Direct Drive Bass pedal

[GMFrancis]

I was seriously considering the Perfect Balance Standard pedal, but then a NOS Iron Cobra Flexiglide popped up on Reverb, and I have always wanted one of those.

The strap drive Iron Cobra is my favorite that I own right now, but I also have a DW 5000 that I converted to a strap drive, a chain drive Tama HP300 (Iron Cobra Jr.), a chain drive Tama Camco, and a strap drive Tama Camco. The DW is probably my least favorite.

I’ve got to say I’m very happy with the JoJo M pedal. it’s very smooth, lightweight and almost feels like there’s nothing under your foot. Also as it’s got a very long board I find my foot action can change during the course of playing unlike with any other pedal I have had. It’s a difficult thing to explain properly but you will find yourself playing in a different way. I suspect it’s to do with a mix of the perfectly round cam, strap and lighter design. The round cam definitely makes it play in a more logical (?!?) way than an offset cam , you’ll know what I mean when you play the Tama Camco. That was another real favourite of mine.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

DamnSinger, I too bought a Yamaha Direct Drive several years ago and hated it, until after years later I set down with it and made a few adjustments in the position of where the springs attach to the drive axle and adjusted the beater position on the axle and man what a difference it made to it. It’s a very smooth pedal now and I love it.

I've toyed a bit with the spring settings and beater angle etc. The pedal is smooth no doubt about it (I was impressed enough to buy it upon trying it in the store) but when I put it on my bassdrum, playing my band's material, I just haven't quite gotten the feel and rebound that I'm used to. I've even switched beaters from my chain to my direct drive, to no avail. Maybe one day, when we get extra early at a venue and I have more than 20-30 mins to fuss around, maybe then I may find the perfect setting...

 

[TonyVazquez]

Tony so you can buy parts and convert the chain drive to direct drive?

Yessir, at drumfactorydirect website.
In the side tab categories look under
Hardware for Pedal parts.
They have pedal replacement parts
for DW, Tama, and Pearl.

Note: I had to do Serious research
and a ton of Googling
before I modified my pedals.
Whatever you modify, you May or
may Not be able to go back to
the pedals original design status.
Bear that in mind.

drumfactorydirect.com

 

[NobleCooleyNut]

No one has mentioned the Slingerland Yellow Jacket, that was my direct-drive drum pedal crush for many years.

View attachment 558915

I've been using DW 5000 and 9000 pedals for over twenty years. DW's Direct Drive model has caught my eye, but I've yet to pull the trigger.

I had a Yellowjacket a few years ago , bought it to go with my former Slingerland kit . They are excellent pedals , very smooth . I gave mine to a friend that was starting to play drums . He still uses and loves it .

 

[Pibroch]

Went from a TAMA Speed Cobra single (chain) to a TAMA Dyna-Sync single (direct). The Dyna-Sync is easier to play and to finesse hard and soft hits, fast and slow, heel up and heel down, fully bouncing the beater v bouncing while semi burying it. Spending a lot of time experimenting with cam, spring tension, and pedal angle paid off in spades.

 

[Tommy D]

I have a Gibraltar single DD pedal. It's okay but I dont find it to be very fast at all. That's fine for me since I bought it to go with my flat based hardware for a jazz setup.

I did try a Mapex Raptor DD pedal and that was fast. Very responsive and super smooth. I really wish I had bought one when they made them. Unfortunately, they arent around any more. If you can find one, I would say it is a buy. The only caveat is that the Raptor double pedal is a ticking time bomb waiting to fail on you. The single pedals are solid and definetly a recommendation, but avoid the double pedal version.

 

[Dave H.]

I have played strap & chain drive pedals since I began playing in the 60's. My favorite pedal of all time is my DW 9000 with a strap on it. I have tried most all of the direct drive pedals and owned a few but I just don't care for them.

Slawman

 

[stevil]

Others mentioned conversion kits, so I thought I'd share this link. ACD has some very clever looking hardware, including stuff to convert some mass-produced pedals to DD. Shipping from Germany is steep, but I hear very good things about them.

Upgrades

The upgrades fit all drum pedals! No matter if Tama, Pearl, Axis, DW,.. these tools will help you to find the ultimate setup of your preference!

www.acd-unlimited.at

 

[David M Scott]

Direct drives tend to have problems with bass drum risers because they protrude forward for the link to cam pivot point

Your right. I have a Sonor Safari kick with a riser and two pedals:
Iron Cobra 900S strap drive.
Trick Pro V1 direct drive.
While the Cobra grabs the riser which is a flat bar, and locks on tight, the Trick uses a narrow alligator spring loaded clamp that doesn't hold all that well on the riser I did put a strip of self adhesive felt padding used for putting on chair legs on the bar and it made a big difference. But like you point out, even with the depth adjustment at max the beater has to travel past centre to make contact with the kick head. But as much as I like my Iron Cobra there is a bit of lag due to it's spring action whereas the Trick direct drive doesn't have that problem. I am 82 and had a knee replacement three years ago and the artificial knee is not flexible and so I can still do a long gig or jam without the fatigue I get with the Cobra. The Trick is so smooth and fast that having the beater go past centre is not a problem.

