New drummers prioritizing wrong gear?

A high-end double pedal should last a long time, let alone have the least liability in trying to play those beats. If you're not playing lightning fast, it's technique and not the pedal holding them back. In the end, it sounds like they're putting their money in the right place for now.
 
Are we saying top of the line at ~$1k and over? The top line double pedals I can think of are budget Trick at ~$900 or the bigfoot Black Widow $1100. The DW MCD is ~$1300-1400. The Darwin pedal....not sure the price but the used market is over $1000 and the pimped out custom w/ case, aluminum colors and laser engraving looks like it could fetch close to $2000 easily, looks amazing well designed.
 
Are we saying top of the line at ~$1k and over? The top line double pedals I can think of are budget Trick at ~$900 or the bigfoot Black Widow $1100. The DW MCD is ~$1300-1400. The Darwin pedal....not sure the price but the used market is over $1000 and the pimped out custom w/ case, aluminum colors and laser engraving looks like it could fetch close to $2000 easily, looks amazing well designed.
Even a $600 double will net good results with high quality bearings in all the right places, quality construction, etc. But something like a Trick has a lot to offer. DW 5000 is plenty of pedal for a lot of people IMO. Budget doubles are just that: budget.
 
My friend owns a very busy drum shop and I teach and full in occasionally there .Lately I have noticed something that I find interesting and puzzling at the same time . I am seeing drummers (especially younger drummers ) , spending big dough on top of the line double pedals and owning entry level drums and cymbals . I think they would be far more prudent looking at investing their cash in better cymbals and drums . The better (not saying something too of the line ) drums and cymbals will help them sound better . What are your thoughts ?

What exact.types of pedals would these be?
My 1st double pedal was a Gibralter in the 90s and it had issues that were mostly resolved with a DW5000. It's still here but I use Iron Cobras currently.
I can still feel some limitations with these pedals.

If you need a tool, get it, I say.
 
Well, are they gigging?

When I started drumming, couldn't afford much and used the kits at the schools I taught at I got a nice throne, hi-hat and double pedal. Made perfect sense to me.

About 7 years after I got those DW 5000s I got a set of 9000s, but the 5000s are on my practice kit and still going strong.
 
Even a $600 double will net good results with high quality bearings in all the right places, quality construction, etc. But something like a Trick has a lot to offer. DW 5000 is plenty of pedal for a lot of people IMO. Budget doubles are just that: budget.
For your casual double pedaler, DW5000 does plenty. The Darwin is several levels beyond a standard DW5000, to get the swivel technique on the bumpy 5000 logo is probably a joke. It's a really a technique thing for the genre that you need the proper gear to even get close. I can see why metal drummer are shelling it out, how you are you supposed practice this unless you have the right tools so you can develop over time. Better sounding gear can come later. I see this as the same as a jazzer forking over $$$ for an era correct ride cymbal to develop sound/technique around the right tool w/ a budget travel bop kit.

 
I think that this is a win, personally. If you know you want to play metal, then by all means, get a quality double pedal if you can afford it. If they are young, they probably don't even know what they want in terms of drums, heads, sticks, and cymbals. If they take care of it, that pedal can last them for years if not decades. If they get good playing that pedal (in addition to developing solid chops), then a new drum kit will sound amazing to them.

Also, I'm just happy to see a report of a young kid interested in drums at all! It just doesn't happen a lot where I'm from.
 
Some people I know play acoustic kits with mesh and cymbal mutes at home, not to mention anyone with an ekit, where IMO the pedal (and throne) is the most important piece of equipment and one that could outlast the rest. I imagine getting a similarly high quality sound can be even more expensive, so it's just a matter of choice. I don't think one needs to play fast to feel or enjoy the difference between high quality gear and something crappy. Even if you only need technique to play well, a cheap pedal can have disadvantages that you cannot compensate for with skill, e.g. it might break, fall apart, have unwanted movement or noise etc. If it leeds to an upgrade any time soon (for any reason), then it was a waste of money.
 
I would think that the younger drummers want a expensive double pedal because they think it will make them play faster, and therefore they spend money on the pedals. For me, I choose to put money towards cymbals and heads because that’s what makes the difference. My double pedal is a low end single chain because I don’t play that fast, and I know that the fancy pedals don’t make me faster.
I know expensive pedals don't make you faster however I got to try some of the Axis direct drives at GC and I was able to do very fast singles with ease, I don't know if it was how smooth the pedal is or how light (I tried the Pearl Demon Drives and they felt way too heavy for me). There is something to be said about a pedal that doesn't have any play (pun intended) between one position and the other, meaning there is a very smooth movement and nothing jiggles. Knowing what I know now, I would too spend more on pedals than on drums, I can make cheap drums sound very decent, I cannot make shitty pedals perform better.
 
