Nice review of the ASBA Caroline pedal

[Steech]

I haven't started yet, but I'm going to search for that material also.
I'll pass on what I find.
Regarding a new round of pedals, I reached out to Drum Supply and asked about liquidation or a shut down, and I attached the response I got.
I really love this pedal, but $300 is a bit to tie up with a "wait to see" on a pre-order.

This was the reply that I got:

No definitive dates yet on the pre-order item. But all remains on track for Q3 (April -June) delivery in the USA, as our item page details.

Thanks, Andy - Drum Supply / Gear Post

 

[Tommy D]

$300 for a single pedal? Sounds like a company trying to profit off your nostalgia. I'll stick to the more modern stuff that's half the price of these and offers more adjustability.

 

[Hop]

Thanks for responding. I need B and E and I'm good to go!

I need to get some new rings for my pedals too. Both are galled and can by noisy. Plus the one that is pictured has an extra loop, making a bit longer compared to the other single ring - it requires the tension nut to be essentially bottomed out and thus has very little tension. I'll bring my Trick pedals to the studio some time this week and can pull the Carolines off and measure the rings and locate a suitable replacement at Home Depot or McMaster-Carr. I can measure the tension bolt if you need the dimension/sizing.

 

[KCJazz]

I need to get some new rings for my pedals too. Both are galled and can by noisy. Plus the one that is pictured has an extra loop, making a bit longer compared to the other single ring - it requires the tension nut to be essentially bottomed out and thus has very little tension. I'll bring my Trick pedals to the studio some time this week and can pull the Carolines off and measure the rings and locate a suitable replacement at Home Depot or McMaster-Carr. I can measure the tension bolt if you need the dimension/sizing.

Yes and yes, please! Also, I can't recall how F attaches to E. My F piece does not appear to be threaded; however, it could be stripped. Are the threads metric?

Filing may be needed on the ring. I recall that the slot seemed somewhat narrow on my pedal.

Thanks

 

[Hop]

I'm pretty sure the parts are metric (being from France), and you are correct the 'F' part is simply drilled not threaded.
Looks like the winged bolt 'E' isn't thread on the the end (machined that way or filed?) so that it can fit more easily into the drilled hole on 'F'.

I bought some spare springs shortly after guying the pedals, but unfortunately the rings weren't attached. Those extension springs hooks/loops look tight and may be challenging to get on a welded ring; may need to substitute a spiral ring in its place.

 

[karlcrafton]

$300 for a single pedal? Sounds like a company trying to profit off your nostalgia. I'll stick to the more modern stuff that's half the price of these and offers more adjustability.

Yeah.....
It's the most I've ever spent on a single pedal. BUT, for the feel and action compared to the myriad of pedals I've had, and still have, this is truthfully the best feeling one yet (after 40+ years).
The video from Sounds Like A Drum (post #1) is pretty much right on in the description in playing it.
It has "action" as far as "swing" with the beater after pushing it down, but it's not excessive, which doesn't affect the natural foot action at all.
At first, I really didn't care about the attachment to the hoop being up top, but it's actually really nice, and the spring tension knob being closer and easier adjusting is pretty cool too.
The footboard and NO HEEL piece is a really awesome feature to me. This is one feature that makes it feel and respond even better as far as I am concerned.

I'd buy another one and not feel bad that it was $300.

 

[karlcrafton]

That's a bummer that the drive strap broke. A while ago when these threads started the discussion about bringing the pedal back, I checked my pedal and saw some minor 'cracking' around the bolt/washer area so I was hoping that when they brought the pedal out they were going to make the parts available. I did reach out the folks at ASBA and asked about spare parts and this was their reply:

Hello 'Hop' and thank you for your message.
For the moment, there are no plans to sell spare parts for the Caroline bass drum pedals.
Musically, Maison ASBA
Cordialement,

Negative! However, if they get more inquiries, or if a retailer was insistant on having some parts, ASBA might make them available???
I also checked the venerable McMaster-Carr catalog under 'webbing' and 'strap' / 'strapping' but didn't find a similiar material.
I wish I had a better search term, because it has to be some commercial available material.

