Tag Archives: duallist

Kick Drum Pedal

The kick pedal, also known as the bass drum pedal sits under the right foot of a right handed drummer or vice versa with a left handed player.

The drummer presses their foot downwards and through a system of straps or chains, this motion is converted to the forward motion of a [beater]. The beater impacts upon the vertical face of the kick drum batter head to make the sound.

When the drummer leaves the pedal pressed down, the beater will remain in contact with the drum head. When the drumer lifts their foot they release the pressure on the beater and the springs in the pedal make the beater come back off the head in preparation for the next stroke.

Double Bass Drum Pedal

Occasionally we see a drummer using a bass drum and pedal for each foot, this was very common in the 1970s and 80s. The difficulties with this approach are in the drummer having to carry a second bass drum but also in physically positioning the rest of the drumset appropriately. A secondary issue is one of consistency in tuning.

In the 1990s the double pedal was created which allowed the drummer to have a second beater on a single bass drum and the second, auxiliary pedal to be placed under the left foot for a right handed player. This way the drummer could have the function of two bass drums but with only one drum. It also meant that there was a consistent sound between the two drum strokes.

The auxiliary pedal is joined to the double beater unit by a metal bar that has an articulated joint at either end, These joints allow for great flexibility in the positioning of the pedals and ultimately are responsible for the success of this pedal type.

Duallist

In the 1990s a Scottish inventor came up with the duallist pedal, this pedal acts like a normal pedal on the downstroke, however when the foot is removed the beater makes a second strike on the drum skin, this doubles the stroke rate and gives the sound of two bass drums from one pedal and one drum. It is also available as a double unit which provides the equivalent of 4 bass drums