Tama Dyna-Sync reviews?

I have a single. It replaced a first-generation Iron Cobra Roller Glide, which is a slightly updated version of my fave pedal BITD, a Tama Camco.

I have to say, this is the coolest pedal I've ever played! I really appreciate all the adjustability. I have the cam adjustment set for 1:1 ala Roller Glide, and took a couple weeks to dial it in until it felt right.
I definitely have more volume with less effort, and I'm not constantly tweaking it.
Occasionally I tighten the spring to mess around, but I always end up going back to my original settings.
I can play very dynamically, whether heel up or down.
 
I like the Dyna-sync pedals, they have a good feel to them, I have only tested them out at GC though, and I wanted them (double pedal) but the staff kept on going back to the DW 9000. I don like dw period
 
I’m not sure we’re talking about the same thing. I’m talking about this...View attachment 91951
Aaah. It does have two of the tiny tension rods to hold it in place instead of one as the DW 9000 has. I always felt one wasn’t secure enough. Perhaps this is the ideal method of connection and needs no improvement. It is in the many advancements like dual linkage connecting at 4 points, swivel spring tight assembly, sync-coil and speedo ring in the master pedal that transfers the immediacy of action and identically smooth feel to the slave pedal. No need to reinvent the wheel here. I did however misunderstand the original complaint.
 
Aaah. It does have two of the tiny tension rods to hold it in place instead of one as the DW 9000 has. I always felt one wasn’t secure enough. Perhaps this is the ideal method of connection and needs no improvement. It is in the many advancements like dual linkage connecting at 4 points, swivel spring tight assembly, sync-coil and speedo ring in the master pedal that transfers the immediacy of action and identically smooth feel to the slave pedal. No need to reinvent the wheel here. I did however misunderstand the original complaint.

No, he is talking about the weak CV joints at either end of the driveshaft, not the screws. Both Pearl (on the Demon Drive) and Trick offer roller bearing CV joints, not block and pin like the Tama driveshaft. A $700 pedal should have a better driveshaft. One should not have to buy an upgraded shaft from Trick or Pearl when the cost of the pedal is already so much.

This is what he wants:

 
No, he is talking about the weak CV joints at either end of the driveshaft, not the screws. Both Pearl (on the Demon Drive) and Trick offer roller bearing CV joints, not block and pin like the Tama driveshaft. A $700 pedal should have a better driveshaft. One should not have to buy an upgraded shaft from Trick or Pearl when the cost of the pedal is already so much.
This.

For what it’s worth I ended up buying a Trick Pro1-V double pedal. Yes it’s more expensive (I paid 800) but that’s cheaper than the Tama+aftermarket drive shaft. The difference in slave pedal action is ridiculous. Granted I went from 15 yo pedals to brand new. But even in brand new Tama double pedals, there is noticeable play. For 300 I understand. For 700 I expect better.
 
No, he is talking about the weak CV joints at either end of the driveshaft, not the screws. Both Pearl (on the Demon Drive) and Trick offer roller bearing CV joints, not block and pin like the Tama driveshaft. A $700 pedal should have a better driveshaft. One should not have to buy an upgraded shaft from Trick or Pearl when the cost of the pedal is already so much.

This is what he wants:

I definitely wouldn’t say CV joints are innately weak and the Dyna-Sync driveshaft (thank you for the terminology) is well made and with silky smooth rotation and angling if you will. It would seem they put quite a bit of work into it. It is certainly an upgrade from previous driveshafts I’ve owned over the years except for the Demon. The Demon drive is great. I attached a closeup picture of the two. I did think the ball bearing feature looked cool and would be more expensive to make and “angle“ better when I bought the Pearl. Examining and testing both pedals there is no discernible advantage to the ball bearing joint. Rotating the ends of the driveshafts with my fingers (much too long a time) there is no difference in feel or ability to angle they are both pretty sweet. I definitely would not shame the pedal for lack of the ball bearing joint. The Dyna-Sync has the advantage of youth and having been designed after examining older direct drive pedals like the Trick and Demon. I can’t speak for the Trick but clearly they are great pedals. As are the Tama and Pearl. I was mainly interested in getting the newer technology on the pedals themselves, the long and smooth footboard (the longboard Demon adjustment I didn’t find to be quite long enough and you lose the base plate) and I like the sync-coil feature from the older Tama Cobra pedals. Also the option of a chain drive feel or a balanced direct drive pedal. The Dyna-Sync are phenomenal and the driveshaft is not an issue for me. A really insignificant point when you actually play these pedals yourself. B1205966-21C3-48A3-B203-FA0BEA911E6E.jpeg
 
I definitely wouldn’t say CV joints are innately weak and the Dyna-Sync driveshaft (thank you for the terminology) is well made and with silky smooth rotation and angling if you will. It would seem they put quite a bit of work into it. It is certainly an upgrade from previous driveshafts I’ve owned over the years except for the Demon. The Demon drive is great. I attached a closeup picture of the two. I did think the ball bearing feature looked cool and would be more expensive to make and “angle“ better when I bought the Pearl. Examining and testing both pedals there is no discernible advantage to the ball bearing joint. Rotating the ends of the driveshafts with my fingers (much too long a time) there is no difference in feel or ability to angle they are both pretty sweet. I definitely would not shame the pedal for lack of the ball bearing joint. The Dyna-Sync has the advantage of youth and having been designed after examining older direct drive pedals like the Trick and Demon. I can’t speak for the Trick but clearly they are great pedals. As are the Tama and Pearl. I was mainly interested in getting the newer technology on the pedals themselves, the long and smooth footboard (the longboard Demon adjustment I didn’t find to be quite long enough and you lose the base plate) and I like the sync-coil feature from the older Tama Cobra pedals. Also the option of a chain drive feel or a balanced direct drive pedal. The Dyna-Sync are phenomenal and the driveshaft is not an issue for me. A really insignificant point when you actually play these pedals yourself. View attachment 91957

Talk to us in a few months of hard playing, the shaft on the TAMA will be sloppy.
 
