Pearl eliminator demon drive or DW9000?

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Ikebongo

Member
I’m buying a new double bass pedal and was wondering what thoughts were on these two pedals. I went to my local guitar center to try them out but they don’t have demon drive in stock. The 9000 felt really good.
 
The demon drive will feel different than the DW because it is a direct drive, i.e. no chain. It will feel more like an accellerator cam. The DW cam is adjustable to feel like accellerator, concentric, or anywhere in between. If your plan is to set the world on fire with raw foot speed, the Pearls can do this for you. But so can the DW. From a financial standpoint, the DW wins. From an adjustability standpoint, the Pearls win. The Pearls also offer long/shortboard option, the DWs do not. They really are two completely different monsters. It's kinda like comparing a Honda and a Ferrari. In the long run, they are both cars and perform the same operation. They each have their strong and weak points.
 
I have owned both. Both are great pedals but feel very different. You have tried the DW so I won't go into that. The Pearl Demon Drive has a very light feel, especially in the long board configuration. I suggest you try buy. The Demon Chain feels altogether different than the direct drive. I own this pedal as well. I now play the Trick Pro 1V but the DW 90002 is a close second for me.
 
The thing with the Pearl Demon pedals: adjustability. When I got my single one, I futz around with all the adjustments you can make, and lo and behold, I made it feel just like my DW9000 single pedal. So if you don't mind jumping into a learning curve about what the pedal can do, check that one out.

I would also recommend the Pearl over the DW because the linkage between the slave and it's beater is built better. On the DW pedals, I always recommend swapping out the linkage for the Canopus ball-bearing linkage (an $180 upgrade) which makes the slave feel identical to the primary because it's so smooth. But the Pearl linkage is pretty smooth to begin with.
 
The eliminator driveshaft alone is worth about $130 USD, last time I checked Trick Drums' website.
 
TRY THEM BOTH... direct drive feels TOTALLY different.

You say you like the fell of the 9000.. I'd probibly get that then... As a guy who has played direct drive for 10+ years I love the responsiveness, but still find chain pedals have a nice feel for the foot.. It feels like more power. Direct drive are faster in my opinion.. That is why many of the metal guys use them.

The demons are an amazing pedal that are very adjustable. I would suggest starting in short board if you have never tried a long board.. the leverage in an long board is far different. combine a longboard with direct drive you can barely feel your feet when you are flying on them. This can be good and bad depending on what you like.
 
The Pearl DD has a really bad reputation, worse than I thought after talking to a Pearl dealer. He even had one himself and didn't like it. For me they just feel wrong and it's not because the direct drive. I have an Axis A and that doesn't feel wrong to me.

I would be pitting the 9000 up against a Redline, that would be a much better fight.

I've only played the 9000 at the store, you need to take these home to really know what they are like. I had the option of buying any pedal I wanted, did lots of research and ended up buying a Redline, strap version. Am impressed to say the least, after setting it up it performs 1000 times better than at the store, even thought I took the time to set it up at the store as well. That's how these things work.
 
Ben Tama said:
The Pearl DD has a really bad reputation, worse than I thought after talking to a Pearl dealer. He even had one himself and didn't like it. For me they just feel wrong and it's not because the direct drive. I have an Axis A and that doesn't feel wrong to me.
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I'd take a DD over a 9000 any day of the week.. Different pedals for different folks I guess.
 
Well, I just ordered a Demon Drive single pedal, as a direct drive complement to my strap-drive Perfect Balance. They are complete opposites, and I’m hoping that developing the ability to move seamlessly between the two will really develop my right foot control. Or I’ll have fun trying.
 
I own the Pearl Demon Drive but I could never get used to it no matter how I adjusted it or what beater I used. After messing around with it for a couple of years I gave up and ordered a DW 9000 XF and couldn't be happier. I can do stuff with the 9000 that I wasn't even close to doing with the DD... Which is sad because I mostly do pretty simple stuff. Adjustments are a lot easier on the 9000 as well.

Though if I could change anything I would get the standard footboard model instead of the XF version, it turns out that I get along just fine on the standard 9000. Originally I thought I might need the longer footboard because I wear size 13 shoes.
 
Have the 9000's & added the Trick Shaft which transforms them :) Definitely a worthwhile upgrade
 
I love my single pedal demon drive. I have it set as a longboard. I can see how people who had never played a direct drive pedal might find it too light, though. It took some adjusting and getting used to, but it’s my favorite pedal now.
 
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