Strap drive vs Direct drive - Which is better? Darwin FTW Bass drum pedals
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
- Hey everyone, In this video I hope to help everyone understand the differences between the strap drive and direct drive options for the Darwin FTW pedals - and look to see if one is better than the other. I'll also show how to covert them from one to another.
For more information on these pedals go to -
www.acd-unlimited.at/english/
Music featured in this video is from -
Memories Of Old - / memoriesofold
Scandelion - / about
Salvator Mundi - / salvatormundiband
Black Sulphur - / blacksulfur
I proudly endorse -
Sonor Drums
Istanbul Agop Cymbals
Remo Drumheads
Ahead Spinal Glide Thrones
ACD Unlimited Pedals
Jh Audio In Ear Monitors
Definitely the highest quality, most well put together breakdown of these pedals that i've seen. You know what you're talking about and got the chops to back it up, mad props! Thanks for the vid
Man your drumming is great on wide variety of styles!!! Thanks for your detailed explanations on the differences between strap drive and direct drive.
This video is fantastic! Very informative. Sound quality is top notch. Your playing is also top tier!
Thanks! I'm really glad you found it useful! Is there anything else you'd like to see in future videos?
The song at around 1:55ish, is one of my favorite drumless songs to jam too! Cool to see another approach to the song.
GREAT video and thank you! I am going to order a double and the Hi-Hat Stand. Both Strap and Direct Drive as well.
Amazingly excellent demystification of direct drive pedals between 2:45 & 3:36!
Nice to see a fellow Sonor-guy!
Very informative, you clarified a lot of things for me, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
DUDE GREAT PLAYING AND KIT!
Every video I've watched of these pedals is the reason I ordered them, excited to get them soon! Also keep it up with the very informative videos!
How's the pedals?
@@vernon7896 they're great, have had them for nearly two years now. Have the game changers also and these pedals have allowed me to dial in my settings constantly
@@UKrocketeer I bet it's lots of fun changing parameters from one extreme to the other
@@UKrocketeer strap or direct drive your preference?
bless you for this video. I was well educated. Now I know what I want to buy
Very nice! Thanks for the great explanation! Superb sounding drum kit, btw!
Thanks!
Great video and presentation. Subscribed ;)
One of the best & most honest 12 minutes about kick pedals on the Internet. BTW - you are so right about the myth of direct drives being better was formed back when elite engineering & manufacturing was only applied to direct drive pedals!
Absolutely. Thanks for the kind words!
You my good sir, have my dream kit a sonor, and the symbol placements are exactly how I want
Great knowledge
I’ve always preferred the strap drive. Great video. 🤟👍
Thanks 👍
Dude, I'm EXACTLY like you with pedals the past couple of years. I'm always experimenting with different pedals and beaters. My first nice double pedals were the Pearl Eliminator Redlines (which were great by the way). Then I got some Trick Pro 1Vs, which I don't like the beaters sitting the left of the head. Then I got some Pearl Demon Drives, which are also great. THEN I got a set of good ol' Iron Cobra 900s and love them. They're the perfect amount of speed and attack for me personally (especially withe a Trick drive shaft.) Ended up getting the Speed Cobras too which I don't think I like as much as I thought I would, lol. The FTWs or Phantoms are next because I just have to try them at some point.
A man playing Sonors and Agops can never be wrong 👍👍
I replaced the double chain of my Speedcobra with a kevlar strap... I have always loved the light and "fast" feel, since I had a Sonor strap pedal in the 80's, and chosen non- chain pedals since.
Btw, your playing is impeccable, plusses for not getting stuck to just one music style
Yea but what is this power metal orchestra stuff kinda goofy
Thanks!
Bro that kit is siiiiiick
Cristal clear, thanks.
Thanks! Feel free to check out my other videos for more pedal stuff too!
I was using a chain drive from when I began 20 years ago, and I switched to a belt drive as it felt so smooth. But I use a chain drive on my e-drums because it was a pedal at a great price by Pearl. Direct drive feels very strange, but I would need to play with one for a while before getting used to it. I;ve only had the chance to try the direct drive pedals at music stores
Do you have a video of short boards vs. long boards? If not could you please explain the difference? I play heals up.
do you ever do one of each on each pedal or do they have to be the same? until today i had no idea strap drives existed, and you earned a sub, honestly this was one of the clearer and best examples /reviews of a pedal as im considering upgrading from my iron speed cobra 910's and was considering going direct drive but nice to see that depending on my pedal i could get the option of both, itd be cool to see if there were pedals with all 3 options as well as other features from some other ginmicy pedals too. cheers mate
Spencer Reidy thanks! I appreciate it! I don’t personally use one of each but I have heard of some people doing that. I think Russ Miller used to do that. It’s all down to what you like. But if you’re playing two-foot patterns the response would be a little different. If you’re considering upgrading these pedals are the absolute best pedals out there. They’re expensive, but not if it’s the last pedal you ever need to buy! Thanks again for watching and the kind comment!
