HOW TO ADJUST BASS DRUM PEDALS and OTHER

INTERESTING PEDAL STUFF

Sometime ago, I received an email from a drummer who asked how to adjust his bass pedal to
make it faster. I gave him a quick answer and said to myself, Hey, this would be a great topic for
a Tech Speak article! So here it is: HOW TO ADJUST BASS DRUM PEDALS and OTHER
INTERESTING PEDAL STUFF.

Plain or with Peanuts

Like most things: cars, computers, stereos, and candy bars, pedals come in plain and fancy
versions. Generally, the higher the price, the fancier the pedal with more bells and whistles
attached. However, even the plainest pedals have two fundamental adjustments: spring tension
and beater height.

The Pearl P-70 is a rugged and dependable

pedal with basic spring tension and beater
height adjustments.

SECTION 1: BASIC ADJUSTMENTS

Beater Height
Without getting into physics (which I cant explain anyway), the height of the beater influences the
amount of (potential) power it can deliver. Set low, like choking a baseball bat, the power potential
is limited; oppositely, set high, like holding a bat at the end of the grip, the potential power is
increased.

Im of the mind that you can always throttle back a race car but you cant win the Indy 500 with a
Pinto. Likewise with pedals, you can always control excess power but you cant get more (power)
if there isnt any to begin with. For this reason, I prefer to go for the gusto and set the beater for
maximum power, that is, pretty much as high as itll go. Actually, I leave about of the beater
rod showing to allow for fine tuning later.
For starters, set the beater on you pedal with about of the rod
showing, as shown above.

To avoid damage to your pedal, its advisable not to set the beater
too high, like the example above. If you need extra beater height,
its better to invest in a taller beater.

Spring Tension
How tight or loose you set your spring is closely related to your playing style. For example, if
youre a heel-up player, you probably need more spring tension (or a more powerful spring) to
compensate for the weight of your leg. On the other hand, if youre a heel-down player, you
probably can get by with less spring tension as only the weight of your foot needs to be
counterbalanced.

To determine a ball park spring tension, try the following. Attach your pedal to the bass drum
and set the spring to an arbitrary setting. Put your foot on the pedal in the manner you normally
play, either heel up or heel down, and COMPLETELY RELAX. If the beater is pressed into the
bass drum head, the spring tension is probably too loose. If the pedal doesnt yield to the weight
of your foot/leg and feels like an exercise machine, the spring is probably too tight. For many, the
spring tension is about right if the beater is about 4 from the head with your body in this relaxed
state. Adjust the spring tension as necessary to achieve this distance and test the feel by playing.
Fine-tune the spring tension as needed to your preference.

For many, the spring tension is about right if the beater is about
4 from the head with your foot relaxed on the pedal.

Fine-tune Beater Height

After dialing-in the spring, you can make micro-fine adjustments to the feel of the pedal by moving
the beater up and down in 1/16 increments. Increasing the height of the beater will make the
pedal feel increasingly top-heavy while lowering the beater will increase the apparent strength of
the spring. These changes are subtle and your feet have to be pretty sensitive to feel the
difference, nevertheless, I recommend trying this. Who knows, this little tweak may be just what
your pedal needs to go from feeling good to feeling great!

Raising the beater even a small amount like 1/16 will change the
feel of the pedal and make it feel slightly more top-heavy.
Lowering the beater even as little as 1/16 will change the feel of
the pedal and make the spring feel stronger.

Beater Weight & Springs

As with sticks and mallets, beaters come in different weights with the heavier ones packing more
power potential than lighter ones. As beaters become heavier, beefier springs are required to
counterbalance the added weight. If your spring is maxed-out visit your local drum store and
invest in a stronger spring.

If your spring isnt tight enough even

though the spring tension adjuster is as
tight as it will go (like the one in the
picture), its time to get a new and/or
stronger spring.

SECTION TWO: ADVANCED ADJUSTMENTS

Beater Angle
When you get beyond pedals with only spring tension and beater height adjustment, you get into
a new class of pedals with extra bells and whistles. One of the coolest bells (or is it a whistle?) is
the ability to vary the distance of the beater from the bass drum head.
On simpler designs, this is accomplished by moving a screw and bobbin to evenly-spaced
threaded holes on the rocker cam. While this system works OK, you have to live with the factory-
determined beater angles.

An example of screw and bobbin beater angle adjustment system. From left to right: the forward most
hole moves the beater closest to the drum; the next hole moves the beater further back; the next hole
moves the beater further back still; and so on. With this system, the beater angle moves in steps.

