Single pedal adjustment - Help really needed

Hello fellow drummers. I'm fairly new to this forum and have read some interesting posts and now I need to ask some advice or suggestions.

Firstly, way back in the 60s I based my drumming style on Don Brewer of GFR and have always boasted a quick bass pedal. I took nearly 30 years off but am once again behind the kit with a classic rock/blues band, I thought I lost the speed and control in my foot, but it seems I just didn't have any of the pedals I kept trying adjusted correctly. My dilemma is this - every pedal I have tried isn't reacting with properly. For instance, playing "Good Times Bad Times" is a joke, let alone getting the pedal to do triple 8th notes quickly and smoothly such as in "Some Kind of Wonderful" by Grand Funk.My guitarist has a set of drums at her house and wow, I found a pedal that is super, much like my old Ghost pedal made by Ludwig in the 70s. It's the ONLY pedal I've found that responds to what I'm doing. Yesterday I purchased a 500 series PDP pedal just 'cause I thought it was going to act like the Yamaha chain driven pedal I use at practice, but again, I find myself frustrated as it is stiff at the loosest spring setting. Can anyone suggest to this old veteran a quick fix as to what the hell I am over looking in adjustment? This has really got me pulling out what hair I have left!! Thanks in advance, and thanks to DrummerWorld for this forum!
Paul

Maybe look around for a used Ghost pedal if that's hat you're used to. I'm sure you could pick up a couple for the price of a new pedal.

If you're looking at getting something new, however, you might look at the Sonor Perfect Balance pedal; the one designed by Jojo Mayer. It's sort of based on older pedal designs; round cam, strap drive. No bells or whistles just a modern day vintage-type pedal. I've played one a few times in the store and it felt really smooth. Check one out if you can.

Hello Since1966:

Your story is exactly like mine. I quit playing drums for about 35 years. (I am retired and I am having a wonderful time playing again !)

When I recently started playing again I had some major problems with my bass pedal speed.
Here is what I used to play with.





I purchased a new DW5000 pedal. The newer pedal was great for many reasons. I purchased a turbo style. As you can see in this picture,






My old pedal was designed like the accelerator style. By using the turbo style I had lost that little snap of beater speed at the end of the stroke.

I eventually purchased a DW9000. The accelerator action is adjustable between turbo and accelerator as seen here:

http://www.dwdrums.com/hardware/9000/pedals.asp

Here are some things that might help you.
The newer pedals are heaver and better built than the old vintage ones. This is good, however this means that there is more mass to move as you play.
The solution for me was to adjust my DW9000 for full accelerator mode, tighten the spring tension and adjust it so that the beater is closer to the drum head. Having the beater closer to the drum head means that there is less mass to move before the beater meets the head.

The good thing about the DW9000 is that there are many adjustments that can be made on it. You will need to adjust, adjust and adjust until you get it the way you like it.

I almost decided to use my old pedal again, but the holding spikes on the bottom of the DW pedals are so nice to have that I just keep adjusting it until I got it to work OK. But I still think it is not quite as fast as my old vintage pedal.

Welcome to drumming in the modern age.

Good luck.


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Since1966 said:

...Yesterday I purchased a 500 series PDP pedal....

Click to expand...

Sounds like you're looking for advice on how to make your PDP pedal more useable?

I'd say if the place you bought it from has a good return policy try to exchange it for whatever Yamaha pedal you're using at practice, if that one's working good for you.

I'm not familiar enough with the PDP pedal to advise, but it looks like it has the usual standard adjustments.