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Thread: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

  1. #1

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    Default NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    My prayers have been answered! Just read today that Ludwig will offer the Speed King again, available this spring.

    Looks like it’s an exact copy of the Vintage SK, except with more robust linkage and bearings instead of bushings in the pedal hinge.
    Hopefully, it will also have a more modern hoop clamp design that will fit modern hoops as well.

    There’s not much I want in terms of new drum gear, but this is definitely on my list
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  2. #2

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    Damn! I never expected that.

  3. #3

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    I played one once that was on someone else's set. It felt weird but i think it was because of the way he had it dialed in for himself (beater height) really no other adjustment.

    Any pictures around of the new one?
    Last edited by slinky; 01-21-2020 at 09:44 AM.
    RDM/Damage Poets
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  4. #4

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    Quote Originally Posted by slinky View Post
    I played one once that was on someone else's set. It felt weird but i think it was because of the way he had it dialed in for himself.

    Any pictures around of the new one?
    Found this on Ludwig's site:

    Description: SPEED KING - L203 Ludwig Speed King Foot Pedal

    Speed Remastered! Back by popular demand in all of its former glory and then some…the return of the Ludwig Speed King Bass Drum Pedal!

    This newest version preserves all of the features of the Speed King of old but with more advanced features which include improved cam bearings, a more reliable and smoother direct-drive linkage, and heel plate bearings. All in a beautiful polished chrome finish.

    This is your father’s Speed King only better!

    L203_Speed_King_High_Res_5638.jpg

    The one below is another new pedal they have called the SPEED FLYER - L204SF Ludwig Speed Flyer Foot Pedal

    Built to fly! Ludwig is excited to release the new era of Speed Pedals for today’s drummers. Our top of the line bass drum pedal has more than just a new name. It’s been optimized extensively with the following features; improved beater with traditional Speed sizing and increased weight, improved heel with smooth action bearings, improved toe clamp to reduce hoop damage with secured grip, new ergonomic wing bolts and attached drum key, improved baseboard for added strength, orientation marks for easier cam adjustments, and anti-slip cam features for maximum stability. All with a new sleek look and de
    Attached Images Attached Images

  5. #5

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    Looks good.. the problem i had with the one i played was the oblong feeling of the beater swing. The way the linkage is gives it too much back swing I guess.. if that makes sense. There's no adjustment for that with the design so it's kind of an aquired taste or feel.

    Mechanically it was smooth from what i remember.
    Last edited by slinky; 01-21-2020 at 09:48 AM.
    RDM/Damage Poets
    UFiP TAMAHA Zildjian
    REGAL TiP
    AQUARIAN

  6. #6

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    Quote Originally Posted by slinky View Post
    Looks good.. the problem i had with the one i played was the oblong feeling of the beater swing. The way the linkage is gives it too much back swing I guess.. if that makes sense. There's no adjustment for that with the design so it's kind of an aquired taste or feel.

    Mechanically it was smooth from what i remember.
    That's why I would never buy it. It's like going back and using a tool from the 1950's stripped of all modern technology.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    That's why I would never buy it. It's like going back and using a tool from the 1950's stripped of all modern technology.
    Which is exactly why others like myself WILL buy it! It’s beautifully simplistic. From a technology standpoint, I would argue that it was decades ahead of its time. Even “state of the art” new pedals use the same design as 50 years ago with external springs in tension. The SK design of using springs in compression is still unique in the market 50yrs later. Granted, it doesn’t have any adjustments. Ironically, I’m constantly messing with all the adjustments on my new pedals....just trying to get them to feel like my old SK.
    I guess if you’re not a SK fan, you probably never will be. But if you are, then all the modern adjustments are unnecessary.

    I DO wish they would put a modern design hop clamp and solid base plate on it.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    Which is exactly why others like myself WILL buy it! It’s beautifully simplistic.
    I get it. We all like what we like.

  9. #9

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    The Speed King stretches its spring. It doesn't compress the spring. I learned on a Speed King and it was hard to move on to modern pedals after the Swivo-o-matics I replaced the SKs with. But I don't look back fondly at the lack of adjustments and a base late, the poor clamp and most of all the squeaks.

  10. #10

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    The old speed kings had the internal spring adjustments at the bottom of the pedal.

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by noreastbob View Post
    The Speed King stretches its spring. It doesn't compress the spring. I learned on a Speed King and it was hard to move on to modern pedals after the Swivo-o-matics I replaced the SKs with. But I don't look back fondly at the lack of adjustments and a base late, the poor clamp and most of all the squeaks.
    Oh, that's right, the squeaks! I forgot all about that!

  12. #12

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    Quote Originally Posted by noreastbob View Post
    The Speed King stretches its spring. It doesn't compress the spring.
    Not sure if you will be able to view the picture clear enough, but this old advertisement shows how the internal compression spring action works. The eccentric cams on the end of the fulcrum shaft push down on the top of the springs. Somewhere on here I have a thread showing the disassembly and modifications I did when I rebuilt my old SK.
    68023AAB-BB62-4F2B-9B74-7C6B7CD2DB21.jpg
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  13. #13

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    Yeah I was probably looking at the second, new pedal pic. Actually the internal compression system is way MORE complicated than the newer and standard stretch method. Looks cleaner I suppose FWIW.

  14. #14

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    Ludwig Speed Flyer & Speed King Demo by Carter McLean.

    Last edited by Olimpass; 03-03-2020 at 10:46 PM.

  15. #15

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    As a kid my dad's drummer had a speed king and he had it for ever and no matter what drumset he used or changed to he always swore by his speed king.

  16. #16

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    Default Re: NEW Ludwig Speed King is coming

    I like the Speed Flyer due to the solid base plate. Plus it appears it also has an exposed wingnut locker. Mucho awesome-o.
    Signature here

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