DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

Hi All,

I have just finished practicing and I am thinking about abandoning the double bass pedal as I never use it - except for big endings. I have moved my foot a little further back down the board and can get the speed I want for 16ths based around fills and general playing. Initially I got into the double pedal thing in the early 90s as I was under the influence of Matt Sorum and playing in heavier, faster cover bands. In the last ten years I have not played anything which really necessitates a double kick and don't see it arisng. I guess as I get older I am simplifying my set up.

Just curious how many others have gone back to a single pedal?

Dan

I use a single pedal on my big drumset.  It makes no point to have a bunch of toms and have dbl pedal in my opinion.

On my 5 pc kits I use a dbl pedal which I use quite a bit for drags and groupings.  That makes more sense to me, having less toms, smaller sizes and using the dbl kick to make a smaller kit sound "bigger".

Just how I approach things. YMMV

I have contemplated it from time to time, then realized that some of my favorite licks to play are with my good ol' dw 5002. 

Also when the idea was mentioned to band-mates, it got much disapproval.

Good luck! hopefully it works out for you and brings your foot back to speed. Keep your mind open to bringing it back in the future. 

I have one in my setup, but, during the course of a 4 hour gig, I’ll only use it on 3 or 4 songs.

To tell you the truth, I only use it when I’m too lazy to play the “boom…..chick….ba-boom….chick” pattern with one foot. I use this groove on several songs (think every song by KC and the Sunshine Band….) and doing it without a double pedal can be a workout for my right foot, especially towards the end of the night. So I’ll take the easy way out – close my hi-hat and use the double pedal.

I could get by without it, but it’s nice to have as a backup toy.

 
When I joined a hard rock/metal band a few months ago, I considered the idea of getting a double pedal. I experimented with one for some time, but I found it difficult to play, and I missed the tricks I do on the hi-hat with my left foot constantly on it. So I gave up using a double pedal after a few hours.
 

I started playing double bass in 1966 after seeing a local New Orleans drummer doing so, and switched to a DW5002 about 10 years ago.  I play a fairly wide variety of music, including big band and small group jazz, rock, and country, with many different bands, and always set up the double pedal.

There are some nights where the left pedal is just a positioner for the hihat, and other nights when it gets much more use.  Like the cowbell I also take to every gig, it's a tool.  Better for me to have it and not need it than to want it and not have it available.

I got rid of my double pedal a number of years ago. I use both feet a lot, but for me the Double Kick Pedal just wasn't used enough to haul around. Everything that I do or want to do I do execute with a single pedal. Working out of The New Breed book as well as Stick Control and Syncopation, applying it to the Kick drum, really made a difference in my single Kick pedal technique and usage. I may own a double pedal again someday. I do still  teach students double pedal technique.

when did the double pedal come into wide use?

you do hear a lot of recorded music with beats that sound like they must have been done w  a double. or a computer. :D

maybe or maybe not. but young drummers today want that sound and that's got to be one reason why the double pedal has become a commodity.

however, it is an ungainly beast and expensive.

as bart notes, many of the sounds made by the double can be done by the single. it just takes a lot more work, better technique, talent and practice. and who needs that? ;)

me, id love to produce that kc&sunshine band beat, but im just too lazy, i guess. so i fake it with a pale imitation, minus what the double would add. you can get by. only you and your conscience know the truth.

Very well said, I love this sentence.
 

I have been too stubborn to man-up and succumb to getting rid of mine.  I still have illusions (delusions?) of mastering the @$%# thing, then kicking it to the curb on my own terms.  If I could find a good deal on a new Pearl 2000B, I might do it in a heartbeat. 

still thumping away...Bob

I love some of things you can do with the double.  Admittedly though there are only a few times where in my band I use it in a song where I think it actually adds to the music.  This is, I think, partly due to my lack of skill and partly to the music we play.  As Bart said, there are some that can do more with a single than I can with a double but I'm keeping it for now since I do enjoy those few times...

I'm the same way. I've thought about buying a double many times. Then I think, "Na, what do I need that for? I can do most things with a single, so it will end up being just another toy to look at, hook up, and haul around." I always come up with the same answer. "Not for me. I rarely play hard rock."

I always used to hate using double kick, just seemed like a lot of pointless extra effort for something that isn't realy necassary, but due to the style of music I now play I've had to get used to using a double kick, I find it just helps me keeps up with the pace of everything.

Ironically, because of this, I think I'd find it incredibly difficult to go back to using a single kick. It would make me feel like I wasn't ever doing enough. Sound ridiculous I know, but i gues it just keeps me on my toes a bit i suppose.

C x