On more advanced designs, the beater angle is infinitely adjustable thus allowing you to position
the beater exactly where you want.

Pearls PowerShifter Eliminator allows the beater angle to be adjusted infinitely for exact beater
placement.

In general, setting the beater further away from the head enables more power (like taking a big
swing in baseball) while moving the beater closer to the head tends to limit power. OK, there may
be some of you who have a Bruce Lee-type power-kick and can develop maximum power with
the beater set 1 from the head but for the rest of us a longer stroke is usually necessary to attain
power. When it comes to how far or close the beater should be set relative to the head (or any
pedal adjustment for that matter) theres no right or wrong. Make your adjustments according to
your preference.

On most pedals, youll notice the spring tension getting stronger as you set the beater away from
the head and weaker as it approaches the head. After adjusting the beater angle, you may need
to readjust the spring tension to compensate for this effect. On some pedals, the beater angle
adjustment is independent of the spring thus the spring tension stays the same regardless of
beater angle.
Footboard Angle
On many pedals the steepness of the footboard is adjustable by moving the end of the chain or
strap to different positions on the cam thus allowing you to choose the footboard angle that is
most comfortable.

Highest footboard angle Middle footboard angle Lowest footboard angle

PowerShifter
For extra versatility, Pearls patented PowerShifter feature allows the entire footboard to be
moved a step in front and a step behind the factory default (normal) setting. Moving forward
decreases the footboards leverage thus giving the pedal a stronger feel. Moving backward
increases the footboards leverage and makes the action feel lighter.

Lighter

Normal
Stronger

Balancing Double Pedals

Balancing the action between the two sides of a double pedal is usually a hit or miss proposition.
However, with the sure-fire method below (thanks to Dom Famularo), you can achieve balanced
double pedal action quickly and easily in minutes!

Heres how. Assuming that youre happy with the settings on your main pedal, set the slave
pedal to match it as identically as possible. Make sure that the universal joints on the drive shaft
are well lubed to eliminate as much friction as possible.

1) With your feet, depress both footboards until the beaters hit the drum head equally (as
demonstrated below).
2) Release the footboards cleanly at the same time as shown below.
3) Observe how the beaters oscillate. If the slave beater is oscillating slower than the main
beater, tighten the spring. If the slave beater is oscillating faster than the main pedal, loosen the
spring. In the photo below the beaters are oscillating at different speeds.

4) The action of the pedals will be balanced when both beaters oscillate in-phase with each
other for as long as possible.

NOTE: Dont expect the slave pedal to oscillate for as long as the main pedal. So far no one has
figured a way to make both pedals truly equal by overcoming the extra friction from the drive
shaft, two sets of axles, and extra bearings. Of course, you can set the slave pedal tighter or
looser than the main pedal; its your call.

SECTION THREE: OTHER PEDAL TIDBITS

Basically, the most common pedal adjustments are covered above and I hope that you find them
helpful. However, if you try everything and your pedal still doesnt feel as you think it should, your
pedal may be at fault. The following are tidbits of pedal info that may help guide you on your next
pedal purchase.
Cams
Of all the parts on the pedal, the cam or more precisely the shape of the cam has (arguably) the
most bearing on how it feels and plays. Cams vary in shape from manufacturer to manufacturer
but basically they fall into two types: linear and eccentric cams.

Linear cams are commonly round or round with a truncated side with the axle of the pedal
mounted dead center. Some pedals feature a lever-type extension from the axle that works in a
similar manner. Pedals with linear cams have essentially the same feel from the start to the end
of the stroke. All things being equal, the larger the diameter of the linear cam, the more leverage
it will have and the lighter it will feel.

The classic eccentric cam is shaped like a nautilus. Compared to linear cams where the radius
is the same from the center to the outside edge, the radius of the nautilus-shaped cam is greatest
at the tip of the cam and gets smaller toward the axle. This change in radius causes the leverage
to change from strong to weak as the beater approaches the head. Inversely, you feel the
resistance of the pedal going from light to heavy as the beater approaches the head. With
eccentric cams, you can set the spring tension to deliver maximum return at the end of the stroke
(where its needed most) without having to fight the spring at the start of the stroke.

