View Poll Results: Do You Play Your Bass Pedal(s) Heel Up Or Heel Down?

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  • Heel Up

    12 42.86%
  • Heel Down

    5 17.86%
  • Combination

    11 39.29%
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Thread: Heel Up Or Heel Down?

  1. #1

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    Default Heel Up Or Heel Down?

    Do you play your bass pedal(s) with your heel up or your heel down? Which is the right way in your opinion?

    I find I've gotten quite good at keeping my heel down for most songs and I've worked at it. I still find on faster, louder parts, or on fast double bass parts I play heel up.

  2. #2

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    myself....
    rock=heel up
    jazz=heel down

  3. #3

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    I'm about the same as funky. whenever I'm in Jazz band i play with my heel down but while playing some faster stuff i ussually play with heel up.but i don't like that so I'm working on not doing that so much.
    Band: System of a Down
    Song: Atwa




    Current: four way independence

  4. #4

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    I play heel up for everything. I get the most power and speed from it, and as far as I know, most of the metal drummers use this technique. Except for Travis Smith, but I don't like him.

    HB58
    My Kit: Pearl Session Custom 7 Piece w/ Zildjian Cymbals
    My Band: Lead Redemption
    Current Favourite Band: Necrophagist
    Current Favourite Song: To Rid The Disease - Opeth
    Next purchase: Pearl 18"x16" Floor Tom, Zildjian A Custom Crash

    Rudiments?

  5. #5

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    btw the fastest drummer i know (john longstreth from origin) plays heel down at 300+ bpm

  6. #6

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    Ya I play only heel up

    I like the loud bass sound for slower music too, not necessarily jazz music but I like the loud snap during a slow song. As long as it's not too overwhelming.

    Oh and BTW I too play at 300 BPM
    MY KIT: 5 Piece Westbury, Remo Ambassador Heads and Remo Muff'l Rings on all drums, Sabian AA 20" Metal-X Ride, Zildjian ZXT 16" Rock Crash, Pearl 14" Hats, Pearl 18" Crash Ride, Wuhan 12" China

    Band Website:

    The Torpedo Identity

    http://www.myspace.com/thetorpedoidentity
    http://www.purevolume.com/blacksunn

  7. #7

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    300 bpm holds no value unless you actually specify a note value.

    e.g. If he plays 300 notes in one minute, thats equal to 16ths at 75bpm. Which isn't that fast. While 300bpm might sound a lot, he could just be playing quarters or 8ths.

    And I'm going to flat out say that he probably can't do 16ths at 300bpm. That's inhuman.

    HB58
    My Kit: Pearl Session Custom 7 Piece w/ Zildjian Cymbals
    My Band: Lead Redemption
    Current Favourite Band: Necrophagist
    Current Favourite Song: To Rid The Disease - Opeth
    Next purchase: Pearl 18"x16" Floor Tom, Zildjian A Custom Crash

    Rudiments?

  8. #8

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    ive always played heel up.
    -Leslie (aka Lezzle..)

    If in any way I show signs of stupidity or lack of intellegence, this is why:

    Blond + Drummer =

  9. #9

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    heel up, but I've been trying to play heel down lately...but no...still heel up...
    The egg approves!

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by hellsbells58
    I play heel up for everything. I get the most power and speed from it, and as far as I know, most of the metal drummers use this technique.
    That is how I do it

    Keith

  11. #11

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    heel down all the way !!...I get more stamina tht way and my feet dont tire easy....i find it fast enough and powerful enough

  12. #12

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    really

    that's interesting because I played heel down for a while, until someone said that I should play heel up and I find it much easier and harder that way.

    Have you ever tried heel up?

