High end pedals? Tell me why...

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savage8190

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So the other thread about quality pedals on a budget got me thinking...my pedal is cheap (Mapex P700), what do expensive pedals offer that mine doesn't? I'm fairly new, and never played another pedal...is it just durability? Feel? I just don't get what the difference is between a middle of the road pedal that swings a beater into a drum vs a high end pedal that...swings a beater into a drum.
 
So the other thread about quality pedals on a budget got me thinking...my pedal is cheap (Mapex P700), what do expensive pedals offer that mine doesn't? I'm fairly new, and never played another pedal...is it just durability? Feel? I just don't get what the difference is between a middle of the road pedal that swings a beater into a drum vs a high end pedal that...swings a beater into a drum.


Well.. I paid about $300 for my kick pedal which is a drumnetics. It doesn't used springs. Is all hand made by 1 guy in his shop and has been awesome for the last 18 months or so i have had it. Not sure what you get out of other brands normal kicks but i went with this one mainly cause it's innovative and i like to support new ideas.. and the guy that makes them is about the nicest person i have ever dealt with :) I just wish he had gotten his hi-hat stands done.. i want one of those also...
 
The player matters, not the pedal. A fantastic drummer can make do with any pedal in a pinch.

That said, better gear often adds incremental benefits, such as comfort when playing, or better response.

Take, for example, direct drive pedals. The ones I've seen are engineered much better than most pedals on the market.

Of course, I can't figure out the costing for some pedals, like DWs recent direct drive pedal. It is insanely expensive, and seems unjustifiable to me, but what do I know.

Don't get conned, but don't be underwhelmed either. There is definitely a reason why some pedals are more expensive than others.

I find double bass pedals in the $300 or so range to be the best bet. Stuff like the Eliminators and Iron Cobras and Mapex Falcons. But some people like pedals like the Demon Drives, the DW9000s and the Axises and the Tricks, which are considerably more expensive.
 
So the other thread about quality pedals on a budget got me thinking...my pedal is cheap (Mapex P700), what do expensive pedals offer that mine doesn't? I'm fairly new, and never played another pedal...is it just durability? Feel? I just don't get what the difference is between a middle of the road pedal that swings a beater into a drum vs a high end pedal that...swings a beater into a drum.

You've never played another pedal, but can't get what the difference would be? Simple - go play on other pedals. Not just "high end" ones either, but try chain drive vs. direct drive vs. belt drive. Everyone has different preferences - me, I'm not really into chain drive pedals, whereas other folks swear by 'em.
 
I'm with Zephyr, I play an Axis and it feels great. Solid and reliable like an old pair of shoes. People go nuts for adjustable options and dialing the pedal in just so, which an expensive pedal allow for. Not really my thing though which is why I settled on the Axis.

That being said, I have really be digging the feel of my Speed King lately.
 
I think I've played every high end pedal out there, and have now settled on the new Pearl Eliminator Redline. They all offer better durability and adjustability, which means all my life I've been making them play like my old low end Tama FlexiFlyers from 1978!

But I've seen cheap pedals just break and you can't fix them. When a high end pedal breaks, it's like the engineers knew where it would break and can supply the correct parts to repair it. That's what you're buying.
 
And when your pedal breaks be sure to re-purpose it and not just throw it away.
 

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So the other thread about quality pedals on a budget got me thinking...my pedal is cheap (Mapex P700), what do expensive pedals offer that mine doesn't? I'm fairly new, and never played another pedal...is it just durability? Feel? I just don't get what the difference is between a middle of the road pedal that swings a beater into a drum vs a high end pedal that...swings a beater into a drum.



Advantages of hi-end pedals are durability and adjustability. Feel is subjective across the board, I've played low end pedals under $100 that felt great.





The main adjustable points are foot board height and beater (shaft) angle, hi-end pedals offer these adjustments as 'independent'. Take a DW 5000 pedal as an example, we can consider it hi-end, tho on it you cannot adjust the beater angel w/o affecting the foot board angle, you 'can' move its chain to affect foot board angel, but its limited and its not convenient/easy, its sort of a half ass compromise.

The easiest pedal to adjust widely IMO for under $200 is the TAMA IRON COBRA, the latest version is I believe, the best (single) pedal you can get for under $200 and maybe even $300 due to the fact the adjustments are easy to make from you stool they're all independently adjustable by themselves, one adjustment does not affect another so to speak*, this is the ultimate IMO.

DW could remedy their (above mentioned) problem on the 5000 just by putting on a longer chain, the excess would tuck under the foot board and be adjusted there, this would vault the DW 5000 beyond the COBRA design for the simple fact that when you adjust the foot board angle on a COBRA, *you change the position of the cam in relation to the main shaft, not so much a factor on a round cam (ROLLING GLIDE), but on any eccentric style cam (POWER GLIDE) you totally alter the mechanics of the design when the cam is lowered.

Any pedal who's foot board angle adjustment affects the throw angle of the cam is not ultimate, its another half ass compromise, a lot of hi-end pedals are like this. So if DW put a longer chain on the 5000 and made the adjustment point under the foot board instead of on top of the cam (the worst place bc you affect the throw mechanics) DW could easily vault the 5000 to a new level, it'd be the 'total' bomb pedal, right now its hanging on to a 20th century design flaw.


