Trick Big Foot Bass Pedals, anyone?

[KeyserSoze]

I've been checking these pedals out for a few weeks now but I can't try them out within a 5 hour drive (if at all). Does anyone here have a pair or even played on them? I now have a crappy ol pair of Iron Cobras and I want to get something nicer. I've killed a pair of DW 5000's as well so I'm looking to step up the quality and feel just a bit. The IC's are too heavy feeling and unresponsive for me.

Any advice is appreciated.

[ten_second_infinity]

Have you tried the DW 9000?

[KeyserSoze]

No but I killed a pair of 5000's back when they had the separate frame for the slave cam and the weirdo angled beater. They were nice and I might end up with another pair. I asked a buddy of mine about the Tricks and he had actually tried some. He's used to long boards and didn't care for the Trick's because of the lack of indication about the spring tension (you have to judge by feel alone and they could get changed accidentally on the way to a show). He also said that when you cranked up the tension it got really stiff right before the beater made contact (which they specifically advertise that it doesn't). He said it was bad enough to make him miss the drum a few times. So now I'm not sure about them.... I've heard too many complaints about the Axis pedals to really fall for them. I played them and could easily get used to them but I've heard too many horror stories about shotty parts dying on them.

I thought that the 5000's were the "best" that DW had. Is that incorrect? I finally deduced that 4000's are "affordable" 9000's are a little better and the 5000's were the top. I thought it was weird they decided to number them that way since everyone on earth knows that a higher number = better.

[egdeltar]

Axis has great customer service. 2 drummers that I have played with used Axis pedals and both of them had parts break. BUT this was after a period of time with lots of use and abuse. I called Axis 2 different time to get replacement parts and had absolutely no problems each time. I really dont see how you can go wrong with Axis.

[MadMike666]

I tried out the Trick pedals at a Trick booth with their rep. To be honest, I didn't care for them at all. Axis FTW.

[GrindYourMind]

Funny that you'd rather play DW over Iron Cobra...DW pedals have always felt super heavy to me, their beaters are like 1d12 Dire Maces or something.

[stabwound]

I really dont see how you can go wrong with Axis.

[KeyserSoze]

Yeah, Axis seems to have super awesome customer service. I called to see about getting a axis driveshaft for a temp fix for my IC's and the lady was very helpful and nice too.

Maybe it's just me but my old 5000's felt lighter and more responsive than my IC's do. The beaters are the heaviest part of the 5000's and the lightest part of the IC's I guess. I'll probably end up with some Axis LB doubles once I get the money together. I've heard too much love/hate about the Tricks. I'd be pissed if I hated them after dropping $730 on them. At least the Axis are a little cheaper too.

Thanks a lot for the advice all.

[MadMike666]

Yeah, Axis seems to have super awesome customer service. I called to see about getting a axis driveshaft for a temp fix for my IC's and the lady was very helpful and nice too.

Maybe it's just me but my old 5000's felt lighter and more responsive than my IC's do. The beaters are the heaviest part of the 5000's and the lightest part of the IC's I guess. I'll probably end up with some Axis LB doubles once I get the money together. I've heard too much love/hate about the Tricks. I'd be pissed if I hated them after dropping $730 on them. At least the Axis are a little cheaper too.

Thanks a lot for the advice all.

I never liked the feel of my ICs until I put heavier beaters on them. They seemed alot more balanced after that. I was using Gibraltar maple beaters, or the Danmar Redwoods, and both felt more naturally balanced than the IC beaters did.

Still the Axis is the way to go. The Sonic Hammers blow dick, but if you take an IC betaer, cut it down, and use it in the Sonic Hammer shaft, you get perfection.

[scum]

i have a pair of axix pedals, and i'm trading them in for pearl eliminators

never tried trick

[embryonicdrums]

I tried trick pedals at the Namm show early this year...I didn't like them, but their drum shells are fucking bad ass. Way too expensive though. Their pedal's footboard is like almost a half inch thick, which is stupid. There is no reason for that, other than the fact that they want to brag about how they are tested at 12,000 pounds or some shit. Do you know any drummers who weigh 12,000 pounds? The pedals are simply waaaay too heavy. For fuck's sake, it's aircraft aluminum, it's not gonna break. Make the boards thinner.

Axis. All else is a waste of money.

My first set of Axis pedals lasted almost 4 years, and still work fine. Now I have a set of longboards with sonic hammers and they are the absolute best pedals I've ever played. The response and speed is unmatched. I'll probably never use any other brand.

DW sucks. Sonor is okay. So is Tama. Pearl is okay too... Pacific pedals are absolute shite.

