Bass Drum Pedal Settings

There are many settings on a bass drum pedal (single or double) that must be taken into account when playing you bass drum. A lot of drummers will actually take the bass pedal right out of the box, and start playing it. This is a big no no. Leaning how to properly set up your bass drum pedal is information that every drummer must learn. Setting your pedals up the right way will allow you to get the most movement out of your pedals. This is even more important for those who play double bass pedals. Having the pedals set evenly will allow you to play both feet with the same abilities. So read over this quick article to see what exactly needs to be set on the bass drum pedals!

*First off, these settings apply to the single pedal, and double pedal. I will describe how to set up your double pedals because that is generally the harder thing to do, but you can use the same steps to set a single pedal up too!

The first thing you want to set up is the pedal angles. This is the height of each pedal towards the ground. On a double pedal, you want to make sure that heights are even. Every pedal can adjust the pedal height, so make sure your left foot is at the same angle as your right. Having uneven heights will result in a total different feel for your feet. This can usually be adjusted with a simple turn of a drum key.

The next adjustment you want to make is the beater height. First 0off, you want to make sure that the beater of your bass pedal is hitting right in the center of your bass drum. This will give you the best sound out of your drum. A lot of drummers will ignore this, and have the bass beater set too low, resulting in a restrained bass drum sound. Once you have the perfect height set, make sure both beaters are the same height. This is an obvious one, since different heights will result in different sounds. This is an easy one to adjust guys!

Now that you have that done, you are almost done the easy settings. Place both pedals where you feel comfortable the most. With the double bass pedal, you can adjust the distance between both pedals. Do not settle for what is already set; take the time to place them at a distance that is comfortable to you. Most double bass drum pedals can adjust pretty far apart, so you should have no problem with placement. Generally, you want to have them set up right beside your hi hat pedal, so you can switch back and forth with ease.

The last setting is the hardest to do – the spring tension. This is tough because it is a personal setting. You really have to work on this yourself, loosen and tighten you’re the spring tension so you get the best feel out of your bass pedal. Having a very tight spring will mean you have to work extra hard to get a stroke, while having too lose a spring will give you no bounce at all. Once you have one spring adjusted to the right tension, try your best to get the other slave pedal spring to match it. The best way to do this is by grabbing both beaters with one hand, pulling them back the same distance, and letting them both go at the same time. Watch to see how they respond. In the end, you want each beater to spring back and forth simultaneously.

These are just a few things to set and adjust on your bass drum pedal. Make sure you go through each one of these settings on your own pedal. You will be amazed at the difference when you actually take the time to set up your pedals correctly. For more information on this, check out Jared Falk’s Bass Drum Secrets. On this DVD, Jared goes over all the proper settings for the bass drum pedal!