Author Topic: Bass drum pedal for practice?  (Read 1020 times)

Bass drum pedal for practice?
« on: April 26, 2021, 02:12:58 AM »
Hi,
I started to play 4 months ago. I live in an apartment so I can only play an electronic kit at the moment. I use an Alesis Turbo Mesh kit in combination with EZdrummer (MIDI) and, considering my current level, I can't complain about the gear I use. I'll switch to a better kit as soon as I'll become more proficient, but for now the only thing I'd like to improve is the bass drum pedal. Mine doesn't have a beater, it's just a simple switch and even if it works ok for most of the stuff I'm studying it doesn't allow me to practice heel/toe and slide techniques properly. It's doable with some practice but not ideal, for a number of reasons you already know probably.
Is there a pedal I can buy just for practice? Do I need some sort of bass drum too?
Maybe I can find a separate Alesis kick drum pedal and drum that works with my kit?
I'd prefer to get something that can work with my current kit of course, but I wouldn't mind to practice with just a separate pedal if necessary.
Do you have suggestions?

Re: Bass drum pedal for practice?
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2021, 03:38:17 AM »
Bump, please?

Offline Joker47

Re: Bass drum pedal for practice?
« Reply #2 on: April 29, 2021, 03:43:42 PM »
Go to a music store, and test several until you find one you like and is in the price range you want. Pedals seem a very personal decision for most. Find one that fits you and your style of playing. 🙂
Alesis DM10 MKll Pro kit w/dual 22" kicks, Tama Iron Cobra pedals; extra 8" tom, Dual Alesis Strike modules; Strike cymbals; Zildjian L80 hi hat and 16" cymbal with Shure57 mics; two 4-channel mixers; Strike SE snare

Just for fun:
https://www.youtube.com/@jokersdrumcovers4769/abou

Re: Bass drum pedal for practice?
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2021, 06:46:43 AM »
I followed another member's path and "modded" my Turbo Mesh kit, without actually modding anything.
Here's what I've done:
1) I bought a bass drum pedal, which is an Iron Cobra 200.
2) I took the original floor tom (last drum on the right, mounted on the left "arm") and used it as a bass drum. I just moved the entire "arm" toward the inside, mounted the drum's support backwards and adjusted from there like it was a regular acoustic bass drum.
3) I used the second tom as a a floor tom. I moved the drum to the very right side in order to mach the position of the drum we used as a bass drum and adjusted from there. Then I used MIDI mapping to assign the correct sound to the drum.
4) I moved the Ride cymbal between the tom and the rack tom and mounted its support backwards to properly adjust its height and angle.
5) I used the original Alesis bass drum pedal as second bass drum.
Here's some pictures.
https://ibb.co/kQJWMyG
https://ibb.co/pbqk0xh
https://ibb.co/HrmT5YL
https://ibb.co/N6kKpF0
https://ibb.co/PT8KgQh