 

[Angelo Zollo]

Yessir, at drumfactorydirect website.
In the side tab categories look under
Hardware for Pedal parts.
They have pedal replacement parts
for DW, Tama, and Pearl.

Note: I had to do Serious research
and a ton of Googling
before I modified my pedals.
Whatever you modify, you May or
may Not be able to go back to
the pedals original design status.
Bear that in mind.

drumfactorydirect.com

Tony you are a gentleman and a scholar.
Thanks for the info.
Was your mod a success?
Do you need to be an engineer to do the mod because I am definitely not.

 

[aratts]

Having grown up with a Speed King, the action of chain drive pedals never felt right. I find most pedals these days over-engineered and cannot get used to the long board and beater type on the Trick type of pedal. I finally found the Mapex raptor direct drive pedal provides the ease of action and familiarity, but obviously a big improvement over the Squeak King

 

[TonyVazquez]

Tony you are a gentleman and a scholar.
Thanks for the info.
Was your mod a success?
Do you need to be an engineer to do the mod because I am definitely not.

Thanks for the kind words!

My DW5000 mod was indeed successful.
So, now I have to spend time getting used to playing Direct-drive since it makes the pedal behave as a single mechanical unit by direct relation of the parts...

However... my kick drum is a 16" with its floor tom hoops still in use, and my
kick-drum riser is homemade but functional. So now the problem is with the Pear Demon direct-drive cams: they stick out too far forward that they are knocking against my batter head. I moved the pedal back a bit towards the edge of the riser, and the cam arm is still touching my kick drum hoop. So, I have to modify my homemade kick-drum riser or switch to a manufactured riser such as the Pearl Jungle riser which has a larger base plate.
That issue is with my modified DW5000 dblkick pedals.

Meanwhile, my DW3000 double-kick pedals are working perfectly as the stock pedals they are. The only modification I made to my DW3000 is the replacement of the stock drive shaft with a Ludwig Atlas Pro drive shaft which does a fine job killing off Latency the same way that a Trick Drum drive shaft would.

My DW5000 pedals were bought Used, that's why I guinea-pigged them with the Pearl Demon direct-drive cams.

One doesn't need to be an engineer to do these modifications, although Engineering does help. But Common Sense and Research are a MUST.
Modifications come with lots of Trial and Error, which are a must until the modification is done right and becomes successful.

Most of my drum gear was bought
in Used or 2nd Hand condition, and very few of my drum gear sat around for many years until I started using them again;
so I can afford to take risks whenever I modify them. If they fail, I would then replace them with new gear.

I would Never do mods to any brand new drum gear.

 

[TonyVazquez]

Your right. I have a Sonor Safari kick with a riser and two pedals:
Iron Cobra 900S strap drive.
Trick Pro V1 direct drive.
While the Cobra grabs the riser which is a flat bar, and locks on tight, the Trick uses a narrow alligator spring loaded clamp that doesn't hold all that well on the riser I did put a strip of self adhesive felt padding used for putting on chair legs on the bar and it made a big difference. But like you point out, even with the depth adjustment at max the beater has to travel past centre to make contact with the kick head. But as much as I like my Iron Cobra there is a bit of lag due to it's spring action whereas the Trick direct drive doesn't have that problem. I am 82 and had a knee replacement three years ago and the artificial knee is not flexible and so I can still do a long gig or jam without the fatigue I get with the Cobra. The Trick is so smooth and fast that having the beater go past centre is not a problem.

My hat's off to You sir, still drumming
at your age.
I'm happy to learn that the Trick pedal
is helping you play lengthy gigs without
any fatigue to your knee.

 

[David M Scott]

There is no "best." Whatever feels good to you is what's best for you. I've played belt (Pearls, Sonor), chain (Tama), and direct (Speed King, Yamaha), each for many years at a time. Direct is a totally different feel. It responds in an instant, meaning whatever your foot does, there's no lag. If you're accustomed to a chain or belt drive, a direct drive can almost feel too fast. You just have to try one and spend some time with it. I've liked all of my pedals.

If you have a bad knee due to age, damage, replacement, or all of the above, then direct drive might be right for you. I'm 82 and had my kick knee repaced in 2019 and used a strap drive Tama Iron Cobra 900S before and after. While the knee replacement solved heath concerns, it doesn't have the flexibility of Mother Natures so the slight lag in the spring caused some fatigue issues.
I invested in a Trick Pro V1 and
there is a big difference in that I can play over 2, sometimes 4 hours sans tiring. The narrow Alligator clamp on the Trick isn't great on the steel riser on my 16in Sonor Safari kick but a little common adhesive back felt from the local $$ Store placed on the riser does the "Trick"