Lets compare DIRECT DRIVE Kick Pedals!

Drummertist

Silver Member
Here's the ones I know of:

Trick Pro 1-V
Trick Dominator
Axis Pedals
Yamaha direct drive pedal (forgot what it's called)


If I'm missing any, please add to the list. We always compare Direct Drive to Chain Drive, but we never seem to compare Direct Drive to itself.

Which pedal do you prefer?
Positives and Negatives between each brand?
What could one brand do differently that the other has already done...or not?
 
There's quite a few threads comparing direct drive pedals. I just started one for the Trick Dominator.

You forgot the Pearl Demon Drive and Ludwig Speed King. I think the Yamaha is Flying Dragon.

How about the Demon Drive vs the Flying Dragon. Sounds like a Hong Kong action flick.
 
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PDP BOA its fairly new some argue it should be a dw but i dont see where it would fit :p
 
Can anyone really articulate the advantage or disadvantage of direct vs chain vs strap? To me, it seems that if you replace a direct drive shaft with a chain or a strap, the actual moving parts of the pedal are going to do the same thing, but many people swear by one system exclusively. I don't see it. Can some proponent of direct drive please explain?

Incidetally, i use the trick pro 1v bigfoot detonator which has a 3 way adjustible direct drive linkage, which is great, but i still feel that if the exact length of the drive was replaced by the same length of chain or strap, again, the moving parts would be doing the same thing.
 
Can anyone really articulate the advantage or disadvantage of direct vs chain vs strap? To me, it seems that if you replace a direct drive shaft with a chain or a strap, the actual moving parts of the pedal are going to do the same thing, but many people swear by one system exclusively. I don't see it. Can some proponent of direct drive please explain?

Incidetally, i use the trick pro 1v bigfoot detonator which has a 3 way adjustible direct drive linkage, which is great, but i still feel that if the exact length of the drive was replaced by the same length of chain or strap, again, the moving parts would be doing the same thing.

Bro, in the end I believe it's 99% hype. Once the chain or strap gets moving, it does the same crap that the metal linkage does. The only difference is that the footboard moves in unison with the direct linkage on every stroke, even the upstrokes.

I could take George Kollias and he would kick it on ANY decent pedal. I've seen Tim Waterson kick it on a crap pedal with a boot on!

I own them all BTW, Axis, Trick, Pearl Elim and Demon Drive. What I like about the new demon drive double pedal is the fact that it truly has the best slave pedal out there. The damn thing osciallates almost as much as the main one!

If I was using 2 kick drums, pedal choice would matter MUCH less.
 
The new Yamaha pedals are called ''Sleek'' models.

img55832714.jpg


Im thinking of order a custom lefty direct drive version.

http://www.yamaha.com/drums/bassdrumpedals.html?CTID=5040585&CNTYP=PRODUCT

The doublechained are offered with longboards (like the hihat stands) but without the new softcases that comes with the new ''sleek'' series.

What would be the usefull difference between standard and longer boards?
 
The new Yamaha pedals are called ''Sleek'' models.

img55832714.jpg


Im thinking of order a custom lefty direct drive version.

http://www.yamaha.com/drums/bassdrumpedals.html?CTID=5040585&CNTYP=PRODUCT

The doublechained are offered with longboards (like the hihat stands) but without the new softcases that comes with the new ''sleek'' series.

What would be the usefull difference between standard and longer boards?

I'd like to give those a try! Hope a shop around here get's a set!
 
Can anyone really articulate the advantage or disadvantage of direct vs chain vs strap? To me, it seems that if you replace a direct drive shaft with a chain or a strap, the actual moving parts of the pedal are going to do the same thing, but many people swear by one system exclusively. I don't see it. Can some proponent of direct drive please explain?

Incidetally, i use the trick pro 1v bigfoot detonator which has a 3 way adjustible direct drive linkage, which is great, but i still feel that if the exact length of the drive was replaced by the same length of chain or strap, again, the moving parts would be doing the same thing.

Which all the manufactures selling direct-drives could capitalize on by including a chain drive accessory with their pedal's.

Chains are relatively cheap. At $600-$1,200 for a pedal set-up, a chain/strap option should be thrown in! Cover all the bases. It'd be real easy to design a convertible chain/direct drive feature on a pedal.

The main difference in feel between direct and chain/strap is the frequency shift when the chain/strap leaves the cam (down-stroke) and meets up with the cam again (up-stroke). You could call this 'lag' but the chain doesn't loose tension, it only looses a miniscule amount of speed on the up-stroke. Our bodies bioelectrical field can detect this shift, though its really inconsequential... depending on your sensitivity. Take the cam out of the equation an there's a more 'direct' feel.
 
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Bro, in the end I believe it's 99% hype. Once the chain or strap gets moving, it does the same crap that the metal linkage does. The only difference is that the footboard moves in unison with the direct linkage on every stroke, even the upstrokes.

I could take George Kollias and he would kick it on ANY decent pedal. I've seen Tim Waterson kick it on a crap pedal with a boot on!

I own them all BTW, Axis, Trick, Pearl Elim and Demon Drive. What I like about the new demon drive double pedal is the fact that it truly has the best slave pedal out there. The damn thing osciallates almost as much as the main one!

