Is playing vintage pedals missing out?

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Philaiy9

Junior Member
My preferred pedal is the Ludwig Speed King, a modded and refurbished vintage one that has zero play and is pretty smooth with the occasional greasing. My favorite thing about these pedals is how sensitive they are--both in terms of speed and dynamics. It's the most comfortable pedal for me to play, but that's possibly just because it's what I practice on.

A ton of time has passed since the speed King design was conjured up. Pedals from the 60s no doubt smoked pedals from the 30s. Can the same be said of current production pedals, with all the additional sealed bearings and other R&D? I'm thinking purely in terms of smoothness/playability, not adjustments (just not my thing).

For me, it's a no. But I'm curious what people's thoughts are.
 
Being honest, the Speed King isn’t as smooth as a lot of newer pedals. That designed used for the Gretsch Floating Action pretty much is the basic design for every pedal since then, and it was a lot more responsive than the Speed King out of the box. But if it plays well for you, then it works!
 
Not adverse to vintage- 70s Ludwig - hi hat pedals. Think they were moderately light and very reliable. All three leg versions of Ludwig Atlas. The 70s Atlas Cymbal stands still - for quick and go gigs- also do the job.
Bass drum pedals tho, no.
Snare stands- the Buck Rogers from the 50s must have lasted into the 70s- I use one with one set in particular. It's light and no hassle.

The 1980 Ludwig catalog- their stands in there- were pretty good.

1980_big_beat.jpg



Then the Japanese big 3 came in and swamped them, But Ludwig had some, all mostly domestic metal, some honest sturdy enough stuff..
still works today. Glad I kept them ; ) in addition to the overboard (and underboard) latest stuff.

(underboard would be like the latest Gibraltar flat base series)- the 70s Ludwig Atlas series stands might stand be equal- be on par in performance and schlepping= with those.
The massive but trendy then, 80s Tama Titan stuff now just sits and take's up "gravity".
 
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jda said:
Not adverse to vintage- 70s Ludwig - hi hat pedals. Think they were light and reliable. All three leg versions of Ludwig Atlas. The 70s Atlas Cymbal stands still - for quick and go gigs- also do the job.
Bass drum pedals tho, no.
Click to expand...
Agreed on those Atlas hi hat pedals, I have two. I enjoy the shallow angle of the footboard as well.
 
I think if you can play what you want to play comfortably, it really doesn't matter what pedal you are using.

That said, maybe stop into a music store and put your foot on a few new pedals. Sometimes you don't know what you are missing if you never play anything else.
 
Speed King, like a lot of pedals, can be a hard pedal, to play, unless you're comfortable with it. It was my first quality pedal (after my MIJ stencil 60's stock clone pedal) ...... and I did OK with the Speed King back then, but I found the Camco/Tama pedal to be much more to my liking. And if I go back to a vintage pedal, that's what I play.

The BIG problem with the Speed King ...... it has no double-pedal option. It has the double bass drum option:LOL: So, that's quite a limiting factor. If I'm playing a double pedal, I use my Pearl 932. Set up a lot (feel-wise) as my Camco/Tama pedals, it's got a lot fewer miles on it, that any Camco/Tama double I can get my hands on.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
I think if you can play what you want to play comfortably, it really doesn't matter what pedal you are using.

That said, maybe stop into a music store and put your foot on a few new pedals. Sometimes you don't know what you are missing if you never play anything else.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea, there's certainly no harm in trying them out. It's been a few years since I've seriously compared.
 
A lot depends on the pedal itself, but the ones I consistently use are my older DW5000 single chain double and my Tama Power Glide double chain from the 80s, I believe. Got a Premier 252 in great shape but it just doesn’t agree with me, while I have a 70s Tama strap drive with a big contraption on top that does well for some things, although isn’t the best for slamming.
 
jda said:
Not adverse to vintage- 70s Ludwig - hi hat pedals. Think they were moderately light and very reliable. All three leg versions of Ludwig Atlas. The 70s Atlas Cymbal stands still - for quick and go gigs- also do the job.
Bass drum pedals tho, no.
Snare stands- the Buck Rogers from the 50s must have lasted into the 70s- I use one with one set in particular. It's light and no hassle.

