Bo Eder
Platinum Member
I guess bass drum pedals are an obsession for me. I grew up on any of the late 60s Camco variants pretty much made by everybody, and even played alot of Speed Kings. But like cowboy boots, you get used to one feel and that feel transfers to every pedal since. I tweak alot of vintage pedals, and have even discovered that I even tweak new hi-tech pedals to make them feel like my old Camco'. After this latest "downgrade" to my trusty 5000 pedal, I decided to get a 9000. And the cool thing is the 9000 has all of the tweaks built-in that I added to my 5000 (namely, a smooth bearing for the rocker spring), a choice of either double chain or strap (I immediately installed the strap). Cooler engineering that I couldn't really do to my 5000 is on the 9000 - like the plate bottom covered in RUBBER instead of velcro (no more pulling up anybody's carpeting picking up the pedal), and the nice three-points of contact for the hoop clamp, which means it's not cast metal crunching down on my bass drum hoop, but three rubber points - this was a nice touch. The only adjusting I did to the pedal after installing the nylon strap was the spring tension. I left everything else as it came out of the box and it feels great!
The attached pictures are of the old 5000, first, showing what I was dealing with, and then the new 9000. Although they feel identical, I think the 9000 is the ultimate Camco pedal to have. And at $329, it better be. I was tempted to try the new DW CNC machined pedal, but I'm not ready to spend $500+ on a single bass drum pedal just yet. Right now I'm debating getting the 9000 hi-hat, so I can have heavy duty where I need it (pedals, and throne), and then use the Yamaha Crosstown stuff for the cymbals and tom. That might be a good way to go. I like the Yamaha Crosstown hi-hat, but I know it'll never be as stable as something heavier, and I'm not sure how much abuse it will actually take.
The attached pictures are of the old 5000, first, showing what I was dealing with, and then the new 9000. Although they feel identical, I think the 9000 is the ultimate Camco pedal to have. And at $329, it better be. I was tempted to try the new DW CNC machined pedal, but I'm not ready to spend $500+ on a single bass drum pedal just yet. Right now I'm debating getting the 9000 hi-hat, so I can have heavy duty where I need it (pedals, and throne), and then use the Yamaha Crosstown stuff for the cymbals and tom. That might be a good way to go. I like the Yamaha Crosstown hi-hat, but I know it'll never be as stable as something heavier, and I'm not sure how much abuse it will actually take.