I'm looking through the catalog and the net.
Belting material seems a good lead.

 

[Hop]

What do you make of this stuff?

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

That's getting in the neighborhood! I'll have to take a close look at the material on the pedal, as my recall of a cursory observation of it, thought it was only a single layer.
But, I think you've hit on the right search term in "belt' or 'belting.' The term 'webbing' was only getting rachet strap type material and it wouldn't be suitable for a drive strap.

 

[karlcrafton]

That's getting in the neighborhood! I'll have to take a close look at the material on the pedal, as my recall of a cursory observation of it, thought it was only a single layer.
But, I think you've hit on the right search term in "belt' or 'belting.' The term 'webbing' was only getting rachet strap type material and it wouldn't be suitable for a drive strap.

View attachment 613673

The stuff used on the new pedal is blue, like what is used on the straps for Pearl Eliminator/Redline pedals.
It's layered, but probably comes in sheets and (maybe stamp) cut.

 

[Hop]

Not sure how close the Pearl material is to the new Caroline belt material, it does appear different than the ealier stuff.
However, this looks like a perfect substitute in any case.

 

[Hop]

I must be getting old... For some reason in my mind I conflated the tan material at the heel (which has some 'tack' holes to secure the pedal/bass for the heavy kickers), as the same material as the heel hinge (which is actually the same as the drive strap). Clearly it is not. I also thought that drive strap was a lot thicker than it is in reality.

Anyhoo, I took some more close-up/detailed photos of the drive strap material today to post here for reference. It has layers like the Pearl drive strap above and I certainly think that belt material linked in the McMaster-Carr catalog is the same material. As I didn't have a tape measure, I used several coins ito compare the thickness of the belt (quarter pic is a bit out of focus though).
The thickness of the coins are: cent = 0.05984252" / 1.52mm | nickel = 0.07677165" / 1.95mm | quarter = 0.06889764' / 1.75mm.

I think we can say it has three layers:

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

That's getting in the neighborhood! I'll have to take a close look at the material on the pedal, as my recall of a cursory observation of it, thought it was only a single layer.
But, I think you've hit on the right search term in "belt' or 'belting.' The term 'webbing' was only getting rachet strap type material and it wouldn't be suitable for a drive strap.

View attachment 613673

Thanks for the find Hop.

I will probably try and order a foot or two of the stuff. Don't know if McM&C have a minimum quantity for order though?

In the short time I had been using the Caroline, once I got the adjustments/position just right and once I got used to the side-to-side sway of having no heel plate, it sort of redefined what I thought of as "playing comfort".

Going back to a chain drive with a base-plate and heel hinge right fresh off the Caroline when the strap broke was like putting back steel toe-capped boots after wearing feather-light running shoes for a while...

The Caroline really is a totally different beast.

 

[Hop]

I checked the McM&C site and they sell the material in increments of 1-foot, which I loaded into the shopping cart without a prompt, so I think that is the minimum length.
I have a cloth measuring tape so I can get a more accurate length/width dimension later today, when I bring my Trick pedal to the studio and bring home the Carolines.

I'm dreading not having them underfoot too. They are nowhere near as free-swinging as the Tricks. I don't think I can even get two beater oscillations out of the Caroline that is pictured (because of that extra loop in the spring ring), but I can pull off doubles/broken triplets/quick 16th note ostinatos because I'm so used to it. The Trick feels like it can gallop away from me. Hopefully I can get that spring ring part ironed out so I won't be without them for too long.

 

[karlcrafton]

The new pedal has just a single ring, which is totally different than the picture posted.
I wonder if it would affect the spring if you just used a regular key ring?
The ring on mine (new version) isn't really that thick, and it's really the only thing I "worry" about as far as a failure on the pedal.

 

[Steech]

Thanks for the find Hop.

I will probably try and order a foot or two of the stuff. Don't know if McM&C have a minimum quantity for order though?

In the short time I had been using the Caroline, once I got the adjustments/position just right and once I got used to the side-to-side sway of having no heel plate, it sort of redefined what I thought of as "playing comfort".

