Direct drive bass drum pedals

[HolyChina]

With DW unfailing of their new pedal i am curious what is difference between a direct drive and ones with a chain. what are they good for? what are pros and cons between the two?

[rallydrummer]

i was wondering this too. i'm going to be in the market for a better double soon. i know some will probably say just to try them out, and i want to before i buy another one, but others opinions would be a good starting point.

[markdrum]

A lot of people, including John Bonham. played a Ludwig Speedking which is a direct drive pedal. Mine was great but it had a problem that was common to that design. The linkage between the pedal and the footboard was a metal tongue that was hooked around a post in the footboard. There was a lot of metal on metal contact that caused a squeak if you didn't keep it lubed up. Listen to Led Zeppelin's song "Since I've Been Loving You". You can hear Bonham's pedal happily squeaking away. I've got a Mapex Falcon now. That's a direct drive pedal as well. They seem more responsive to me but that might be because I grew up on direct drive pedal.

[drummer]

I believe that it primarily eliminates 'play' or 'slack' which usually equates to greater control and/or speed. Some don't like it because it feels a bit stiff. Think of how the power steering is different between a regular car and a sports car. The sports car is tighter. Some like that. Others don't.

[HolyChina]

ok thanks great way to put it

[SpazApproved]

thought we had a great thread about direct drive pedals. I remember seeing a couple i had never heard of. But yeah I bought Axis pedals and you can feel a major difference without the chain slack/slap

[MDK]

I had an Axis when I 1st started out drumming, may have been the 2nd pedal I ever owned and I remember not liking it although I cannot remember why. I would really like to give a go to another one someday. Right now I own 3 pedals all of which are chain, maybe I should sell one and try a direct drive again. I am curious now.

[quikstang2]

I learned on a Speed King and I've played Axis for years. I've also owned/played several other single chain, double chain and strap drives. I dislike the slop of a non-DD pedal. Most, if not all, DD pedals essentially have a round/constant cam profile, which I also like. A DD has a very literal and... direct... feel to it. They sometimes take some getting used to, so the hits come exactly when you think they should.

I've got my Axis listed for sale, and I'll pick up a Falcon double with the DD conversion to replace it, mostly out of curiosity. I just ordered a couple Raptor single pedals since they're relatively inexpensive. I considered the Gibraltar Intruder DD, but haven't heard any feedback on it and it doesn't seem popular enough to re-sell if I don't like it. The footboard doesn't look comfortable either, and I play barefoot. Then there's the Trick, Demon Drive, Flying Dragon and new DW that I'll probably not have the cash to test out extensively unless I win the lottery.

[slinglander]

I've tried the DD Intruders and found they were a step down from a Speed King: stiff as all get out!

[N2Bluz]

The way I understand it, a flexible linkage like chain or straps can develop slack (albeit a very small amount) during operation. This slack is caused by the independent inertia developed by the beater and footboard, and it causes a loss of sensitivity and feel in the action by changing the correlation of position between them. A direct drive linkage eliminates this potential for slack and maintains the direct correlation of position between the beater and footboard.

[cabasner]

Others have posted what I might have said, and I don't have much to add, other than my Pearl Demon Eliminator direct drive double pedal has a great feel. It's the only pedal I have played extensively (I'm a beginner), but I do have a belt drive Pearl 120, I think it is, and the Demon direct is very 'right there' and if you're used to a belt or chain drive, I would imagine that a direct might take some getting used to. I love my Demon, mostly the light feel which is something that I'm sure can be found in a chain/belt drive as well. I'm annoyed that DW came out a direct drive, as honestly, I'd like a DW pedal, as my kit and rack as DW stuff. I didn't like the DW9000 chain drive, but that's another story....

[Ricardo]

Speed King = 12 years;

Ghost = 11 years;

Yamaha strap drive = 15 years;

Speed Cobra = 1 year.

Loved them all; none are perfect.

[quikstang2]

Just got my Raptor single pedals in. Can't beat them for the price. (I'd steer clear of the single supported double pedal though.)

[trommel]

I am using the 1965 Speed King I purchased when I bought my set. i also have 2 1972 speed Kings, one used a bit, one hardly ever used.

I put a little sewing machine oil on every moving metal against metal part on them about once a week. Every year I clean out the grease in the pedals, clean the bearings, put new grease in the bearings & spring areas, and adjust the tension on each side of the pedal. No squeaks, no problems. Over the years I've had the opportunity to sample a lot of pedals. I prefer the direct drive, have had trouble with the linkage type pedals. Any of them can be used to do what you need, but give me the Speed King !!!!

[bridgeofsouls]

For many years I played on chain driven pedals. Recently I switched to the axis A21 laser pedals which are direct drive. The difference was huge! No slop at all in a dd pedal. Also, most dd pedals are more fine tunable than a lot of strap and chain pedals. As soon as I first sat down with the axis pedals , I noticed I was able to play faster and with more precision.that's not to say that they didn't take some time to get used to though. If you have a chance to try out a dd pedal you may find that it feels a bit stiff at first, but once you get used to the difference in feel youll find that they are super responsive.