I like DW's drums and hardware but not their pedals.

[embryonicdrums]

I never liked the feel of my ICs until I put heavier beaters on them. They seemed alot more balanced after that. I was using Gibraltar maple beaters, or the Danmar Redwoods, and both felt more naturally balanced than the IC beaters did.

Still the Axis is the way to go. The Sonic Hammers blow dick, but if you take an IC betaer, cut it down, and use it in the Sonic Hammer shaft, you get perfection.

Sonic hammers don't blow dick...you just gotta know how to use them.

[scum]

axis don't have enough resistance for me, almost too easy to play

[embryonicdrums]

axis don't have enough resistance for me, almost too easy to play

Get some of the heavy duty springs, they are much tighter. Adjust your beaters farther up for more throw and resistance, adjust the impact/rebound knob a little further back, etc.

I was using DW springs for a little while, then changed back to the Axis heavy duty springs, they have much more tension, and therefore much more response.

The biggest weakness of Axis pedals is that they are so sensitive, and the adjustability is almost infinite. Even the slightest adjustment on my longboards changes everything when I play. I'm so dialed in right now with my pedals, that I can't even play fast 16ths on anyone else's pedals because they feel so sluggish.

[scum]

i've tried my fair share of different settings, i just like heavier feeling pedals

[MadMike666]

Sonic hammers don't blow dick...you just gotta know how to use them.

They kinda do. The decision to use a ball joint to secure the beater head was stupid, IMO. Why do you need to adjust it at angles left and right? You should only need to adjust the angle up or down to make the beater face flush with the head. Because of this it's frustrating as hell to get the stupid thing perfectly flush, and the beater has a tendency to roate out on you, changing the distance of the beater to the head.

If you swap out the top part for a chopped IC, then you only have up/down adjustment, and it's MUCH easier to get the face flush without it canting from left to right.

[embryonicdrums]

They kinda do. The decision to use a ball joint to secure the beater head was stupid, IMO. Why do you need to adjust it at angles left and right? You should only need to adjust the angle up or down to make the beater face flush with the head. Because of this it's frustrating as hell to get the stupid thing perfectly flush, and the beater has a tendency to roate out on you, changing the distance of the beater to the head.

If you swap out the top part for a chopped IC, then you only have up/down adjustment, and it's MUCH easier to get the face flush without it canting from left to right.

Yeah that's true...also one of the nice things about the trick beaters, which are also kinda similar to the IC beaters. I especially hate that when you try to tighten the beater heads on the sonic hammers, they turn on you, so you have to hold them just right as you tighten them, kinda frustrating, lol.

But the thing I like best about them is that adjusting the distance of the beater from the head, in conjunction with the other beater angle adjustments, as well as the throw/rebound adjustments, you can really get your tension dialed in.

I personally tighten my heavy duty axis springs all the way up, then adjust the beaters a little closer to the head so the springs don't tighten up too much(but still have plenty of bounce), and adjust the throw/rebound setting downward, a little past the halfway mark. I used to set it further forward for more thrust/impact, but now I use triggers, so speed and precision is more important than force of impact for me.

But yeah...I must concur...there is no reason for the damn beater heads to move from left to right. You're totally right about that.

[KeyserSoze]

Mad Mike, I don't know if I'd like the heavier beaters on my IC's since they feel too heavy already. I understand how they could feel more balanced though.

embryonicdrums, the funny part is that they are tested to 12,000 lbs/sq in which means if a plane fell on your kit, the footboard will come out just fine. I'm surprised they feel heavy. I thought the idea was for them to be light and responsive. I've read good stuff about the shells as well but I've been afraid to even check on the cost. I'll never be able to afford drums like that anyway. I liked my DW 5000 pedals (which was like 1993-1999 so maybe my memory is a little off about them) and I'm now using a 9000 series cable hi hat. It's built very well and I like it. I need to try out some eliminators too.

Well, you guys have almost convinced me to get some Axis LB's. I want to go to two drums and single pedals but I can't even really afford the pedals right now so the other bass drum is out for awhile. Also, I'm still sorta on the fence about going to a Roland TDK-20 instead of a real bass drum anyway.

I might just get a Axis linkage for my IC's to tide me over until I can afford either another bass drum and two single pedals or the Vdrum and a pair of doubles..... choices choices.

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys.

