revdshepard
Junior Member
Well, here is my Mapex Falcon pedal with several mods/customizations.
I added a heel block to simulate wearing shoes with heels while playing. I bought a $12 US Yoga brick from Wal-Mart (made of UVA foam, very light, dense, and solid), then cut it to fit with a utility knife. I attached it to the heel plate with heavy-duty 3M double sided tape, then wrapped the whole thing with a little black Gorilla tape for good measure. It's very secure, and, if I ever do want to remove it, I can. I play mostly heel down, as I believe did most of the old jazzers. I once read an interview with Buddy Rich where he said he always played in a heeled shoe to get leverage on his pedals. Since I don't wear heeled shoes very often, I thought I'd put the heel on the pedal instead. It allows me to have the balance and stability of keeping my heels down, but provides more ankle pivot motion. I find it very comfortable, and, if I do need to lift my legs and play heel up, I still can.
The toe stop has also been modified, as my size 13 foot kept sliding right over the top of it. I needed something very lightweight, yet strong to increase the height a good 1" or so. I thought about various different kinds of things I could use, and ended up with this. Those are actually two Legos glued together under the original toe stop and a hole drilled with a longer screw for the whole assembly. Lightweight, strong (Legos have a reputation for invincibility), and cheap (already had a bunch). Now my foot never slides past that point!
I swapped out the chains that came with the pedal for some homemade straps, since I prefer the added smoothness and quiet of a strap drive. I used some 3/4" wide polyester strapping that I got from a place called Strapworks in Oregon. I ordered a couple of $1.00 US "grab bags" of various strap scraps, and after testing Nylon, Polypropylene and Polyester, went with the latter. I chose the blue as it sort of matches the accent paint on the footboards. It took me awhile to get nice, round, clean holes in the strapping, but I found that a soldering iron did the trick, making a clean hole, and cauterizing the fraying at the same time. I doubled the ends over where they attach to the pedals, and, since this material has better than 2,000 lb. tensile strength, I don't foresee any problems with breakage.
Finally, I swapped the factory springs with some Pearl Eliminator springs I've had in my stick bag forever, as the original Mapex ones seemed a little too "spongy" for my taste.
The overall feel of this pedal is lighter, smoother, and for me, faster than it ever was, so for a minimal monetary investment, I get pedals that are just right for me.
I added a heel block to simulate wearing shoes with heels while playing. I bought a $12 US Yoga brick from Wal-Mart (made of UVA foam, very light, dense, and solid), then cut it to fit with a utility knife. I attached it to the heel plate with heavy-duty 3M double sided tape, then wrapped the whole thing with a little black Gorilla tape for good measure. It's very secure, and, if I ever do want to remove it, I can. I play mostly heel down, as I believe did most of the old jazzers. I once read an interview with Buddy Rich where he said he always played in a heeled shoe to get leverage on his pedals. Since I don't wear heeled shoes very often, I thought I'd put the heel on the pedal instead. It allows me to have the balance and stability of keeping my heels down, but provides more ankle pivot motion. I find it very comfortable, and, if I do need to lift my legs and play heel up, I still can.
The toe stop has also been modified, as my size 13 foot kept sliding right over the top of it. I needed something very lightweight, yet strong to increase the height a good 1" or so. I thought about various different kinds of things I could use, and ended up with this. Those are actually two Legos glued together under the original toe stop and a hole drilled with a longer screw for the whole assembly. Lightweight, strong (Legos have a reputation for invincibility), and cheap (already had a bunch). Now my foot never slides past that point!
I swapped out the chains that came with the pedal for some homemade straps, since I prefer the added smoothness and quiet of a strap drive. I used some 3/4" wide polyester strapping that I got from a place called Strapworks in Oregon. I ordered a couple of $1.00 US "grab bags" of various strap scraps, and after testing Nylon, Polypropylene and Polyester, went with the latter. I chose the blue as it sort of matches the accent paint on the footboards. It took me awhile to get nice, round, clean holes in the strapping, but I found that a soldering iron did the trick, making a clean hole, and cauterizing the fraying at the same time. I doubled the ends over where they attach to the pedals, and, since this material has better than 2,000 lb. tensile strength, I don't foresee any problems with breakage.
Finally, I swapped the factory springs with some Pearl Eliminator springs I've had in my stick bag forever, as the original Mapex ones seemed a little too "spongy" for my taste.
The overall feel of this pedal is lighter, smoother, and for me, faster than it ever was, so for a minimal monetary investment, I get pedals that are just right for me.
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