Solid Heel Plate or Parallel Support Bars under your pedal?

vyacheslav

Senior Member
Greetings,

I just want to get a feel for what you like at the base of your pedal..................a solid floor plate or the collapsible, parallel bars underneath?

I know there are Pros & Cons to both. Personally I prefer the parallel support bars. I am not heavy footed at all, so I never usually have a problem with bass drum "creep". I also like the compactness/portability/lightweight of the parallel bar models as well. To me, they also offer another advantage. If you have an older bass drum with the old school telescoping spurs (that telescope into the shell) or if the spurs or even the stage you're set up on is uneven/wonky, the parallel bars model pedals allow the pedal to "float" and adjust to whatever floor your on, so it's self-leveling in a way. This is where a solid floor plate becomes a disadvantage to me. Sometimes, even on level floors, the floor plate won't sit level once it's clamped down. This makes the whole pedal and bass drum assembly "bounce", which puts A LOT of stress on the bass drum batter hoop.

I also like that the parallel bars model are very easy to move, even when connected to the bass drum. When you have a pedal with a solid floor plate and Velcro underneath (as most of them do), have you ever set up your drums and then had to move your bass drum about 3 inches? Good luck with that!

The only advantage I can think of on a solid floor plate model is that it is indeed solid, it won't move no matter how hard you play, and I imagine it feels more stable and secure under your foot when you are pounding away. Again, that doesn't apply in my case, so I have no need to carry around the extra bulk and weight of a solid floor plate model. If you prefer to use a parallel bars model pedal but have some problem with bass drum "creep", you can put a small piece of self adhesive Velcro on the underside of the heel plate. That usually works pretty well, unless you are jumping on it with Frankenstein boots!

How about you? Why do you like what you use and why do you not like what you don't use?

V
 
I prefer the feel of the solid foot plate. They are not only more stable, they are also near noiseless (talking about my Elininator pedals, black an redlines). I played P880s before and although I liked their speed the noises they made annoyed me...
 
I've never felt that the parallel spring bars were that big of a detriment, but I've thought that the floor plate makes the whole thing more stable. I mean, if Bonham could play thunderous kick drum with an old Speed King, is the floor plate really "that" necessary?

I think it would be a much bigger deal with double pedals - I only us a single, so it's probably not as big of a deal.
 
Depends how the spring bars are secured. I have the basic Yamaha kick pedal, which I can't play because the rods allow the pedal to flop up and down--but I can play a Tama HP50 no problem because the rods on that one are secured by a plate.

For the sake of transport, a pedal that breaks down wins every time... but overall I prefer a plate.
 
I mean, if Bonham could play thunderous kick drum with an old Speed King, is the floor plate really "that" necessary?

The Speed King actually has neither. It's a solid, flat bar that locks into a notch. The bar is like maybe 3/4" wide and maybe 1/8" thick. It's sort of a compromise between the bars or plate if you will.

I like the plate. I do lots of double kick. I've had a few pedals with the bars and they worked fine too. But from a structural standpoint, I will always chose the plate over the bars if given a choice.
 
The base plate is a no go from a technical point of view. But nobody cares anymore.

I don't understand this. I've actually bent the bars before. It made the pedal cant to the side until I unbent them.
 
I don't understand this. I've actually bent the bars before. It made the pedal cant to the side until I unbent them.
I have already explained it elsewhere. A drum pedal is a vibratory system and must not be tied by the plate. Yes, it creates minimal side play while playing and that is absolutely normal and correct. Our legs (correctly read, legs) are also not rigid.
 
Solid plate. I had a Pulse set (pedal & hi-hat stand) with the bars & they did alright. Then I upgraded to the DW5k set and everything changed. The base plate just gives a more solid feel and that breeds confidence.
 
I prefer the feel of a solid piece of machinery under my 13 EEE foot, but it's not essential. So baseplate.
 
I have already explained it elsewhere. A drum pedal is a vibratory system and must not be tied by the plate. Yes, it creates minimal side play while playing and that is absolutely normal and correct. Our legs (correctly read, legs) are also not rigid.

Where else did you explain it? I'd like to read it to see how the fluid plate & legs affect the recent designs.
 
"Small feet and heel down - which shortboard pedal???" #43
Hopefully that thread explains why when I tighten the clamp on my DW5000, the heel comes up. No forum search or kick drum tilt yields a solution to that issue...
 
I changed to a solid plate a few years ago, and could immediately play faster, more evenly, louder and with less fatigue after long gigs. All the energy that was lost by flexing, twisting and squeaking was regained.
 
I changed to a solid plate a few years ago, and could immediately play faster, more evenly, louder and with less fatigue after long gigs. All the energy that was lost by flexing, twisting and squeaking was regained.
Which pedal did you play before and which afterward?
 
Which pedal did you play before and which afterward?
Previously the Premier pedal that came with my kit - similar to the basic Yamahas. Upgraded to DW5000. Better pedal all round, not must the plate. But I’ve played cheap pedals with a plate too (Tama, Pearl, DW) and really do prefer the stable base.
 
Previously the Premier pedal that came with my kit - similar to the basic Yamahas.
These pedals have the angled struts and they are not particularly stable. There are two reasons for this, on the one hand they are longer than the straight ones and therefore "softer". On the other hand, due to the angle, there are torsional moments that increase the lateral deformation. The most stable struts that ever existed are the straight struts that were hung at ground level. Best spread apart and not in parallel.
 
Got both. Yamaha gig pedal on the church’s kit and DW 5000 at home. Both are fine as I’m heel down. Prefer the portability of the Yamaha. 75 bucks well spent.
 
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