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Tornado Feet
Its time to realize our true potential on the bass drum either using single or double bass pedals. One of the first things we're taught is to play heel down or heel up. Very basic for the most part but won't we haven't been told is what kind of equipment the professionals use. I'm going to try my best to spoon feed this to you so you don't become overwhelmed. None of this equipment is a replacement for what you already have but instead its a few modifications that can be done to nearly all pedals made today. You'll learn how to improve your speed, volume and coordination. Now tell me you don't desire that?
Double PedalI'm about to uncover a secret here and I really hope I don't get any bad emails from some of the guys who charge money for e-books and videos for this kind of information. If you have two single pedals and two bass drums you can skip over this section but for the rest of you continue reading. Double bass pedals are much cheaper than buying a second bass drum and pedal, not to mention it saves a lot of space but there is a flaw in the pedal shaft. It has about a quarter to half inch of play depending on how worn the pedals are. Even when they're brand new they have play. It all revolves around how the axle was made. I don't care if you have top dollar DW 9000 pedals they have play in them too. Would you like me to prove why it hasn't been that your left foot just plan out sucks compared to your right? Grab the cam shaft on the secondary pedal where the chain revolves around causing the beater to move. Hold it firmly and now move the beater. Notice that while holding the cam shaft the beater has room to play? That is the flaw. That is why when you play you've got to make up for that delay timing when using the secondary pedal. There is a solution though! There is one company that makes the pedals right they're called "Axis". They make some very well engineered pedals that most of the time the complaint is they are too smooth. If you've researched into them you would have noticed they're not cheap by any means. A whooping $600 dollars for a double bass pedal, well I found a much better product made by the same company who makes these car shaft like pedals. They sell just the shaft for around $100 dollars. I haven't looked back sense, and who knows where my old shaft went, but who cares? The thing was just a few months old till it got swapped out for the new and improved
Improve Double Bass SpeedI've mentioned this book
Improve Both Single and Double Bass Speed/VolumeThese single pedals have got to be the heart of what makes everybody want to dance in a jazz band, so its know wonder why we should be improving on our skills. It doesn't matter if you use single or double pedals for this tip to apply. But if your a more advanced player you probably can already play doubles with a bass pedal technique. To truly maximize the potential of your new found technique you must have adjusted the pedals so the beater is not too far or to close to the bass drum. Normally I like it to be about 3 inches away. Another thing is after I got good at the technique I turned down the pedal tension to improve on my dexterity so I wouldn't be worn out after playing for awhile. Another thing that I found absolutely amazing are the Axis Sonic Beaters. They are very adjustable beaters far more than any made today. You can use momentum on your side like you would with a construction hammer, how the weight is up in front. Not only can you move them back or forth to control how close the beater is but they have a high surface contact so you don't have to hit as hard as you used to, to get the same volume. One quick warning though is that I've read a couple review that people managed to break them. I really don't understand how as they're tough and made of metal. Not to mention I'm 6'4 and 200lbs and I've put a lot of abuse on mine so maybe it was just made up I don't know. I've even tried to break them by playing as hard as I could but still couldn't. There's a warranty on them so truly if they were weak and broke nobody could afford to replace them over and over, but like I said there are some people who may have had a bad experience with these but not in my case. I whole heartily recommend this product as well as everything else on this site. Best of luck to you and your new found knowledge, and as always you can email me if you have any questions. |
once before for increasing stick speed, but can also increase your pedal speed dramatically. Just like you'd play RLRL (Right Left Right Left) or RRLL with the sticks you can play that with your feet as well. Not only will this increase your pedal speed but your coordination and timing will be an added bonus. If you have any desire to really improve your speed do check out that book, its a God send and its very reasonably priced.