Interesting pedal design

beatdat

beatdat

Senior Member
Saw this reel on the book of faces. Never seen a pedal design like this, but it looks interesting. Any thoughts on it?

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Oldest review I can find dates 2007. The Catapult did not sell very well. At all. PDP had an odd, no spring pedal called the B.O.A. That pedal came out around the same time as the Catapult. (If you're into odd designed pedals). It did not sell very well either.
 
harryconway said:
Oldest review I can find dates 2007. The Catapult did not sell very well. At all. PDP had an odd, no spring pedal called the B.O.A. That pedal came out around the same time as the Catapult. (If you're into odd designed pedals). It did not sell very well either.
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The boa was a much better designed though I felt.

But because it could be set on several levels (I use the stock setting mostly) it caught people of guard.

That, and that it was made out of dw parts mostly (there are even dw logo’s on some parts) but was released under the pdp brand.

As pdp was back then seen as a cheap brand with lesser quality.
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Which was unfounded for a big part imo.

The dw 9000 rack for instance, was released as pdp branded rack firstuntil they added it to the dw roster too.
 
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The Catapult was an atrocious piece of crap. The fact that the pedalboard isn't connected to the beater mechanism is such an obvious issue in terms of playability. I suppose the pedal is okay if you just play quarter notes, but even I don't do that. I bought one just for fun after it was discontinued, brand new for $99 and I'm sure the shop was thrilled to get rid of it.

It's as if the designers didn't bother to consult a drummer or two before going ahead with production. Gibraltar is guilty of issuing a few other products that suffer from "ready, fire, aim" enthusiasm, notably the drum bags that unzip completely to lay flat and supposedly save space. I think those also died a quick and deserved death. Don't get me started on the HH clutch that didn't actually grip the cymbal!
 
bermuda said:
The Catapult was an atrocious piece of crap. The fact that the pedalboard isn't connected to the beater mechanism is such an obvious issue in terms of playability. I suppose the pedal is okay if you just play quarter notes, but even I don't do that. I bought one just for fun after it was discontinued, brand new for $99 and I'm sure the shop was thrilled to get rid of it.

It's as if the designers didn't bother to consult a drummer or two before going ahead with production. Gibraltar is guilty of issuing a few other products that suffer from "ready, fire, aim" enthusiasm, notably the drum bags that unzip completely to lay flat and supposedly save space. I think those also died a quick and deserved death. Don't get me started on the HH clutch that didn't actually grip the cymbal!
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Wha?! Wow...how did that make it to production?

What clutch was that? None of mine have that flaw.

I've always liked Gibraltar but they do have a few odd offerings... I remember seeing that pedal when it first came out and instantly thought, "Nope!"
 
brady said:
What clutch was that? None of mine have that flaw.
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I recall that so much of the threaded sleeve was smooth, the top and bottom thumbnuts & felts ended up too far apart and the cymbal was loose. As in, it moved up and down maybe 3/8" which is an obvious issue whenever using the pedal. I added a felt or two to close the gap. Maybe that was their plan: to make you buy some of their felt washers! :O

I got tired of handling the additional felt every time I used it and it's either buried somewhere or I tossed it.

Gibraltar generally makes some great stuff, but it's hard to imagine how the pedal, bags and clutch ever made it past the drawing board. They can't possibly be consulting with drummers on this stuff. If they had asked me, I would have nixed all three and saved them some embarrassment (and money!)
 
I have one, just place the bass drum forward more than usual and play it. It's long pedal. Can't see what the fuss is all about. Maybe it's not complicated enough..
 
bermuda said:
I recall that so much of the threaded sleeve was smooth, the top and bottom thumbnuts & felts ended up too far apart and the cymbal was loose. As in, it moved up and down maybe 3/8" which is an obvious issue whenever using the pedal. I added a felt or two to close the gap. Maybe that was their plan: to make you buy some of their felt washers! :O

I got tired of handling the additional felt every time I used it and it's either buried somewhere or I tossed it.

Gibraltar generally makes some great stuff, but it's hard to imagine how the pedal, bags and clutch ever made it past the drawing board. They can't possibly be consulting with drummers on this stuff. If they had asked me, I would have nixed all three and saved them some embarrassment (and money!)
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Oh right!! I take that back... ONE of my hi-hat clutches does have that flaw. And yes, I just stacked an extra felt in there and it was good to go. I did like that no metal of the clutch touched the hi-hat top though...
 
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Z26R-# said:
I have one, just place the bass drum forward more than usual and play it. It's long pedal. Can't see what the fuss is all about. Maybe it's not complicated enough..
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It's fine for straight ahead, not too fast playing. The problem is how the footboard is returned to its 'up' position while riding a lever (beater arm) being pulled by a spring. It's poor engineering. Fine for straight quarter notes, but sluggish on 8ths and virtually impossible for smooth 16ths (except at slow tempos...) I played the pedal very briefly when I bought it, but would never use it again. It was really more of a gag gift to myself. :)
 
Let's put it this way, if the pedal had been any good, they would still be offering it.

I checked - they're not.
 
Probably didn't get a chance with every body talking it down. I'd play a rock set with it no problem..
 
I got to play one once. It would play a note about every half a second. Which is quarter notes at 120 bpm. Just so very bad and unnecessary.
 
Z26R-# said:
Probably didn't get a chance with every body talking it down.
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Given the bad reviews - and they were well-deserved - should Gibraltar have said "Gee, drummers hate this... let's give it 3 more years before pulling the plug" ?

But that might make an interesting 'bad products that eventually caught on' thread :)
 
PDP BOA was a Bob Gatzen design. It is great actually. I've been using it as my main studio BD pedal for a couple of years now. My alternative pedal is a DW5000.
I want to get the BOA hi-hat sometime, but the BOA pedals are scarce and some people think they are cool (like me), so they can't be had super cheap.
 
Why? Why? Why? Reminds me of my nearsighted idiotic pedal I designed that would strike drum in down and up motion of pedal. After I created the design I realized the stupidity and lack of utility. Makes a heck of a blast pedal though.
 
bermuda said:
Given the bad reviews - and they were well-deserved - should Gibraltar have said "Gee, drummers hate this... let's give it 3 more years before pulling the plug" ?

But that might make an interesting 'bad products that eventually caught on' thread :)
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I just don't hate it and I'm a drummer. Gibraltar can do what they like , it's a pedal that hits the bass drum as you strike it.. Where's the problem.? You don't like it we get that. Maybe others do. There're other design flaws in many hardware pieces that don't get a mention.Ludwig comes to mind..
 
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