    Cause once you up, you can't go back
    MY KIT: 5 Piece Westbury, Remo Ambassador Heads and Remo Muff'l Rings on all drums, Sabian AA 20" Metal-X Ride, Zildjian ZXT 16" Rock Crash, Pearl 14" Hats, Pearl 18" Crash Ride, Wuhan 12" China

    Band Website:

    The Torpedo Identity

    http://www.myspace.com/thetorpedoidentity
    http://www.purevolume.com/blacksunn

  13. #13

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    doubt not the speed of longstreth......
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFQUbhpuWA

  14. #14

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    I can't stand playing heel-up...It does'nt allow me to get the batter off the head without thinking about it....but maybe that sorta thing comes in time with playing Heel-down...
    "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
    - Henry David Thoreau

    My set: Sonor Force 2003 Fusion Kit. 16" B8 Thin Crash, 20" B8 Ride, 16" Wuhan China, 14" B8 hi-hats, 10" AAX Splash
    PDP Double bass Pedal, PDP throne.

  15. #15

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    meh ive seen faster
    MY KIT: 5 Piece Westbury, Remo Ambassador Heads and Remo Muff'l Rings on all drums, Sabian AA 20" Metal-X Ride, Zildjian ZXT 16" Rock Crash, Pearl 14" Hats, Pearl 18" Crash Ride, Wuhan 12" China

    Band Website:

    The Torpedo Identity

    http://www.myspace.com/thetorpedoidentity
    http://www.purevolume.com/blacksunn

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by amputechture
    meh ive seen faster
    who?

  17. #17

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    I play both, dynamically....if I need to be a little quieter, I play heel-down.....for more volume, power, and speed, I play heel-up.
    Word to the wise : don't mess with the drummer.

  18. #18

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    Would've been nice to hear the bass in that video clip. I clocked his snare hits on my metronome as 16ths at 140bpm. He's a great drummer, there's no denying it.

    I'm not sure who currently holds the Fastest Double Bass record in the world, but last I heard Mike "Machine" Mallais held the title for it with 1034 notes in one minute. Source Here.

    Now I'm not calling you a liar or anything, but by simple mathematics. 16th @ 300bpm = 300 x 4 (4 notes to a beat is a 16th) = 1200 notes per minute.

    I mean, if you're indeed correct, all hail the new fastest feet in the world. But I'm guessing that's not correct, because he would beat the current champion by 166 notes/minute. Where the gap between Mike and Tim Waterson (2nd place) is only 4 notes per minute.

    Also as an interesting sidepoint, Mike's record divided by 60 = ~17.2 notes per second. If Longstreth can indeed do 16ths @ 300bpm, he would be generating 20 notes per second (1200 / 60).

    HB58
    Last edited by hellsbells58; 03-01-2007 at 06:29 PM.
    My Kit: Pearl Session Custom 7 Piece w/ Zildjian Cymbals
    My Band: Lead Redemption
    Current Favourite Band: Necrophagist
    Current Favourite Song: To Rid The Disease - Opeth
    Next purchase: Pearl 18"x16" Floor Tom, Zildjian A Custom Crash

    Rudiments?

  19. #19

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    heel up baby!

  20. #20

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    OK well obviously you guys no more than me, because you guys can add it alll up mathematically. To be quite honest I had no idea who held the record, but just what I saw from the video, I thought I had heard faster. Couldn't say who but just from the top of my head, I would say Jason Bittner, and he plays heel up.

    But since I am very undereducated on the subject you guys are probably right.
    MY KIT: 5 Piece Westbury, Remo Ambassador Heads and Remo Muff'l Rings on all drums, Sabian AA 20" Metal-X Ride, Zildjian ZXT 16" Rock Crash, Pearl 14" Hats, Pearl 18" Crash Ride, Wuhan 12" China

    Band Website:

    The Torpedo Identity

    http://www.myspace.com/thetorpedoidentity
    http://www.purevolume.com/blacksunn

  21. #21

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    i can play 4ths at around 400 bpm....is tht any good ? 16ths at 100bpm right ?

  22. #22

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    what i dont understad is how you get the batter head off the bass drum in heel up. i've tries it and it'slike all your weight is on your feet. that actually slows me down

  23. #23

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    i dont know if he can blast it for a whole minute but they do have a song where he does clock in 16ths at 300bpm. most of the songs are in the 240-270 range.

  24. #24

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    and yeah, i think he would give mike or the trashcan man a good run.

  25. #25

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    i like both, heel down just has so much more control, but heel up is nice for getting that snap and playing fast, but i prefer down

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