Going from chain to direct drive

Austinporter

New Member
Hey guys,

I just ordered A new Roland vad 306 and some of the tama dyna syncs to go with it, problem is I can’t play anything above 150bpm 16th note bass patterns without my feet falling apart and either accidentally speeding up way to quick out of tempo and inconsistent hitting or missing notes or whatever. Basically sounds like crap, and I’ve had these new pedals for over a week and probably put like 7 hours of play time on them and am not seeing a whole lot of progress.

I have the tama speed cobras on my accoustic kit which I’ve basically had for like 8 years. And I guess my question is I’m wondering how long it took you to get used to direct drives if you changed or if I should return them and get the speed cobras.
 
Hey guys,

I just ordered A new Roland vad 306 and some of the tama dyna syncs to go with it, problem is I can’t play anything above 150bpm 16th note bass patterns without my feet falling apart and either accidentally speeding up way to quick out of tempo and inconsistent hitting or missing notes or whatever. Basically sounds like crap, and I’ve had these new pedals for over a week and probably put like 7 hours of play time on them and am not seeing a whole lot of progress.

I have the tama speed cobras on my accoustic kit which I’ve basically had for like 8 years. And I guess my question is I’m wondering how long it took you to get used to direct drives if you changed or if I should return them and get the speed cobras.


Dude give it at least a month.

I played chain pedals my whole life then switched to a trick big foot pedal and then now a Tama dynasync

I absolutely love the dynasync but it did take a few weeks to get the feel of the pedal.

I’m so much faster on the dynasync.
 
Dude give it at least a month.

I played chain pedals my whole life then switched to a trick big foot pedal and then now a Tama dynasync

I absolutely love the dynasync but it did take a few weeks to get the feel of the pedal.

I’m so much faster on the dynasync.
Okay hearing that gave me some faith in these pedals, im just REALLY struggling with them right now, they just feel WAY too light under my feet.
How long did it take you to get used to Direct Drive pedals once you first initially switched over?
 
Okay hearing that gave me some faith in these pedals, im just REALLY struggling with them right now, they just feel WAY too light under my feet.
How long did it take you to get used to Direct Drive pedals once you first initially switched over?

To me the dynasync still feels like like part chain, part DD.

it took roughly a month. I adapted my technique and now am playing faster and more controlled.

I could never do the bonham triplet type roll on my chain pedals but can now do them with ease on this Dynasync
 
I play only Pearl pedals -- as well as Pearl drums and hardware, for that matter. For the last year and a half, I'd had a Pearl Demon Direct Drive. While a good pedal, it seemed overengineered and far too adjustable. The direct-drive setup was one I never fully adapted to either. I sold it recently and switched to a much simpler but very well-built Pearl P930 chain pedal. I'm much happier with this option. Chains just feel better to me.
thats how im feeling too, but being a big metal player there seems to be a huge craze for direct drives in the metal community and how much faster they are. Im not sure if i just havent gotten used to it or the pedal is not for me, especially since i only have a months time to return it.
 
To me the dynasync still feels like like part chain, part DD.

it took roughly a month. I adapted my technique and now am playing faster and more controlled.

I could never do the bonham triplet type roll on my chain pedals but can now do them with ease on this Dynasync
did you make any major adjustments on the pedals that helped you? or do you have any recommendations? i basically took mine straight outa the box and tightened the springs to full and thats how they are sitting now
 
thats how im feeling too, but being a big metal player there seems to be a huge craze for direct drives in the metal community and how much faster they are. Im not sure if i just havent gotten used to it or the pedal is not for me, especially since i only have a months time to return it.

I don't play metal, but I understand where you're coming from. My belief is that technique is more of a speed determiner than the type of pedal you're using. I wouldn't be inclined to stick with a direct drive if I didn't feel comfortable with it, but that's a choice you'll need to make for yourself. Good luck working things out.
 
I swap between my DW5k & my Luddy Speed King depening on the gig. One chain, one DD.
Not sure why, but doing so helps me quickly adjust the playing style used for each of them. I like the DD as there's no slop at all. Then again, I have my spring on the 5k tight enough to where it feels like an extension of my foot.

Just play it long enough to like it & you'll have no issues.
 
I just ordered A new Roland vad 306 and some of the tama dyna syncs to go with it, problem is I can’t play anything above 150bpm 16th note bass patterns without my feet falling apart and either accidentally speeding up way to quick out of tempo and inconsistent hitting or missing notes or whatever.

16ths at 150 BPM is right about the speed where DD pedal springs begin to play a bigger part in sending the beater forward. Between 150 and 170 (depending on spring tension) it might feel like the pedals are starting to get ahead of you, because that is exactly what's happening. It takes a while to get used to it.
 
16ths at 150 BPM is right about the speed where DD pedal springs begin to play a bigger part in sending the beater forward. Between 150 and 170 (depending on spring tension) it might feel like the pedals are starting to get ahead of you, because that is exactly what's happening. It takes a while to get used to it.
Yeah that’s exactly how it feels. Slower I can control it but once I start to try and play at those speeds it feels like the pedal is going faster from under my foot then my leg is even pushing it.
 
did you make any major adjustments on the pedals that helped you? or do you have any recommendations? i basically took mine straight outa the box and tightened the springs to full and thats how they are sitting now
Have you tried making any adjustments? When I first switched over to DD from chain I spent a lot of time tinkering with the settings. I have heard that the DynaSync pedals are a great DD for someone switching over from a chain drive. I wouldn’t give up on them without thoroughly exploring all the possible settings. That being said, that’s a lot of money to end up stuck with a pedal you don’t like. If the end of your return window comes and your still not happy, you might think about other options.

