kick drum petal

[trodden]

goddess bless the ninjas who freak out and kill people.

[r0ck1r0ck2]

". just to let you know.. Seppuku is not the form of killing yourself when your pissed off or when there is no one else to kill. "

[floid]

ah yes, but carphagia is the art of killing oneself with the smell of their own shite - oh man, mabbe i should take a bath sometime...

[Professor]

Sometimes ninjas take time out from killing to meditate or make movies.

But as for pedals...
I recently bought a DW-5000 series double pedal for the studio kit. I got the one with the red, ball-bearing hinge since it seemed really smooth and quick, and indeed, having played it for the last two months I'm really happy with the purchase.
I had considered the 9000 series pedal, but the discount price at GC was up around $489 compared to $349 for the 5000-series. I didn't feel that much difference in the pedals, but there is a lot more adjutability to the 9000. That seemed like a great feature if I were going to be a pro drummer playing 3 or 4 gigs a week or something like that. But for a studio which will have lots of different feet working the pedals, I felt like the added flexibility would allow too much room for someone to really screw-up the action trying to tweak it, and would make it that much harder for me to put it back to 'right' after the session.

I had originally planned on the higher-end Yamaha pedals since I'd been using those at the school on other sets and was really liking them. As it turned out, the top model Yamaha double was tagged at $299 and for the extra $50 it seemed a better buy for me to step up to the DW. Of course, it was all downhill from there because once I bought the DW kick pedal, then I needed the matching hi-hat stand, and once I'd gone that far with DW, I figured I might as well stick with it and bought all 9000-series drum and cymbal stands. More than I'd wanted to spend on the hardware, but a good choice now that it's here.

-Jeremy

[cgarges]

Buy whatever feels comfortable to you. Go to a dealer with a good stock and play a bunch of pedals. Se if they have a return policy. I recommend buying from a reputable manufacturer, to ensure reliability, but other than that, it's such a personal preference thing. I know a ton of guys who are into DW pedals, but I never liked the way they felt. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just preference, sort of like sticks or whatever. Aside form the beater, which you can certainly change, there's nothign that affects the sound of the drum, so the choice in pedals ahuold have nothing to do with anything other than reliability, budget, and your own comfort.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[JohnDavisNYC]

i don't allow double pedals in my studio. if you want to use both feet, you better have the balls to rock 2 bass drums...

john

[cgarges]

i don't allow double pedals in my studio. if you want to use both feet, you better have the balls to rock 2 bass drums...

Funny--I've always found that a guy using two bass drums in MUCH more of a pain in the ass to record than a guy using a double pedal.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[trodden]

i don't allow double pedals in my studio. if you want to use both feet, you better have the balls to rock 2 bass drums...

Funny--I've always found that a guy using two bass drums in MUCH more of a pain in the ass to record than a guy using a double pedal.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

totally, twice as many mics... twice as many kick drums to tune..more space taken up in my small studio, get with the new millenium double drum dudes, get a double kick pedal!

[spankenstein]

Or ditch the double and get a faster foot!

[I'm Painting Again]

ah yes, but carphagia is the art of killing oneself with the smell of their own shite - oh man, mabbe i should take a bath sometime...

Is this real?

I would google it but then they would sell me out to unkle sam..

[I'm Painting Again]

Thanks Prof and Chris for your input..

Chris (or anyone) Throw out some brands to check out..


Seems like the DW 5k is a favorite petal..I will definitely check those out..I have used it before but not intensely..guys bring them over sometimesk but I don't usually get to play with it too much since I;m too busy trying to record them..

[cgarges]

I've had consistently good luck with Yamaha pedals for years. They're well-built and durable. Theyd be the awesomest things ever if they'd stick to the good design stuff instead of eliminating some of the coolness with newer designs. They keep ALMOST getting it entirely right for me. But I've always liked how they felt.

The DWs seem to be reasonably hefty. I've seen a lot of them falling apart, but I've also seen more of them road-weary and bashed-up than about any other pedal. The Pearl pedals of the last ten years or so seem to be pretty smartly-made and Tama pedals have pretty much always been nearly indestructable. Premiere bought out Yamaha's hardware designs about ten years ago and didn't really change anything for a long time. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but I imagine those would be really reliable pedals, as well.

I have consistently seen all kinds of problems with Gibraltar pedals and I have seen more than one Axis pedal's footboard either bend or break completely.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[I'm Painting Again]

sweet..thx..

You gave me the most badass drum advice a long time ago..I recently went back to the novel you wrote me..I have one question..the thing with the cotton balls and the lugs..where are you putting them exactly? I don't get it..

I just got a premier signia maple 20"-10/12/14..I'm not liking coated heads on the toms..i just tried remo pinstripes clear and its way better..what do you recommend for heads on that kind of drum?

I know its taste, I've been trying a lot of heads..just want some ideas..

