pretty heavy too.
 
Really nice looking pedal and playing Bo, you're using the brass weight on the beater?
 
I've been playing the FP9-C for a few years now, great build quality and as you say Bo, completely silent. I also like the longer than normal footboard, like a long footboard pedal but without the loss of power.
 
I've had the flying dragon direct drive for years and I absolutely love it. But I'm so used to it that it takes a while to get used to other chain pedals if I'm playing out somewhere.

I was looking for a suitable backup that is lightweight and easier to gig with but lightweight adjustable direct drive pedals aren't that easy to come by. I settled on a single chain old Tama pro pedal that at least let me change the beater angle. Local drum shop had limited used pedals to choose from.
 
Great thread. I'm actually starting to consider a new double pedal. I've been playing an Iron Cobra strap drive with the Trick driveshaft and DW beaters. FYI - the Trick shaft is worth every penny. I notice no lag at all, and it is super smooth. Only downside is it won't easily fit in the IC carrying case, but that's very minor.

No real complaints, but it is at least 20 yrs old and it's always fun to try something new every once in a while.

I spoke to drum center of Portsmouth, and the rep there said that was his absolute fav IC pedal, so keep it as long as I can. He also mentioned that the speed cobra prob wouldn't be to my liking, he didn't feel it was better than the IC or faster, and mentioned the dyna-sync as one to consider for an upgrade in the future.

Seems like the Yamaha FP9 and Tama Dyn-sync are the models I'll need to try and check out at Guitar Center? I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried both.
 
I picked up the FP9 direct drive, and while I like the pedal quite a bit, the carrying case with this thing is a massive fail IMO. My Iron Cobras tucked nicely into their hard plastic case with ease. I didn't need to dismantle the pedal, I didn't need to worry about it getting banged up, and I always had my drum key there. The Yamaha "case" is a damn joke, especially for this kind of $$$$.

This is such a letdown, I'm not sure I'll even bother using it. I'll try to take it to my practice spot a few times to see how much of a pain it is to set up.

WTF Yamaha?
 
I've been using the FP9 with the strap drive ( it comes with an interchageable strap/chain) for a few years now. i changed out the original Yamaha beater for a Tama Iron Cobra one. Great pedal. I do have an Iron Cobra as a back up . I've not been tempted to try any other pedal since i bought it.
 
I have been using the same old 70's Yamaha BD Pedals for a long time. I think they are FP-720.
They look real similar to your new one. I like Yamaha BD pedals.
I replaced the bearings and modified them for no squeaks.
Nice playing.Yamaha FP-720 BD Pedal.jpg
 
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I have been using the same old 70's Yamaha BD Pedals for a long time. I think they are FP-720.
They look real similar to your new one. I like Yamaha BD pedals.
I replaced the bearings and modified them for no squeaks.
Nice playing.View attachment 141767
Yep, that's the one! I have bought a few of these used (and even a completely new when visiting Yamaha in Japan some years ago) for my second kits - but my main gigging pedal is still the same 720 I got with a Yamaha 5000 kit in the late 70s. Go figure.
I also use that same HH stand still.
 
Well, it's not as big of a pain as I anticipated, but it's still not nearly as simple as the Iron Cobra pedal. I guess I'll just need to allow more time for setup.

At least I'm getting used to the direct drive feel (I think)
 
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