Talk to us in a few months of hard playing, the shaft on the TAMA will be sloppy.
I’ve been hard playing on them for months. The shaft isn’t sloppy. I’ll be wary of it and check back if it starts to suck. Have you played hard on the Dyna-Sync pedal for a few months?
 
I definitely wouldn’t say CV joints are innately weak and the Dyna-Sync driveshaft (thank you for the terminology) is well made and with silky smooth rotation and angling if you will. It would seem they put quite a bit of work into it. It is certainly an upgrade from previous driveshafts I’ve owned over the years except for the Demon. The Demon drive is great. I attached a closeup picture of the two. I did think the ball bearing feature looked cool and would be more expensive to make and “angle“ better when I bought the Pearl. Examining and testing both pedals there is no discernible advantage to the ball bearing joint. Rotating the ends of the driveshafts with my fingers (much too long a time) there is no difference in feel or ability to angle they are both pretty sweet. I definitely would not shame the pedal for lack of the ball bearing joint. The Dyna-Sync has the advantage of youth and having been designed after examining older direct drive pedals like the Trick and Demon. I can’t speak for the Trick but clearly they are great pedals. As are the Tama and Pearl. I was mainly interested in getting the newer technology on the pedals themselves, the long and smooth footboard (the longboard Demon adjustment I didn’t find to be quite long enough and you lose the base plate) and I like the sync-coil feature from the older Tama Cobra pedals. Also the option of a chain drive feel or a balanced direct drive pedal. The Dyna-Sync are phenomenal and the driveshaft is not an issue for me. A really insignificant point when you actually play these pedals yourself. View attachment 91957

All block and pin style CV joints wear out. Even ones in cars. And those are huge. There is an inherent design flaw that deals with stress and friction that the roller bearings solve. Every time the pin turns in the C part of the joint, it rubs agaisnt the sides of the C and eventually wears the holes out. As the holes get bigger, the pin is no longer held tightly in the C, and it then begins to hammer on the sides of the pin. After a while the pin will actually break and the whole joint fails. This wont happen with the bearings as bearings are designed to be spun.

Take your left hand and hold the left pedal cam still. Now take your right hand and move the left beater. If it moves at all the shaft has slop in it and will eventually fail.

I’ve been hard playing on them for months.

Define hard. Like Linkin Park hard or Cannibal Corpse hard? If it's the latter, you will notice eventually. If it's the former, you will never notice.
 
All block and pin style CV joints wear out. Even ones in cars. And those are huge. There is an inherent design flaw that deals with stress and friction that the roller bearings solve. Every time the pin turns in the C part of the joint, it rubs agaisnt the sides of the C and eventually wears the holes out. As the holes get bigger, the pin is no longer held tightly in the C, and it then begins to hammer on the sides of the pin. After a while the pin will actually break and the whole joint fails. This wont happen with the bearings as bearings are designed to be spun.

Take your left hand and hold the left pedal cam still. Now take your right hand and move the left beater. If it moves at all the shaft has slop in it and will eventually fail.



Define hard. Like Linkin Park hard or Cannibal Corpse hard? If it's the latter, you will notice eventually. If it's the former, you will never notice.
Thanks for the insight And expertise. I’m not a blast beater but enough Simon Phillips/Billy Cobham/Peart style stuff. Bummer. Do you know of a ball bearing driveshaft that would fit the Tama? Or I guess I’m reduced to buying another CV driveshaft down the line or dealing with inevitable slop. None so far but we’ll probably get there.
 
The link in post #28 fits the Tama.

If you aren't playing metal and doing tons of double kick work you may never need to replace the driveshaft. Those of us that do, the driveshaft always fails first. The Trick unit is a godsend.
 
All block and pin style CV joints wear out. Even ones in cars. And those are huge. There is an inherent design flaw that deals with stress and friction that the roller bearings solve. Every time the pin turns in the C part of the joint, it rubs agaisnt the sides of the C and eventually wears the holes out. As the holes get bigger, the pin is no longer held tightly in the C, and it then begins to hammer on the sides of the pin. After a while the pin will actually break and the whole joint fails. This wont happen with the bearings as bearings are designed to be spun.

Take your left hand and hold the left pedal cam still. Now take your right hand and move the left beater. If it moves at all the shaft has slop in it and will eventually fail.



Define hard. Like Linkin Park hard or Cannibal Corpse hard? If it's the latter, you will notice eventually. If it's the former, you will never notice.

Excellent reply on all points
 
The reason I have such an issue with it is that I play death metal. If I didn't, it probably wouldn't be significant. Your pedals are probably some of the nicest pedals on the planet. I am not shaming the pedals at all. I've been using Tama double pedals for 20 years. I wanted to justify getting these pedals so bad (which is why I started this post hoping for some real honest review material). I am shaming Tama for upping the price tag of their top pedal by $220 without addressing the 30 year old(?) tech.
 
FWIW, I'm on my third Tama pedal since buying a Trick driveshaft. (I'm not saying the pedals wore out I'm just saying I've bought multiple sets.)
All of my Tama shafts are still brand new, unused. The Trick is a good investment as long as you plan on using compatible pedals in the future.
 
Am I correct in assuming that the Yamaha FP9 already does from the factory what the Trick aftermarket shaft provides?
 
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