@@SessionDrummerJames thanks for the reply! i really am considering these but also the czarcie kypoto but sadly there is no where comparing the two, i imagine that the darwin definitely takes at least some ingluence from czarcie though?
Damn man, I already have the Tricks and ACD upgrades arriving soon but this makes me wanna pick up a set of Darwins 😂
Doooooo iiiittttt! haha!
I use an old 70s sonor pedal on my practice kit when I gig or play with a band I use a top end dw it doesn’t matter but with the dw it just feels that little bit easier.....bonham had a speed king which when compared to a dw9000 was flimsy and clunky and squeaky he just had phenomenal technique from years of hard work and practice.....
hope to have this on PH
I've come to realize the biggest feeling difference with direct drive to me isn't the stroke itself but rather the rebound. If you use a chain or a strap, when you engage the pedal for a stroke, the chain or strap tenses up as its stretched to its full length. On the return however it is not tense. The direct drive is a solid piece and doesn't change its tension from the time of impact through the return motion. This makes the return motion feel more pronounced on the direct drive to me. How this translates to playability or speed would probably be different for each person but its definitely something you need to adapt to. I used chain or strap pedals for over 20 years and now I'm using Trick. I ended up having to adjust my Trick to feel as close to my old pedals as possible. I'd definitely like to try these pedals one day its just an accessibility thing right now.
Thats a really good explanation of the feel. I was a direct drive player for over 10 years after playing chains for years before, to me the strap on these pedals is the best of both worlds. Nothing is a linear feeling as the direct drive and I thats what I love about them, but these pedals themselves are so responsive that you get practically the same level of control with the strap as you do with direct drive pedals. They're well worth trying out if you can! Also the new Phantom series pedals should be out soon which will be a more affordable version of these. Same build quality and feel, just with less adjustments. Thanks for watching!
Direct drive is much better for all my techniques . Healtoe ftw 🙌
Can i change pearl p-2052c to strap drive?
I need to experiment with the belt drive more, I just went straight to the direct drive on the FTW’s. Sick pedals though!
Also, what ride do you use for more metal stuff from Agop? Been thinking of getting an Xist Power ride.
Brandon White hey man, just seen this comment. I use the Xist Raw Ride.
Great explanation of these pedals. A question though, if you're not one of those guys who play above 250bpm, how can you tell there wont be a difference between strap drive and direct drive in terms of speed?
Thanks. It’s tough to explain but basically if you watch people like gene hoglan you’ll see that people who can play those speeds can play them on far inferior pedals to these. It’s more personal preference and what you’re used to. Also the motion for those tempos is the same ankle motion I use above 180. Both drives are faster than any drummer will ever be. So you aren’t going to be limited by them it’s just which one you like the feel of more while playing those speeds.
Was actually just looking into pedals and which to get! Anyone else have a suggestion for blast breast and slipknot i.e. Joey Jordison style drumming! Two separate bass instead of a singular double pedal setup... please and thank you. I just figured out the heal toe technic! Game changing btw.
Dennis is genius.
absolutely!
What's that song at 2:23?
What snare do you use? It sounds amazing👌
Thanks! In this video I had my Sonor Artist Brass snare with a Remo Ambassador on top!
In a double pedal configuration, do the two betters sit symmetrically to the center of the drum, or one is center and the second one off-center?
Hey, sorry for the late reply! The two beaters sit symmetrically and are the same distance from the centre of the head! What's cool is you can also swap the hoop clamp to the other side of the bass plate so that if you convert to two singles from this, the singles will still hit dead centre! I have loads of videos on these pedals so feel free to have a look through my channel - it covers every detail and aspect of these pedals! Here's one focusing on the hoop clamp (which also shows the symetrical beaters) ua-cam.com/video/lO2AxQD5DQY/v-deo.html
Direct drive is the best. I use the pearl demon drive single pedal its so responsive
All personal preference dude!
@@SessionDrummerJames Whats the advantage to a chain drive? nothing. the advantage to a direct drive is faster and smoother response. So I wouldnt say it’s preference since one performs better than the other
I think a lot of us will disagree with you about pedals not affecting your speed. Playing 250bpm+ on a set of DW4000s or Gibraltars is basically impossible. The pedal simply won't allow you to go faster than it physically can. Of course it boils down to the drummer at the end of the day but pedals definitely make a massive difference.