Well this ^^^
Priorities have changed. people make more money and get sponsorships from having a Youtube following.
Professional sound is obviously not a priority as they are usually filmed in a home studio using budget mics. When I started it was expensive and rare to record, so you spent years honing your sounds and buying the best drums and cymbals to help you achieve that.
Many of the younger celebrity drummers have never made an album or been on tour, where your sound is viewed more critically.
and now a 17 year old recording in his parents home can make a an album that competes with the top 10 metal albums...

 
Are we saying top of the line at ~$1k and over? The top line double pedals I can think of are budget Trick at ~$900 or the bigfoot Black Widow $1100. The DW MCD is ~$1300-1400. The Darwin pedal....not sure the price but the used market is over $1000 and the pimped out custom w/ case, aluminum colors and laser engraving looks like it could fetch close to $2000 easily, looks amazing well designed.
Top of the line Czarcie Kopito probably about $2000 https://www.czarciekopyto.com/en
 
Young people looking to adults for advise.

Spit Take Lol GIF by Justin
 
My guess:
They're using triggers and the computer to process everything so the drums and cymbals don't really matter, but one needs a quality pedal in the quest for insane speed like Thomas Lang.
Good point. When you can artificially make your drums & cymbals sound anyway you want, why learn how to do it organically? Just dial in how you want it to sound & stomp on your gold plated hardware.
 
Many of these younger drummers "cheat" with a double pedal. They use it constantly, whereas more of us seasoned pros would be able to do about 90% of it with a single pedal (such as doing a paradiddle between the snare and bass at a medium tempo). And the flurry of straight sixteenth notes that is the hallmark of "metal" double bass playing sounds terrible, like they are playing a really bad shuffle (when trying to play straight sixteenths). I think their mentality is "a high end pedal will magically make my double bass playing great". I'm curious as to how many returns or trade ins there are on these pedals after the figure out it's not the pedal.

I teach as well and I am lucky enough to have a few adult students among my dozen or so Jr. High/High School age kids. Most of the younger ones don't want to work at it. They want to play like Jo Jo Mayer after three lessons. Thankfully, most of them are in school band so they can all at least read music. I find it really hard to teach someone (maybe after the first few lessons) and have them progress measurably if they don't read music.
 
and now a 17 year old recording in his parents home can make a an album that competes with the top 10 metal albums...

This kid is bad ass:

 
Until you can "cheat" like the rest of us, please stop. See the kid above and report back
just because I can play 16ths with a single pedal doesn't mean I would want to do that for an entire 4 minute song. Why would someone call a double pedal cheating or triggers for that matter? triggers just give the bass drum hits clarity, they don't make you play faster or in time. A double pedal still has to be played correctly in order to be in time as well, yes I can play Aces High (Iron Maiden) with a single pedal but it is way easier to just play a lot more relaxed with a double pedal, why make your life harder? weren't tools invented to make things easier??
 
This kid is bad ass:

They are older and bigger now, brutal project name of 'Anal Stabwound' 🤘

I can't figure what they are doing at the 1:20 mark, am i missing it as doubles or is it a trigger trick? Sort of weird, they play the singles at the end with the same tempo, so obviously they can play it. Is this the 'cheat' that gets mentioned? BTW, I wasn't looking for anything, just happen to notice while check their page.

That said, getting a trigger to even out the dynamics versus say, what Gene Hoglan can do with a big boot and wooden beater is not the same acoustical with 50% trigger response if I recall what he does (vs. 100% what I'm hearing on some of these videos). To bring the jazzer analogy back, it's the difference between dribbling a ride pattern versus Tony Williams insane tempo 5 groups with controlled clarity, just not the same. If its all a studio trick for the YT audience but sounds like crap acoustically...yeah, that ain't right but I guess that where most music is played now.

But like @PorkPieGuy mention, any younger generation doing anything with music is a positive. 👍 I thought Guitar Hero was more of a negative than a positive when it came out. Perhaps some pick up real instruments after while I bet most said "I got the rock star and band experience already" and left.

 
just because I can play 16ths with a single pedal doesn't mean I would want to do that for an entire 4 minute song. Why would someone call a double pedal cheating or triggers for that matter? triggers just give the bass drum hits clarity, they don't make you play faster or in time. A double pedal still has to be played correctly in order to be in time as well, yes I can play Aces High (Iron Maiden) with a single pedal but it is way easier to just play a lot more relaxed with a double pedal, why make your life harder? weren't tools invented to make things easier??
Absolutely. The kid is playing heel/toe. Its definitely not cheating. And absolutely NO ONE can play that with one pedal. Not even Jojo.

The kid is also using a 10" snare. It has better rebound and far more attack available for clarity during blast beats. I suppose that is cheating also, even though one can clearly see full strokes and fantastic technique.

I'm so sick of people who cant play nor understand this music making assumptions about it and the folks who make it.
 
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