So, which cam is best? You can find out by trial and error or you can check out Pearls new
PowerShifter Eliminator pedals. The Eliminator offers four interchangeable cams so you can
instantly change from one to another to achieve the feel thats best for you. Its like having four
different pedals at the gig at the same time! Each Eliminator comes with two linear cams: BLACK,
the traditional Pearl cam and WHITE, a larger cam with lighter feel; and two eccentric cams:
BLUE, a modified nautilus shape and RED, the classic nautilus shape cam. Double Eliminator
pedals come with two complete sets of cams thus you can mix and match cams on the right and
left pedals for similar or completely different feel and performance characteristics! VERY COOL!

The PowerShifter Eliminator pedal featuring

Pearls patented interchangeable cam system.

Linear Larger Modified Nautilus shape

Linear Nautilus shape
The relationship between cam shape and feel.

Chains, Straps, Clothesline?

A friend of mine broke the metal link on his Speed King pedal and replaced it with a piece of
clothesline. He said that the speed and action was better than ever before!

No, clotheslines wont be the next big thing in pedals but I bring this up because (to me) it doesnt
matter what type of drive a pedal has (chain drive, strap drive, or clothesline drive) just as long
as it works and is dependable.

Speaking of dependable, the king of dependability and popularity is the chain drive (invented by
Al Duffy of Pearl). They can be noisy (a grrrr-grrrr sound) however when used with toothed cams.
Toothless cams, such as Pearls and some others, run completely silent thus are the logical
choice for recording.

Pearls silent and smooth toothless cam with

dual chain drive.
Strap drives rate next in popularity. In the old days, leather was used but it stretched and broke
easily. These days, nylon, Kevlar, and composite straps make strap drives almost if not as
dependable as chain drives. The smoothness and quietness of strap drives is appealing to some
drummers.

The PowerShifter Eliminators features a 3-

ply Super belt for chain-like dependability.

The Ghost pedal, Speed King, and Axis come to mind as pedals with solid link drives. Because
theres no slack in the drive, the footboard and beater move in perfect tandem thus making these
pedals favorites of those who demand absolute precision.

The Speed King is a great example of

pedal with a solid link drive. Probably
every drummer has played one of these in
his or her career at sometime!
The choice of drive system is personal. If youre not sure of which to get, check out the
Eliminator . With the Eliminator you can switch from chain to strap drive or vice versa without
having to buy a new pedal! All you need is the replacement chain or strap, a screwdriver, a drum
key, and about two minutes.

The PowerShifter Eliminator accepts both chain or belt. You can

retrofit one to the other in a couple of minutes with only a
screwdriver and drum key.

Hoop Clamps
Newer designs have offset hoop clamps that allow the footboard to go practically flat.

The PowerShifter Eliminator features an offset

hoop clamp that allows the footboard to be
angled practically flat.

Some older designs, however, have the hoop clamp and wingbolt directly in the footboards path.
If set too low, the footboard and clamping device may collide resulting in possible damage to the
pedal.

The authors trusty old Camco pedal with a

chunk of the footboard (shown by the
arrow) missing from repeated collisions
with the wingbolt.
If you have this type of pedal and want a Or a key bolt.
lower footboard angle, try substituting the
wingbolt with a set screw as shown above.

Footboard Size
If you want speed (and who doesnt?) choose a pedal with the smallest footboard that can do the
job. With less mass than larger footboards, smaller footboards are not only faster but will stop and
start with greater precision thus allowing you to play intricate patterns with relative ease.
However, if you have big feet, go with a footboard that fits.

The Pearl P-201P (left) and P-101P (right)

PowerShifter pedals showing different size
footboards. As they say, Different strokes
for different folks.
Toe Stops
Toe stops are useful for keeping your foot from sliding or to have something to push against for
more power. Most toe stops are removable so they can be taken off if not needed.

The toe stops on PowerShifter

Eliminator pedals are removable
if desired.

Grip Tape
If you find toe stops confining yet want more slip-resistance on your footboard, grip tape (like the
sandpaper stuff used on skateboards) works well. Better yet, the Eliminator pedals unique
Traction Plate gives you the option of customizing the zones of slickness/grip on the footboard
without buying anything extra. The Traction Plate features a grippy side and a slick side that can
be rotated to place either end at the toe or the ball of your foot for traction control where needed.

The PowerShifter Eliminators Traction Plate and Traction Dots.

THE END
Im sure Ill think of something that I missed, but for now Im done. If you made it to the end of this
article, I thank you and I hope that the information above is useful to you!

As always, if you have questions or comments about Pearl products or drumming in general, I
can be reached at geneokamoto@pearldrums.com. Until next time, all the best!