Totally respect your opinion, but I would have to disagree. My comments are that better pedals won’t make you faster. But they do make your own speed easier to play. Obviously if you’re talking about the pedals that come supplied with £300 starter kits from no-name brands then yes. But most cheap pedals from proper drum brands will always be able to move faster than the person controlling them. SMOOTHER pedals just make playing at those tempos more comfortable. They make your own speed easier to maintain, they don’t give you speed you don’t have. Somebody struggling to play 180bpm on a Pearl demonator won’t suddenly play at 200 because they buy a demon drive. That’s the belief most people have. And for others it’s purchase gratification. They have to tell themselves that they had to spend that money on the pedal otherwise they wouldn’t be able to play. Take a look at Gene Hoglan. For most of his career he kept to the same old camco pedals which were single chain old school pedals. (Pretty much the same as the older, cheaper 4000’s). They are terrible by the standards of something like a DW5000. Even look at someone like Marthyn Jovanovic. He demonstrates time and again that it’s the player and not the pedals. You can go watch him play at those tempos on an old beaten up set of cobra Jr’s without any problem. I play expensive pedals because I love the feel, versatility and the build quality. And because I play drums for a living so I want the best tools I can have. But I understand that my speed is MY speed and not a byproduct of the pedal.
@James Chapman Great explanation, Gene is awesome! Very interesting and informative vid and that's coming from a guitarist.
Keep rockin'!
I sort of agree. It depends on how much practice and work you want to do. If you can’t drive a mustang in a drag race, you’ll never be able to handle a dragster. However if you can get the mustang as clean as possible, driving a dragster would just unlock a whole second level of skill.
Iron cobras as my favorite pedals by a mile, BUT when I am playing 200+ bpm I simply prefer machined direct drive pedals. I can play them faster, and with more efficiency without exerting myself as much. Because I am not focusing as much on trying to play fast and clean on a heavier pedal - I am able to do more around the kit.
I would have to disagree with you. This might be true for a cheap, entry level pedal. However, I used a DW5000 double for years, changed to a Yamaha DFP9C and although both pedals can play fast (much faster than my feet can go!), the Yamaha requires much less effort.
Does anyone have opinions on the Gibraltar double direct vs the Pearl demondrive double??
I played pearl eliminator (black cam) for years .. ready to get a new pedal
Gibraltar is almost $300 cheaper.. but, I REALLY TRUST PEARL..
opinions? Advice??
I think the eliminators area ALLOT more reliable than demon drives. I had 2 sets of demon drives before and they both started to fall apart on tour. They had problems with the bearings in the heel plate. I think they tried to over engineer a pedal on too tight a budget. The eliminators would survive a nuclear war. Gibraltar also had issues. They were my first direct drive pedal years ago and the pedal really hasn't changed except looks since then. I know that doesn't help, but personally i's stick with eliminators and maybe look into one of the direct drive kits from ACD unlimited.
@@SessionDrummerJames yeah man...to me eliminators are like iron cobra or dw5000. Great for abusive and hard hitting playing without worrying its durability
I really REALLY APPRECIATE both replies. We had a new band move into shared space.. drummer plays direct.. I tried them out and they just felt weird. I'm sure adjustments would make a difference but I realize basically what this vid explains so well...direct wasn't an "angels singing" moment of discovery..and they feel too light.. im pretty heavy footed so.. like I said - the responses make great sense
🤘
I've always played double chain untill I discovered the strap drive by accident; From the first session I knew that strap was the best for me :)
Never turned back since! My go to is the vintage Pearl P-100S
Had a PDP Direct Drive but it broke... But I think that Direct was the worst drive system for me. It was to heavy for me
I had axis and hated them too. And they broke as well. I went back to the Pearl eliminators. For me I play best with them too. I don't play 300bpm so it's no big deal.
how much are these? do they convert to lefty?
If you head over to the ACD website you can see all the costs there (depends on what configuration you get the price changes) and you can order a lefty version as Dennis who created them originally designed them because he is a lefty!
@@SessionDrummerJames i went there but couldnt find any prices. it says to download cookies but im always hesitant to do that for some reason. so they dont convert?
@@sticksbass no Dennis makes particular right and left pedals to make them as efficient as possible. Even when ordering single pedals they are perfectly symmetrical rather than identical. The current cost of a lefty double is €1260 in standard configuration.
@@SessionDrummerJames ok thanks
@@SessionDrummerJames ok, thanks
What do you know? You can’t even play drums! Lol kidding man. Great video
How much bro?
www.acd-unlimited.at/english/hardware/darwin-pedal/ All details are there man!
$1200 USD for the double.
off-center ... like other pedals :) (good one :)
Practice slow and you will get the speed quicker than you think.
Yep. You gotta crawl before you can run