If I was using 2 kick drums, pedal choice would matter MUCH less.

It isn't quite 99% hype. The fact that the beater, the drive system and the footboard are synchronized all the time, including the up motion, gives a trmendous advantage both in terms of feel and speed, especially when your springs are really tight. Those upstrokes when the footboard comes back slower than the beater and then goes down even later are pretty annoying at times.

Also, concerning George Kollias, I wouldn't be so confident about him playing just as well on regular pedals :)) Actually there is a video where he tries to play on a Pearl Eliminator and just can't do it right (true, the pedal was set for the owner's personal preferences, not George's, but anyway), so he brings his Axis pedals in order to demonstrate what he was until then only talking about. Those extreme speeds that George is playing obviously require a special pedal, and Axis isn't his (and many others') pedal of choice by mistake. Those pedals are much faster than regular pedals because of lighter footboards, because of longer footboards and because of the direct drive - they're truly 'precision pedals'.

I wonder if the direct drive wears out faster than the chain or strap, given that it is bound to absorb the entire shock of each stroke, which the chain or strap would dissipate to a certain degree.
 
Bro, in the end I believe it's 99% hype. Once the chain or strap gets moving, it does the same crap that the metal linkage does. The only difference is that the footboard moves in unison with the direct linkage on every stroke, even the upstrokes.

I could take George Kollias and he would kick it on ANY decent pedal. I've seen Tim Waterson kick it on a crap pedal with a boot on!

I own them all BTW, Axis, Trick, Pearl Elim and Demon Drive. What I like about the new demon drive double pedal is the fact that it truly has the best slave pedal out there. The damn thing osciallates almost as much as the main one!

If I was using 2 kick drums, pedal choice would matter MUCH less.

And the Trick slave pedal does nto have this feature? Which would you prefer or which slave pedal is more imitating and accurate to the main pedal between Trick and the demon drive?
 
I know that Ludwig isn't exactly known for its high quality hardware. I have an opportunity to pick up a used SpeedKing for real cheap. Should I?

BTW: I already started this thread. But figured it would be better off here...
 
I have been using the Yamaha Flying Dragon for a few years and love it!!. Cant say anything about the other pedals but I love this one for it's responsivness anf feel.
 
- DSCRAPRE - ... Have you tryed a speedking pedal? The 'speed' of the pedal is the return of the foot board not the down stroke, unless you loosen the 2 screws in the pedals frame, but then the result is a quick down stroke and a very slow return. The foot boards are extremly small. For some reason, at the top of the direct link was built sticking out just a bit to close to the bass drum batter head and if you like your bass drums spurs all the way out, the direct drive link always finds it way to scuffing up the batter head. Also for me to get the correct feel of the pedal you really have to crank down on the pedals attachment to the bass hoop because the pedal is built really flimsey.... but it is easy to take apart, aswell the speedking does have a good price (brand new) i payed $179.99 (canadian) plus tax for mine. But i dont even use mine any more. Anyway hope this helps you out.
 
It isn't quite 99% hype. The fact that the beater, the drive system and the footboard are synchronized all the time, including the up motion, gives a trmendous advantage both in terms of feel and speed, especially when your springs are really tight. Those upstrokes when the footboard comes back slower than the beater and then goes down even later are pretty annoying at times.
Impossible. The footboard can't come back slower than the beater unless you're using an elastic strap between them. Chain is no more elastic than a direct link. The only possible situation where the footboard and the beater can be desynchronized is if for some reason the footboard goes up faster than the beater. This can obviously happen only if it sticks to your foot for some reason, or if there is a spring underneath it that is stronger than the main pedal spring.

The difference in feel comes from the different action of the direct drive cam compared to the chain cam.

Also, concerning George Kollias, I wouldn't be so confident about him playing just as well on regular pedals :)) Actually there is a video where he tries to play on a Pearl Eliminator and just can't do it right (true, the pedal was set for the owner's personal preferences, not George's, but anyway), so he brings his Axis pedals in order to demonstrate what he was until then only talking about. Those extreme speeds that George is playing obviously require a special pedal, and Axis isn't his (and many others') pedal of choice by mistake. Those pedals are much faster than regular pedals because of lighter footboards, because of longer footboards and because of the direct drive - they're truly 'precision pedals'.
George himself said he could play just as fast on his old Iron Cobra pedals, it just wouldn't feel as good.

I wonder if the direct drive wears out faster than the chain or strap, given that it is bound to absorb the entire shock of each stroke, which the chain or strap would dissipate to a certain degree.
How do you imagine they dissipate it?
 
@ DSCRAPRE-
I'm using a vintage mid-60's Speed King and I have to say its just as smooth as a Pearl Demon Drive, I tried them out at Tommy's Drum Shop (sell's Fibes drums) where they also had one of the new Speed Kings. You can find them cheap, and they are a real pleasure to play. Much better, more natural feeling than my friends Iron Cobras. That thing is built strong. It is probably one of the most famous direct drives there are, because they've been around forever, and they are innovative and just great.
 
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jodgey4 - to each there own, aswell im glad to here that you enjoy your speedking pedal... what ever works for ya.
 
I don't know if the fact i've never played any other double pedal then my $99 Sound Percussion but when I played the Demon Drive double pedal in the store the other day it was freaking amazing.
 
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