PERPLEXING PEDAL PROBLEMS

This morning a random thought struck me: Why am I not using a double pedal?  It seems to have become standard equipment for drummers nowadays, but I'm still using my old single DW5000.  I have been more concerned with building my strength and stamina for simple worship music rather than worrying about double bass patterns that I would rarely use (and never in a church setting).  But the addition of a double pedal is like adding a second bass drum that is completely invisible and occupies no space whatsoever!  I am all about adding more drums to my kit without taking up space!

I quickly remembered that I have a couple of double pedal sets sitting around the shop, so I thought I would actually hook one up and try to use it for once.  I hadn't rearranged my layout since...yesterday...so I figured a little change might be interesting and beneficial.  What have I got to lose except a few hours?

One of the sets I have has no logo or wording on it, so I think it might be a Gibraltar or something.  It came with the Black Pearl set I acquired last summer and I have never used it.  The second set is a mid-range Pearl model that I bought for my son when the original Swingstar set was new (because it was the only decent offering the store had at the time).  After spending a couple hundred bucks he decided he didn't like double pedals after all and took it off the kit, re-affixing the original Tama single pedal (I think he was just jealous because I was better than him).

Despite my antipathy towards all things Pearl, I decided to go ahead and experiment with this second set.  I was really just testing out the positioning of a double pedal more than establishing something permanent.  I just wanted to see how adding a double pedal would affect my set up.

The immediate problem I ran into concerned the hi-hat.  How the heck do you position a second pedal adjacent to the hi-hat when the stand's legs get right in the way?  Back in the old days before this cockamamie contraption was conceived, us rock and roll drummers had to spend hundreds of dollars to add a whole 'nother bass drum to our HUGE kits.  The snare drum fit comfortably between the BD pedals, but the hi-hat had to go way over on the left.  Then some heavy metal genius invented the "Double Bass Hi-Hat Clamp" that enabled the bulky stand to fit closer in by attaching it to the left-hand bass drum.  The legs were folded up and the stand was held in place by a clamp, a "Z" rod and a hoop-mount attachment.

I guess I don't need to show my age and ignorance by admitting that my internet search for "hi-hat clamp" left me disappointed and confused.  How do these young whippersnappers do this, especially when nowadays the single bass drum and the hi-hat are so far apart?  Well, eventually I figured it out: You gotta have a newfangled TWO-LEGGED hi-hat!  Of course!

Wait.  If it only has two legs, won't it fall over?  NO, you decrepit moron!  This new apparatus has been specifically designed to stand steady and erect while accommodating the implementation of dual-pedal technology, and it can be all yours for the low, low price of TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY DOLLARS!!!  But wait!  If you act now we'll DOUBLE the offer...

Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Mr. Innovation!  Two hundred C notes?!  I may be ignorant and old-school, but I think I can resolve this problem a little cheaper than that!

Here's how an old-timer with a shop full of drum parts and busted stands gets the job done:

First of all, I cleared my canvas by moving the snare drum and hi-hats completely out of the way.  I detached the DW pedal and carefully installed the new Pearl in its place.  Then I returned the snare and positioned the second pedal in a comfortable and ergonomic location, making sure it was in tight around the snare legs to conserve space.  Naturally I wanted to avoid expanding the footprint of the kit, so I was hoping the hi-hat stand would remain in basically the same place as before, if only slightly leftwards.  After disassembling the tambourine/crotale bracket and folding up the legs, I discovered the hi-hat would indeed fit back into its previous spot without requiring any readjustments to the surrounding toms.

Now for the means of holding the stand in place.  I began with the Z-rod from an LP "Claw" and the generic clamp that formerly supported the tambourine/crotale..  With this I determined that I could cover the expanse between the hi-hat and the nearest tripod (the heavy-duty stand holding the 8 and 10" toms) using a Ludwig clamp that attaches a mounting rod to a stand post.  I had to connect to the post of the boom arm holding the timbale (which is connected to the aforementioned tom mount) but I got there, and now the hi-hat stand is steady and secure (and not in the way).  Now the two toms, the timbale, the hi-hats and an 18" crash are all hooked together like an intricate plumbing system and are not going any place.

As a bonus, the Z-rod I used is a splash mount with threads on one end, so my crotale fits snugly atop, resting just below the bottom HH cymbal.  The tambourine was reassigned a small Ludwig stand which also provided a rod to conveniently mount the vintage Ludwig cowbell directly adjacent to the hi-hat.  Now interesting patterns involving hi-hat, snare, tambourine, cowbell, etc. are much easier.

So there you have it.  That is how the simple addition of a duple treadle can turn an ordinary morning into a major percussionary reconstruction project that eats up several hours but leaves you feeling proud and satisfied when all is said and done.  Everything is in its proper place and operational, and I have another bass drum that takes up relatively NO SPACE!!!