Anybody else play with socks/bare feet?

supermac

Senior Member
For years I've played my bass drum pedals/hi hat with just socks on.

I tried to play with shoes on recently and couldn't do a thing.

I've also heard/read of people playing bare footed.

Anybody, the same?
 
Socks for me, I need to feel the pedal metal.
 
Yeah, me too. Not a conscious decision really, but I started just playing in my bedroom, so I was always in socks. Then when I started playing out with shoes on, it just never felt right.
 
Same for me, practising in my room with socks, then when I went to gigs and practise it felt weird with shoes. I take them off for gigs etc.

Tom
 
I suppose good foot hygiene is essential for this approach...

Not really...if you let your foot ripen for a few days, you'll have a really funky bass drum foot. I'm joking! sheesh!
 
I suppose good foot hygiene is essential for this approach...

Yes this is a good thing, but not at all a necessity. Compared to some of the stages and drum risers I've played on.... my feet couldn't get that nasty in a lifetime. Best to leave your feet on the pedals. Leave your shoes next to your hi hat so between sets you can just spin and drop your feet directly in your shoes.

But to answer the original question, I do play in my socks. Just a habit from practicing in the house.
 
Yes, indeed. I started because I couldn't do heel-toe with shoes because of my big feet. So I started playing bare footed, and stuck with it. I even play most gigs barefoot.
 
With my old pedals I'd play in shoes (flat bottomed indoor soccer style), because the pedals were heavier I liked the grip so the power would be transferred to the pedal without slipping......My new pedals, the eliminators are much lighter, and have rubber grippies on the footboard, so I find that shoes hinder me, so I changed to socks....
 
I'm actually a convert from Bare/Socks to a minimal shoe. Only 'cuz the basement where I practice got cold enough for me to want to cover my piggies up. Never went back. Now I like the grip of a thin rubber sole. I know two other "naturals" like y'all, though. It's all about the SENSITIVITY, man...
 
either shoes or barefeet, no socks for me! for some reason my socks always slip off my pedals if i do any fast pedal work....which makes it rather hard to play.....and anyway....

shoes seem to give me more power in my kick drum so I`ll only wear em if I`m playing rock music, but for Jazz or anything that does not require a pounding bass drum i generally go bear feet

-Jonathan
 
yep, prefer to play bare foot, although don't mind socks...shoes though, can't stand em, its not as sensitive/responsive, i guess i'm just used to it without them
 
I almost always take off my shoes after about an hour of playing. My feet get sore with shoes on. I can play longer without shoes.
 
I feel best and play best barefooted. However, lately I have been forcing myself to play in shoes just to make it easier for gigs.
 
I can play in just about anything, but I perfer socks. Sometimes shoes are a big to clunky with my big feet.
 
Socks for me because of practicing in the house although on fast double bass passages they can feel like they're slipping about. But when I try shoes for some reason I feel like I have more power in my foot but less speed.
 
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