DRUMMER CAFE

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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'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 used to use a double pedal, but I stopped because EVERYWHERE that I took it I got nasty looks from the sound guys and even my bandmates... I really only used it to do drags [which I can fake pretty well double bouncing a single] but I never found a time that that effect was enhancing the music. I still use the "master" of the pedal and occasionally hook up the "slave" during practices, but I haven't used it for a performance in over a year.

I haven't played with groups requiring a double pedal for more than two years...I have still been using it once in a while, but have been appalled to find myself doing double-kick rolls at the wrong times, relying on it as a crutch, and not grooving as well when it's there for me to think about.

For me, the double kick days are probably over, but that's due to the styles required in my bands, and not a personal comment on "double bass playing" itself.  My metal band always talks about a reunion show--if that happens, the double pedal will be back for sure.

  gotta love em', but yeah, I get what you mean now, whilst I was in school I used to have to drum in this big ol' school band thing, was horrible, just lts of different instruments, 90% of the time all playing in a different key, or a different tempo or something ridiculous like that, but I do remember one of the music teachers that ran it always used to frown if I would bring in a double kick, not out of choice, normally cos even at 15 I couldn't find the energy to get out of bed, so would normally just grab the first case I could find. The reason they frowned upon this so much was because it was a christian school, and they all immediatley linked double kick peddles with satanists and death metal Love it

C x

my bad... My attention span is about- Ooooo shiny!

My answer to this is: YES!! I usually play 1/8th notes on the pedal when I'm not playing the hats w/ my hand- just to give the groove a more complex feel. I also play some open/closed stuff w/ my left hand.
On another sidetrack- I did steal a trick from Carter Beauford where you play the HH pedal w/ the heel of your left foot and your BD Pedal w/ the toe of your left foot. Worked well for the drags that I always used it for. This works to keep give you control of straight closed/open, but no splashes or closing effects.