ETA; I have been looking into the Axis doubles. I've played the singles and liked them but all of the negative reviews I've read were about the doubles. I think I can see why.
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc245/johndoe1027/Axisprimary.jpg
The slave beater assembly looks awfully weak. The piece that turns the right single into a double is only held on by two allen screws on the top? I like the fact that the doubles become two singles with no extra gear needed but I think that slave beater assembly looks just downright weird. Not to mention it's kind of twisted downward which looks to be unnecessary. You see where the beaters connect? They appear to be different heights. I'm sure there's a good reason for that or maybe it's just the camera angle.

Anyone using the double pedals? Hows that bunch of stuff hanging off the left side of the master pedal by two screws working out? That looks weak to me. I've worked with aluminum quite a bit and it looks like there should be more metal and more bracing. That part of the pedal deals with a lot of torque and twisting.

Sorry if I'm worrying a lot. The linkage on my IC's is the reason I'm having to buy new pedals so I don't want to go through the same thing again. I'm prepared to start over with my bass drumming (because of the totally different style of pedal) but I don't want to be stuck with a $500 set of pedals that is going to die just as fast as the DW's and IC's did (or faster according to some reviews). Again, I'm not worried about the single pedals, just the doubles.

[embryonicdrums]

Mad Mike, I don't know if I'd like the heavier beaters on my IC's since they feel too heavy already. I understand how they could feel more balanced though.

embryonicdrums, the funny part is that they are tested to 12,000 lbs/sq in which means if a plane fell on your kit, the footboard will come out just fine. I'm surprised they feel heavy. I thought the idea was for them to be light and responsive. I've read good stuff about the shells as well but I've been afraid to even check on the cost. I'll never be able to afford drums like that anyway. I liked my DW 5000 pedals (which was like 1993-1999 so maybe my memory is a little off about them) and I'm now using a 9000 series cable hi hat. It's built very well and I like it. I need to try out some eliminators too.

Well, you guys have almost convinced me to get some Axis LB's. I want to go to two drums and single pedals but I can't even really afford the pedals right now so the other bass drum is out for awhile. Also, I'm still sorta on the fence about going to a Roland TDK-20 instead of a real bass drum anyway.

I might just get a Axis linkage for my IC's to tide me over until I can afford either another bass drum and two single pedals or the Vdrum and a pair of doubles..... choices choices.

Thanks a lot for the feedback guys.

ETA; I have been looking into the Axis doubles. I've played the singles and liked them but all of the negative reviews I've read were about the doubles. I think I can see why.
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc245/johndoe1027/Axisprimary.jpg
The slave beater assembly looks awfully weak. The piece that turns the right single into a double is only held on by two allen screws on the top? I like the fact that the doubles become two singles with no extra gear needed but I think that slave beater assembly looks just downright weird. Not to mention it's kind of twisted downward which looks to be unnecessary. You see where the beaters connect? They appear to be different heights. I'm sure there's a good reason for that or maybe it's just the camera angle.

Anyone using the double pedals? Hows that bunch of stuff hanging off the left side of the master pedal by two screws working out? That looks weak to me. I've worked with aluminum quite a bit and it looks like there should be more metal and more bracing. That part of the pedal deals with a lot of torque and twisting.

Sorry if I'm worrying a lot. The linkage on my IC's is the reason I'm having to buy new pedals so I don't want to go through the same thing again. I'm prepared to start over with my bass drumming (because of the totally different style of pedal) but I don't want to be stuck with a $500 set of pedals that is going to die just as fast as the DW's and IC's did (or faster according to some reviews). Again, I'm not worried about the single pedals, just the doubles.

The slave setup on the axis pedals is a lot stronger than it looks, I promise. I played on a slave setup for 3 years without any problems, and I was playing with heavy-duty firefighter boots, they're like 3 pounds heavier than normal shoes, with vibram soles and steel shanks, haha...

The drive shaft is what eventually broke on me, but that was after 3 years of severe abuse with boots that I had no business playing drums with. My UNexpert opinion is that the axis double kick setup would probably be fine for you.

That being said, axis isn't for everyone. The drummer for Severed Savior uses Iron Cobras, and he is faster than me, and John Longstreth(Origin, Dim Mak, Skinless, etc. etc.) uses Trick pedals, or at least he did when we played with Origin in San Francisco.

Some people don't like axis pedals at all...and sometimes it can take quite a while to get them dialed in, because they are so sensitive to adjustments. But to me, personally, after having played on them for over 5 years, they feel like a part of my body. I have never played on a better set of pedals.

yes, the Trick drum shells are disgustingly expensive, but also disgustingly bad ass. Probably cost ya about 5 grand for a good sized kit, shells only. But they are virtually weather proof, and you can have practically any design you want put on the shells. I think the sickest one is the black powder-coated shell. But I'll never be able to afford them.