The 1980 Ludwig catalog- their stands in there- were pretty good.

1980_big_beat.jpg



Then the Japanese big 3 came in and swamped them, But Ludwig had some, all mostly domestic metal, some honest sturdy enough stuff..
still works today. Glad I kept them ; ) in addition to the overboard (and underboard) latest stuff.

(underboard would be like the latest Gibraltar flat base series)- the 70s Ludwig Atlas series stands might stand be equal- be on par in performance and schlepping= with those.
The massive but trendy then, 80s Tama Titan stuff now just sits and take's up "gravity".
Click to expand...
The Ludwig stuff was cool - but those plastic T-handles tended to break a lot. As far as hardware went, I liked what the Japanese did in the 80s. Ludwig and Gretsch were lucky to survive while Rogers and Slingerland died slowly. Dark times back then.
 
+/-
lisa IMG_1723.jpeg

😼
never had one break )
Just brought them back into Service
 
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have this vintage - flat leg Atlas en route

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LUDWIG SPUR-LOK HI HAT CYMBAL STAND | eBay

LUDWIG SPUR-LOK HI HAT CYMBAL STAND In very nice condition. I am here to help you complete your drum project or add on to it!
www.ebay.com

for my "other" 60s RB set..
I get a warm feeling..
 
I still have, and love my dads 50's era Speed king. it is the pedal I learned on, and played on from 73-94. Then I got my DW5000 couble bass pedal. i learned everythign from DAve Brubeck, to The Jackson 5 to Iron Maiden to Fates Warning to Sting to Primus to Benny Goodman stuff on the Speed King.

I still have it, but I don't use it so as not to trash it. It has the CLASSIC Speed king squeak, which I will never get rid of.
 
If it’s working for you, then why swap?

On the other hand (foot?) if you have a problem with it, you are pretty much guaranteed to be able to find a modern pedal that suits you. I had a vintage Premier 250 that I was struggling with, so I bought a cheap modern store brand chain drive pedal, and it is superior in every way. I threw the old one away, and haven’t looked back.

:)
 
A Speed King was my first proper pedal. Played it to death, literally. It needs a refurb but I haven't been brave enough to mess with it.

They're great pedals, Very basic design from the 30s but lots of folk swear by them. If it aint broke for you don't fix it!

I settled on the original DW5000 strap drive. I have an original 81 model but use the most recent version from the 90s for everything. So I'm settled on a design that's just the 40 years old!
 
This simple design (on 16x15 Pearl kick) works just as well as my Tama iron cobra. It’s not as smooth but works the same. Though a cheap piece of crap for a pedal it works great for this kick. I tried my Iron cobra on it and it didn’t sit as well. On that riser it’s a little cannon of a kick. As long as you can pull back beater with finger , let go and get some good pendulum motion you are good to go. No matter how fancy your pedal you tighten the spring so much you get no action that’s a dead ☠️ pedal to me. IMG_4227.jpeg
 
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I actually fell in love with a DW 5000 single chain at Sam Ash today. Interesting that I already have one from the 90s but it doesn't seem to play as smooth.
 
I'm a fan of the Speed King, too. It's like a sister group to most other modern pedals, so more "different" than "outdated" (or is a jellyfish more outdated than more "advanced" animals?).
If you like it, you could try out the new Speed King reissue, or the Trick compression pedal. I think a few independent makers in China also make them (as well as spiral pedals like Ghosts), but they tend to not have a brand name or international dealer. Other direct-drive pedals may offer an in-between feel, too. But personally I don't feel "missing out" if I only play a Speed King for the rest of my life.
 
My first pedal was a Speed King. I didn't know any other pedals until I bought my new Pearl double bass kit that came with 2 pedals. I just used those forever until I got a Ludwig Atlas Pro and then my DW5000. I easily get used to any pedal, none of them have been a game changer for me as far as foot speed and action. I have a Yamaha 700 series also which for me does what its supposed to. I think it comes down to spring tension to get the pedals to respons, and once that feel is there, they all just go up and down.
 
I had a vintage Speed King, sold it & bought one of the new re-issues. I can say the newer one is tight, has some cool features & is in it for the long haul. I love the portability of it and I use it for my smaller footprint shows.
It's such a great pedal.
 
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