[floid]

beard of bees wrote

floid wrote:
ah yes, but carphagia is the art of killing oneself with the smell of their own shite - oh man, mabbe i should take a bath sometime...


Is this real?

you bet

what's this about cotton balls and lugs? sounds vaguely something along the lines of the old dime taped to the kick trick (for those of us who don't have a rubber beater)
and FWIW, every DW i've ever seen has been shot to hell and back (proof of how much skin beaters love 'em?), and yet they still keep right on thumpin'... my only complaint is that their doubles always have a different action on the left and right - takes some getting used to...

[cgarges]

sweet..thx..

No problem. Seriously, try some out and see what feels good to you. That's what's most important.

You gave me the most badass drum advice a long time ago..I recently went back to the novel you wrote me..I have one question..the thing with the cotton balls and the lugs..where are you putting them exactly? I don't get it..

Wow, that must have been a while ago. I don't remember talking about the cotton balls in the lugs, although I'm sure I brought it up at some point. Must have been a thread about vintage drums or something.

You pretty much just cram them in there. Take the lugs off and cram them in there before you put them back on the drum. It's just to keep the springs inside the lugs from rattling. It doesn't make a bit of difference on drums with springless lugs (well, I guess technically, it could muffle a hollow shell casing). I've done it with all the vintage drums I own. At least, I think so. I may have missed a snare drum or two.

I just got a premier signia maple 20"-10/12/14..I'm not liking coated heads on the toms..i just tried remo pinstripes clear and its way better..what do you recommend for heads on that kind of drum?

I know its taste, I've been trying a lot of heads..just want some ideas..

Sounds like a way-cool kit. I'd be surprised if those lugs have springs in them.

Anyway, it's all personal preference and trial and error. Take your favorite tom on the kit and buy a couple of different heads for it and try them out and see what you like.

I guess the big first-case differentiation is whether you're a coated-head kind of guy or a clear-head kind of guy. Determine that first, unless you like the sound of both. (I like the sound of both, but realize the huge difference. For a long time, I was a clear-head guy.) Then, it's a matter of deciding what make of drum heads you like. Remo, Evans, Aquarian, Attack, whatever...they're all made of different types of Mylar and to different specs, so they all have a certain characteristic. I find that I can hear it most in the type of attack that the heads have, even across the different lines from each manufacturer. Also, each manufacturer's heads (because of the manufacturing process' differences) tune differently. I've always had problems tuning Aquarian heads on toms and snare drums (except the Jack D. heads, for some reason), although I know plenty of people who don't. Remo heads have always been relatively easy for me, as have Evans heads, although I generally prefer the attack characteristics of Remo's mylar on toms and snare drums and Evans' on bass drums. But that's just me.

Once you've sort of found a company whose stuff you dig, then you can start trying heads that might suit your needs. Start with something basic-- a single ply, no frills, medium weight head (Remo Ambassador, Evans G1, etc.). Then decide where to go from there. Need a weightier attack and less sustain from the top head? Go to a 2-ply head. Want something more organic-sounding? Try one of the calf-like heads such as Remo's Renaissance or Fiberskyns or Aquarian's American Vintage (remember that those heads have different weight reaponses, too). Need a more sensitive head where durability is less of a concern? Try a thinner head. Go from there. See what you come up with.

For whatever it's worth, Remo's clear Pinstripes and clear Emperors are very simliar heads. If I remember correctly, one of the plies of the Emperor head is a bit thicker than the plies on the Pinstripes and the attack is a little more specific on the Emperors because of the smaller amount of binding at the edge (under the collar, not extending out on to the head). I've really grown to like the sound of the Emperors and they're a bit cheaper than the Pinstripes, so that's what I usually get for rock stuff, although these days, I've been prefering coated Emperors on my Noble & Cooley kit, which is my primary rock kit. I don't really have a preference on my Aqua Satin Flame Gretsch kit. Both coated and clear sound great on them.

I just ordered one of the last Gretsch Catalina Birch kits with a 20" bass drum in existance as another "beat-up" kit and ordered Jack D. heads for it. I plan on using this kit mostly for low-volume gigs where I need to play jazz and pop stuff and have a sort of modern-ish sound. I like the Jack D. heads on one of my vintage Gretsch kits, but sometimes they're a bit too modern sounding for that kit in the context of my jazz trio. Plus, I think the bottom end on those heads annoys our upright player, although he won't come right out and say it. I think those heads will work nicely on this new kit. If not, I'll probably try Fiberskyn Diplomats next and either Fiberskyn Ambassadors or Renaissance Ambassadors after that.

If you throw a few more things out there, I'll be happy to let you know what I've tried and what my thoughts are on the specifics. Not that it matters much for anyone else's case (I know this now that MANY retailers no longer carry ANYTHING I buy on a regular basis), but I'd be happy to tell you if you want me to.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC