I'm not a drummer but (for reasons of necessity and volume) I'm putting an electronic drum kit into my home recording studio. The trigger pads on the Roland unit I'm getting uses an actual (single) bass drum pedal. The person selling me the set is pushing me to also buy his kick drum pedal...a Tama Iron Cobra. However, a very close drummer friend told me that the Iron Cobra is more a Hard Rock pedal. My friend knows my musical style and tastes and said I should probably go with more a finesse kick pedal like a DW. I won't be playing the kit myself, but I'd like to have a good Funk, R&B, and/or Blues pedal lying around. Any mid-level or advanced drummers have a single beater kick drum pedal opinion? (Other than using real drums ....not in option in the casa de Gater ).
IRON COBRA! sounds like it would be a metal kick pedal. ive had 2 kick pedals in 15 years and they have both been ludwigs. the one i have now actually has a strap instead of a chain. the strap allows for a bit more control, which makes it pretty finesse-full, i guess. it took some getting used to, cause its a bit different than a chain, but i like it. my previous pedal was a speed king, which was great for getting those bonham style triplets. im going to get another one of those soon. they are on ebay for 40-50 bucks.
Man, the DW's are so smooth, but I know some people who hate them because the tension is so far back on them. If you want slightly greater tension, try a Yamaha. I'm not a drummer, but I love the instrument (I have a Premier kit in my studio) and I know lots of drummers.
Seems like most the drummers I played with liked the Speed kings. ~I can play the drums pretty good for about 1 1/2 minutes~
It depends completely on your personal taste. I've never been a fan of the DW pedals putting me in the minority big time. I loved my Yamaha pedal until it started to fall apart a little (screws coming lose here and there). At that point, I tried the Pearl Eliminator, and I'm a fan for life. You can adjust EVERYTHING -- the cams, the footboard angle, the tension, EVERYTHING. I love it so much I got the Pearl Eliminator Hi Hat as well. Your best bet is to go to a music superstore and just try a bunch of them out.
Like nugget says, your best bet is to go to a music store and try some out. It's all about how they feel to you, not about the name brand or the price. I had a generic Tama pedal I was using until I got my new Yamaha kit and decided to get a Yamaha pedal. I wanted to use Yamaha everything so I could get an endorsement deal (yeah, right). The more expensive Yamaha pedal was a pain to put together and take apart before and after every gig. Plus it just didn't feel right to me. I could never get the tension just right....like my other pedal. I ended up going back to my generic Tama pedal which I bought 5 years ago for about half the price. I love it.
I play with DW7000 petals and I must say, if I had to play with anything else, I might just cry. Some of the elite model Pearl pedals are really quite nice too. But, like previously said, it's all personal preference/foot style.
Just curious, to all the other drummers here: Heel up or heel down? Personally I play a combination of both, but I do notice a lot of drummers do one or the other exclusively.
combination. i think if im playing more straight ahead rock/solid stuff than im heel down. if im playing more loose/jazzy/wanking than im heel up. i prefer wanking so im probably more heel up. the real question is...are you a mod or a rocker?
Combo, more up than down however. I never got used to the tension in the front part of my leg with heel down, so I only use it for laying back in the pocket, slower grooves. Matched or traditional?
Heel up. I have less control playing heel down. Oh yeah, and matched grip for almost everything except swing. Traditional for swing. I wish I could play traditional like Stewie and Vinnie. It looks so much cooler but I just can't get as much pop with my left hand as I can with matched. I really don't know how they do it.
Thanks everyone. The person selling me the kit made me an offer I couldn't refuse so I relented and took the Iron Cobra. What really sealed the deal was throwing in an almost new Roc n Soc Lunar gas throne/seat which I will use at the keyboard (my primary instrument). It's very comfortable! In the meantime, I "played" a Pearl Eliminator in a music store and just missed winning twice for an Eliminator on E-bay. I liked the feel so I'll keep trying. These two should cover the studio needs as I build into a full Roland TD-20 for the studio. I don't sit behind drums very often but I'm mostly heel up. If I were going to be reincarnated as a drummer in a next lifetime...Steve Gadd (or maybe Clyde Stubblefield) works for me. It's obvious from some of the responses that some of ya'all have talent. If you're located in or near Austin, feel free to e-mail me. I don't pay well...but it beats doing it for free! Thanks again.
