Hello, and pedal question

Hello folks, this is my first time on this forum, although some of you may have seen my name around a few other places. I am a beginner, bought my first kit about three years ago at 55. So, I'm eccentric! I aspire to play in a swing/mainstream jazz band, and have already played a few times in public despite my rawness. I have just aquired a good teacher, and that leads to my question. I own three pedals, an Aging Axis, Iron Cobra and a Pearl 101. My teacher says these are all unsuitable for my style of playing and should look for something with more finesse. But which one? She who must be obeyed, my wonderful supportive partner said "that one" when looking at pictures in MD mag. Nothing less than the DW 9000. Not only that but a long board like Joe Morello. Now it is very difficult for me to test a range of pedals, because the shops around here are small and have little stock, so I am reliant on the advice of friends and forums. I must admit that I am not happy with either of my pedals, nor any other I have tried which includes the Pearl Eliminator, Gibralta, and a few others I can't recall. I have not tried a DW, but I did find a Pacific copy of a 5000 which seemed not too bad. I liked the feel of a low end Yamaha I tried a few weeks ago, but it had little adjustment so I found it unatractive. Is my lovely lady correct? Is the DW9000 longboard the way to go? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

PS she also hinted that I will soon need another drumset - I like being under the thumb!

RoH

firstly, don't count out a pedal that has little to know adjustments, more things to adjust can become a pain in the but. that being said, the 9000 is indeed a very nice pedal, very smooth, but very expensive.

i second that. the 9000 is the best and smoothest pedal ive played and i love it.

to me, good equipment is stuff you dont have to worry about. i totally forget about my pedals and then i suddenly look down and go "oh yeah. i have DW pedals now!" they are great.

it wasnt like that with my pearls.... [img]graemlins/sure.gif[/img]

Hi , first i think you have to precise what you mean about longboard , first you refer to Morello , in his video he use real longboard , then you talk about DW9000 longboard , as i know there is no DW9000 with Real longboard , to clarify look thoses 2 pictures of axis pedal : http://www.axispercussion.com/images/Mvc-001f.jpg , the pedal you see on left side it's a longboard , the pedal on right side is not a longboad ( a longboard is made in 1 piece while other are made in 2 pieces , even if some footboad made in 2 pieces can be longer then others made in 2 pieces )

Then about DW9000 compare to the one you have i understand , i had a Iron Cobra and after a while i feel that i need something more smoth ( specialy for double stroke ) then i tested DW 9000 and i Loved it and buy it , now that i have both pedal at home i do a simple test , put my finger on the footboard at the "sweet spot" and do a stroke on bass drum and test the pressure i have on my finger when i try to hit a second time just after , on the Iron Cobra there is a pressure who don't let me hit a second time just after , i have to wait a while until this pressure disappear , with the DW9000 it feel like there is not pressure at all !!

So i guess for Jazz it's that kind of smoothest you need [img]wink.gif[/img]

I had to tap in...first post here. I am in my 50's and just started playing drums. I have always loved music (jazz/ big band) and after ALL these years of wondering, hoping, desiring, I finally bought myself a drum kit after I purchased one for my grandson?funny how those feelings I had as a kid never went away. I?m not sure if the kid will take to the instrument, but I went out and found a decent teacher, started taking weekly lessons, and so far, I love it. It has been very difficult however.
I am about to retire in a year or so and would love to play jazz music. I grew up listening to all the greats, at least greats to me.
What drew me to this site was the maturity of the members. It is hard to find a forum that doesn?t consume itself in the vernacular, discussing all the new drummers and then spending a lot of time debating who?s the fastest, etc. Mind you, I could care less about all of that?I did the same thing in my 20?s, but outside of Vic Firth?s website, I haven?t found a discussion forum that has been attractive outside of this site. I?m sure they are out there.
I fell onto this site by pure accident. I started taking lessons (here in Indiana) and saw a poster of Vinnie Colaiuta in the drum room. I then did a search on this unknown drummer ( I figured if he was in the teacher?s drum room, he must be influential for something right?), and that led me to the drummer of Sting. I?ve heard of Sting (don?t live in a cultural cave [img]biggrin.gif[/img] ) and that led me Ten Summoner's Tales which I had on my shelf. I pulled it, and there he was. WOW! I was impressed and did more research. I saw he played on this video, Buddy Rich Memorial and bought it. I was now fascinated by him and the other two drummers, Steve Gadd and Dave Weckl. Mr. Gadd?s drumming was more of what I could relate to; the other guys were in another dimension to me. I couldn?t really believe what Mr. Colaiuta was doing on the drums?it seemed so beyond what is possible, like watching a show on great human accomplishments more than drum playing. I did another search on all three and came across Steve?s webpage. That led me to the forum and now I am making my first post.