This video shows how to get back to factory settings. The sliding cam adjustment and the board adjustment can make a lot more difference than just adjusting the spring. I hope the pedal works out for you!

 
Throughout my career, I've played all of the different "drives" (basically three: cam and strap, chain, and direct) and pretty easily go between any of them to get the job done. So you'll forgive me if I say I don't understand what the huge deal is. I've done Speed King, Camco, Axis, Trick, Pearl Demon, Pearl Redline, Tama Iron cobras.....Now I have both the Yamaha FP8210 (chain) and their Flying Dragon (same thing but in direct drive), alongside a DW9000 which can be chain or strap. After a span of 40 years, I can honestly say that the differences are negligible between all the modern pedals and mode of drives. To be completely honest, what really threw me at first was going from a plateless pedal to one mounted on a plate back in the 80s - that was the biggest difference of all - the feel and solidity just improved ten fold. A friend of mine even has an ancient Speed King that he mounted on a plate and it feels much better. Why doesn't anybody talk about that?
 
Throughout my career, I've played all of the different "drives" (basically three: cam and strap, chain, and direct) and pretty easily go between any of them to get the job done. So you'll forgive me if I say I don't understand what the huge deal is. I've done Speed King, Camco, Axis, Trick, Pearl Demon, Pearl Redline, Tama Iron cobras.....Now I have both the Yamaha FP8210 (chain) and their Flying Dragon (same thing but in direct drive), alongside a DW9000 which can be chain or strap. After a span of 40 years, I can honestly say that the differences are negligible between all the modern pedals and mode of drives. To be completely honest, what really threw me at first was going from a plateless pedal to one mounted on a plate back in the 80s - that was the biggest difference of all - the feel and solidity just improved ten fold. A friend of mine even has an ancient Speed King that he mounted on a plate and it feels much better. Why doesn't anybody talk about that?
The differences are overrated by the proponents of each type. They do show up more during longer double bass single stroke runs at higher tempos. When I say higher tempos, I mean 16ths at 210 and up. A non-metal player might not notice it nearly as much.

No one talks about the plateless pedals because no one except us are that old! LOL They were a huge difference.
 
A friend of mine even has an ancient Speed King that he mounted on a plate and it feels much better. Why doesn't anybody talk about that?
Yup !!!
 

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Have you tried making any adjustments? When I first switched over to DD from chain I spent a lot of time tinkering with the settings. I have heard that the DynaSync pedals are a great DD for someone switching over from a chain drive. I wouldn’t give up on them without thoroughly exploring all the possible settings. That being said, that’s a lot of money to end up stuck with a pedal you don’t like. If the end of your return window comes and your still not happy, you might think about other options.

This video shows how to get back to factory settings. The sliding cam adjustment and the board adjustment can make a lot more difference than just adjusting the spring. I hope the pedal works out for you!


Yea. I’ve done some tinkering on my Dynasync as well.
I could send over my settings but everyone’s touch and feet are different.
 
Throughout my career, I've played all of the different "drives" (basically three: cam and strap, chain, and direct) and pretty easily go between any of them to get the job done. So you'll forgive me if I say I don't understand what the huge deal is. I've done Speed King, Camco, Axis, Trick, Pearl Demon, Pearl Redline, Tama Iron cobras.....Now I have both the Yamaha FP8210 (chain)
Well for you and I that just play regular old music we could lock-in to any pedal pretty easily. But these guys buying $800 direct drive pedals are playing extreme speeds between 200 and 300 BPM. bouncing the beaters off the heads like snare drum buz roll with the head tuned up tight. That's where the direct drive really comes in handy.
 
Well for you and I that just play regular old music we could lock-in to any pedal pretty easily. But these guys buying $800 direct drive pedals are playing extreme speeds between 200 and 300 BPM. bouncing the beaters off the heads like snare drum buz roll with the head tuned up tight. That's where the direct drive really comes in handy.
Does it though? You watch somebody like Thomas Lang doing double strokes with chained DW9000’s, or even Jojo Mayer playing phrases with a single Pearl cheapo pedal makes me question that. We can say those guys are the exception, but whenever I see incredible players, it’s inspiring and I tend to think I can do that too (instead thinking I can’t do it). And even then, the guys that are flying along are usually triggering too, so they’re just tapping away on their pedals anyway, right? ?
 
Does it though? You watch somebody like Thomas Lang doing double strokes with chained DW9000’s, or even Jojo Mayer playing phrases with a single Pearl cheapo pedal makes me question that. We can say those guys are the exception, but whenever I see incredible players, it’s inspiring and I tend to think I can do that too (instead thinking I can’t do it). And even then, the guys that are flying along are usually triggering too, so they’re just tapping away on their pedals anyway, right? ?
Absolutely not but a lot of the people at home mimicking these guys are only tapping on the the drum. I have watched them play on an expensive pearl pedals Tama Iron Cobra juniors and the like. Those guys can play single Strokes at incredible speeds.
 
Absolutely not but a lot of the people at home mimicking these guys are only tapping on the the drum. I have watched them play on an expensive pearl pedals Tama Iron Cobra juniors and the like. Those guys can play single Strokes at incredible speeds.
So why can’t everybody? To get away from the “I do what the music requires” mantra of the groovists for a moment, every time a discussion comes up about “getting faster”, I feel like I’m watching “The Right Stuff”. If Thomas and Jojo have already proven that the pedal doesn’t matter, why is the linkage an issue?
 
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