Going back to a chain drive with a base-plate and heel hinge right fresh off the Caroline when the strap broke was like putting back steel toe-capped boots after wearing feather-light running shoes for a while...

The Caroline really is a totally different beast.

Is it a powerful enough bass drum hit for you?
I’ve used similar pedals in the past, and while they were super quick and light, I did not feel the same power as with a chain drive.

I’ll see what it is like when my Caroline comes in, just trying to set my own expectations in the meantime.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

Is it a powerful enough bass drum hit for you?
I’ve used similar pedals in the past, and while they were super quick and light, I did not feel the same power as with a chain drive.

I’ll see what it is like when my Caroline comes in, just trying to set my own expectations in the meantime.

True, the Caroline is more of a finesse type of pedal. Although there is an adjustment to steepen the footboard angle wich in turns gives the beater a little more velocity and impact.

But yeah it was developped by Daniel Humair the legendary Swiss jazz drummer (played with Stephane Grappelli, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Jean-Luc Ponty and a whole slew of other important people) so this pedal was most assuredly designed with feathering in mind.

That being said, even though I started out as a bit of a basher, the more I progress, the quieter my playing gets. I seek "bombastic-ness" in the roundness of tone more than into slappy attack. If I have to choose, I'd rather sacrifice a bit of sheer power if this pedal makes it easier for me to keep my beats dance-y. I mostly play off the batter so nimbleness and feel are becoming quite the commodity and that's something I appreciate more and more.

 

[Steech]

True, the Caroline is more of a finesse type of pedal. Although there is an adjustment to steepen the footboard angle wich in turns gives the beater a little more velocity and impact.

But yeah it was developped by Daniel Humair the legendary Swiss jazz drummer (played with Stephane Grappelli, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Jean-Luc Ponty and a whole slew of other important people) so this pedal was most assuredly designed with feathering in mind.

That being said, even though I started out as a bit of a basher, the more I progress, the quieter my playing gets. I seek "bombastic-ness" in the roundness of tone more than into slappy attack. If I have to choose, I'd rather sacrifice a bit of sheer power if this pedal makes it easier for me to keep my beats dance-y. I mostly play off the batter so nimbleness and feel are becoming quite the commodity and that's something I appreciate more and more.

Makes sense, thanks!

 

[Hop]

The new pedal has just a single ring, which is totally different than the picture posted.
I wonder if it would affect the spring if you just used a regular key ring?
The ring on mine (new version) isn't really that thick, and it's really the only thing I "worry" about as far as a failure on the pedal.

It looks like ASBA just uses a regular welded steel ring, I don't see why a spiral ring (i.e., key ring type) wouldn't work as a substitute, it certainly would be easier to get the ring and spring paired.
The hoop/eye on the spring looks kind of tight, and I may have to wrestle to get them paired up with a new welded ring.

I thought I had an issue with the spring ring, but after getting the pedals home and fiddling with it, it may be an issue with the axle. the rotation doesn't feel smooth and I can hear some noise.
I'm going to assume there's bearings, and I hope that they are sealed or at least have inner/outter race so they don't go spilling out when I take it apart for inspection.

I measured the drive strap belt and it is ~ 3cm x 13cm (1.18110236" x 5.11811024"). So it will be easy to get several drive straps from 1-foot of that belt material from the link you provided earlier.

Here's a few more part pics for reference:

The strap fits in between a set of flanges on the cam, which is just over 3cm. There's not much excess material hanging off the ends where it is fastened (it stops just before the beater port). So that washer is important for surface area grip. The other end has about the same amount of material where it is fastened. I noticed they used different fasteners on the pedals.

Spring assembly and tension bolt. I don't have a bolt gauge so I can't determine the size at this time.
EDIT: Took the bolt to a hardware store to guage it = 6mm @ 1.0 pitch.

 

[Houndog]

$300 for a single pedal? Sounds like a company trying to profit off your nostalgia. I'll stick to the more modern stuff that's half the price of these and offers more adjustability.

If it helps my foot work better it’s a bargain !.

 

[Hop]

If it helps my foot work better it’s a bargain !.

Yes! And the more you use it the better bargain it becomes, therefore I recommend to start playing some 16th note ostinatos stat.