I really like what Steve has put together here and hope I can ask a few questions. I know you seasoned drummers must not like simplistic questions, and my drum teacher is good for that, but at times I would like to ask or possibly comment to get more than one opinion. As I?ve read almost two hundred posts over the past year here I have come to very much respect the vast knowledge and experience portrayed. There is quite a mix of personalities that makes it interesting and very little editing by the moderators which I also respect. I tired to get into another forum and was told that I would be moderated frequently. I couldn't understand this unless I was simply being an idiot over many posts. I also love the fact that we hear from drummers representing other continents as well. Very exciting!

OK?just wanted to say hi. Thanks!

Welcome to HODHB, you guy[s]...

Quote:

---

I know you seasoned drummers must not like simplistic questions

---

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">On the contrary, the guys in here tend to "give back"...& are very helpful with insights...many being very good players, both semi-pro & pro, & also pro teachers/instructors.

The only time it becomes an issue is when trolling smart-alecs start w a seemingly innocent & naieve question, & then keep asking questions until it becomes painfully obvious that they are being wise-guys...seeing how long it takes us to "become wise" to the tomfoolery.
But we're generally pretty patient in here.

Beginners & novices' question are perfectly normal & fine. Hey, 'we've all been there.'

To quote a common cliche made by my [& MANY others] grade-school teacher always said, "the only 'stupid' question is an unasked one"... [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ July 31, 2004 12:09 AM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

Well thanks there FuseU1. Your posts have always been entertaining, informative and positive. I am trying to get my thoughts together about this jazz playing thing and my teacher has had me working on my hands and very basic patterns from GL Stone's book (he said it was a good starting book) and we have been using this for hand development as well as taking patterns to the kit. Coming from an engineering background, I really like the ?math? part of drumming a lot. I have listened to music all my life and am in no way qualified to discuss drummers from a musical aspect, but as a fan of music, I really enjoy several, but in truth, I usually don?t think about one particular instrument (which is why I never entered these discussion boards previously) but I listen to the music. Then, if a drummer stands out to me I will seek his name (usually a male). One of my favorite of all has been Shelly Manne. His work with Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman and Shorty Rogers are some of my favorite listens. I don?t see his name come up a lot, but I have always loved his playing and feel. In the crop of young drummers (at least to me) I have been a devoted fan of Jeff "Tain" Watts. He seems to have combined a traditional feel and a contemporary expansion to the art of drumming. Again, it is his musical feel that impresses me so much. I really enjoy Jeff a lot. I have learned so much from Modern Drummers CD of past issues. What a resource!

Actually, you sound a lot smarter than you're letting on... [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Sounds like you're on the ball & hip to what's going on...that's smarts...& "experience." [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] [img]cool.gif[/img]

Shelly was a great drummer for his style, genre, & time, no denying that.

AFA you being into the math aspect [& in drumming]...guys like Vinnie, Virgil Donati, & Weckl are gonna be right up you alley. ;c)

[Edit:] oh, & BTW...there are parts of me that are "the perennial novice"...I'm still learning, too...always learning...in some aspects, as if i were beginning fresh again...

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ July 31, 2004 12:08 AM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

In Process,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm sure
you will find what you are looking
for, here, at HOD. There are drum-
mers for all styles, it seems and
with real knowledge and experience.

Shelley Manne is great. He did so
much work! Have you heard Duffy
Jackson - one of my favorite big
band drummers? He's teaching in
Florida and still doing clubs
every now and then.

ROH,

Not forgetting the line of your thread,
I wanted to ask you if you were play-
ing heel-up or heel down.

[img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ July 30, 2004 11:59 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>

Well, I second Randy's advice.
Don't count out your pedals un-
less you have thoroughly invest-
igated and understood them.

Tell me. Which Axis pedal do you
have? I need to know this before
I go on with any more advice.

I just bought a second Axis-A
Longboard, with Twin attachment.

The DW9K is a fine pedal but it
was not for me, which is why it
is important to keep in mind that
when it comes down to it, you will
have to make a very personal dec-
ision, in the end, as usual.

You should check all the related
threads, here, using the SEARCH
feature. I admit bringing up the
issue more than once.

Also, what six foot do you have
and what exactly are you not lik-
ing (or you teacher) about the
pedals you have?

[img]wink.gif[/img]

Let's chat about it.

I can talk about what you can
get out of adjustment features
from the Axis-A, Iron-Cobra, DW5K,
DW9K and Pearl Eliminators, for
starters.

[img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ July 30, 2004 12:38 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font></font>

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ July 30, 2004 12:40 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>