Most drummers say "Yeah, but I don't really mess with my pedal adjustments, and when I do they end up back to default/factory settings, or close." Maybe true, but having a completely, independently adjustable pedal is a plus. Ppl like to experiment, need adjustments, a great stage application is backline gear, Im pretty sure the most popular backline pedal is the IRON COBRA bc A. Its cheap and B. Its easily independently adjustable. Doesn't matter how popular backline pedals may be, they do exist in that form. Im much happier when I show up to a backline kit with an IRON COBRA, as opposed to a DW 5000 not adjusted to my liking.
 
It's a lot about personal taste.

With different lines inside one brand the engineering, adjustment options as well as quality of parts and certain solutions for moving parts will differ.

Your purpose for the pedal might be a deciding factor, too.

As for price, offcourse it's about quality, cost of materials and production, but that doesn't always translate completely because it will vary so much depending on where it's produced and where it's sold and a bit of current value of your currency. Big companies should be less expensive than small builders, but that's not always the case either. Many reasons for that, too.
 
Which Axis do you have?
I'm not exactly sure, TBH. I got it in the 90's when I bought a drum set off of my uncle. It started off as a double pedal, then after it broke, I had to combine everything into a single pedal. I've been using it ever since. It looks like an A2 Axis pedal.
 
Basically you can play all your life with cheap pedals and be happy. I don't really see a big problem there. The high-end pedals - as already mentioned - offer adjustability and options that the cheaper single chain drives don't offer. Some of the expensive pedals are so adjustable, that it's not easy to understand what you can do and which effect it has. Pearls top-line pedals offer e.g. lots of possibilities for individualization.

For me, I don't need much of these things. I want a sturdy, sensitive, ultra-responsive pedal that just doesn't get in my way but that lets me do the things I want to do without distracting me. I found that in the Yamaha FP9500D. It's - if I am not mistaken - the cheapest "high-end" direct-drive-pedal on the market. But it gets the job done for me.

But to be honest: I could also play with my "cheapo"-backup, the Tama Iron Cobra Jr., my gigs and I would not have a bad feeling. It does all the basics things pretty well and is pretty sturdy, too.
 
I use a DW 9000 Double. This is a high end pedal & to me, Adjustability is key along with absolute smoothness. I have it dialled in perfectly for my playing & love it. I also have an Iron Cobra Power Glide but this just sits now on my Alesis kit.
 
After some years I upgraded from the (cheap) pedal which came with my kit.

The new pedal was smoother, louder, effortless. I could play faster rhythms, including doubles, I could play all night without getting a tired foot. The pedal felt solid, no sideways wobble, no wasted movement or squeaks, no delay between pushing on the plate and the beater moving, the spring doesn't work itself loose, and if anything wears out, spare parts are available.

That is why.
 
So the other thread about quality pedals on a budget got me thinking...my pedal is cheap (Mapex P700), what do expensive pedals offer that mine doesn't? I'm fairly new, and never played another pedal...is it just durability? Feel? I just don't get what the difference is between a middle of the road pedal that swings a beater into a drum vs a high end pedal that...swings a beater into a drum.

Stock pedals today are very good compared to what was available when I started playing. That said, you'll understand the value of a high quality pedal if and when you ever experience a breakdown. I swear by DW pedals (5000, 8000, 9000) as they have served me flawlessly, but they are not cheap.
 
Two of the high end pedals on the market, Axis and Trick, have the best twin pedal driveshafts money can buy, as far as I know. So while some say "the pedal doesn't matter, it's the drummer", the driveshaft actually does matter. They are the most indispensable pieces of hardware on my kit.

The engineering, parts, and assembly on higher end pedals tends to be superior as well. You have tighter tolerances, the best bearings, etc, and no cut corners to save money (hence the higher price).

I've owned Trick pedals and the quality is unbelievable. I mean outrageously high quality. But I eventually decided on Axis because I like the feel best of all the pedals I've tried. That's really what matters.
 
Two of the high end pedals on the market, Axis and Trick, have the best twin pedal driveshafts money can buy, as far as I know. So while some say "the pedal doesn't matter, it's the drummer", the driveshaft actually does matter. They are the most indispensable pieces of hardware on my kit.

The engineering, parts, and assembly on higher end pedals tends to be superior as well. You have tighter tolerances, the best bearings, etc, and no cut corners to save money (hence the higher price).

I've owned Trick pedals and the quality is unbelievable. I mean outrageously high quality. But I eventually decided on Axis because I like the feel best of all the pedals I've tried. That's really what matters.

Using the Trick Shaft on my 9000's Amazing the difference it makes.
 
Ironically enough within hours of my posting this my Mapex pedal started having issues. There is a ton of play in the foot plate (wiggles side to side) and the bolt on the side holding the cam shaft (is that right?...using my car lingo here) has loosened right off. Was a big sloppy mess today.
 
With higher end pedals you're going to get a better quality product with more expensive/better parts, and the higher end pedals normally have more options for adjusting the pedal to get it EXACTLY how you want it.

Tama makes a Speed Cobra 310 and a Speed Cobra 910 the 310 has a different bracket where the chain connects to the drive shaft, you can't adjust the beater angle independently of the foot-board angle, different bearings, no Cobra Coil on the 310 plus a few other differences I can't seem to remember, that's why there's a $100 price difference between the two!

When I first started playing I had an old Pearl pedal that worked fine but once I started getting into playing faster and doing doubles on the kick that old Pearl single chain wasn't cutting it anymore, I got a pair of Iron Cobra doubles which were much better, then I tried a DW5000 and ended up selling the IC's to get 2 DW5000 singles and I never looked back!
 
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