The concepts behind the Trick pedals are really cool, and maybe I didn't spend enough time messing with them...but I still see no reason for the pedalboards to be a half inch thick. Unnecessary extra weight. The sad thing is, very few music stores carry floor models that you could test out, so you're taking a big risk by investing 900 bucks into a set of pedals without extensively testing them out first. Maybe they have a return policy, they certainly should! Good luck man, hope you're happy with whatever pedals you decide upon...kill that shit!:emot-blin

[MadMike666]

Yeah that's true...also one of the nice things about the trick beaters, which are also kinda similar to the IC beaters. I especially hate that when you try to tighten the beater heads on the sonic hammers, they turn on you, so you have to hold them just right as you tighten them, kinda frustrating, lol.

But yeah...I must concur...there is no reason for the damn beater heads to move from left to right. You're totally right about that.


This is the "mod" I was talking about, merging the IC with the Sonic Hammer. Works so well you'll wanna puke.

http://www.metalasylum.com/misc/iron_hammers.jpg

[M.Gilbert]

That being said, axis isn't for everyone. The drummer for Severed Savior uses Iron Cobras,...
Troy used Pearl powershifter eliminator pedals for several years, then switched to Axis longboards with E-kit triggers about a year ago.

[KeyserSoze]

Thanks a lot for all of your help with this embryonic. You're right, you had no business playing drums with those boots. :emot-shak I don't see how you could but then again I played in steel toed boots for awhile and didn't think anything of it. Honestly, I figured the Trick drums were at least that much. I priced a Starclassic bubinga 6 piece (2 bass 4 toms no snare) and it was 4200 before shipping.... If I ever get a sugar momma or win the lottery I'll get a Trick kit and have them make it primer gray just to be a dick.
The concepts behind the Trick pedals are really cool, and maybe I didn't spend enough time messing with them...but I still see no reason for the pedalboards to be a half inch thick. Unnecessary extra weight. The sad thing is, very few music stores carry floor models that you could test out, so you're taking a big risk by investing 900 bucks into a set of pedals without extensively testing them out first. Maybe they have a return policy, they certainly should! Good luck man, hope you're happy with whatever pedals you decide upon...kill that shit!
I talked to a guy (Axis player for 5 years) that works at Indoor Storm (trick dealer). He said that he likes the Trick pedals a lot but that you have to mess with the settings until you find what you like (just like any other pedal). He said that you can make a set of Tricks feel just like a set of Axis pedals if that's what you want. So now I'm back on the fence. I might just say fuck it and order them from interstate. They have a return policy. I'd have to pay return shipping but that wouldn't be too bad, worth getting to try them out IMO. Oh, and they're only $730, not $900. Too darn much but maybe worth it. I'd rather have a good set for $730 as opposed to another set of IC's for $300. I was just glad to hear an "Axis guy" say that he liked them I guess.

Madmike, it's good to see a double bass setup without a pillow in each bass drum. Let them puppies sing! or rumble, whatever. Nice modification too.

[MadMike666]

Madmike, it's good to see a double bass setup without a pillow in each bass drum. Let them puppies sing! or rumble, whatever. Nice modification too.

Thanks.

BTW, Longstreth went back to his Axis pedals.

[embryonicdrums]

Thanks.

BTW, Longstreth went back to his Axis pedals.

Ahh, good to know...and your mod with the IC beaters looks pretty sick, I must say...serves the same function as the regular hammers, but without the ridiculous left to right adjustment. Very nice. Are the beaters available without the felt? I prefer solid contact myself...might have to look into picking up some IC beaters...I'm going to the Bay Area this weekend to blow a shitload of cash on new triggers, new heads, and a bunch of new cymbals. And a truck. Had my self a nice payday, now I'm gonna go spend that shite...

[embryonicdrums]

Troy used Pearl powershifter eliminator pedals for several years, then switched to Axis longboards with E-kit triggers about a year ago.

Oh I'll be damned...it must have been someone else then. I definately remember seeing a bad ass drummer playing pretty accurately with some ICs. I don't see a lot of real fast playing on non-axis pedals these days.

[embryonicdrums]

Thanks a lot for all of your help with this embryonic. You're right, you had no business playing drums with those boots. :emot-shak I don't see how you could but then again I played in steel toed boots for awhile and didn't think anything of it. Honestly, I figured the Trick drums were at least that much. I priced a Starclassic bubinga 6 piece (2 bass 4 toms no snare) and it was 4200 before shipping.... If I ever get a sugar momma or win the lottery I'll get a Trick kit and have them make it primer gray just to be a dick.

I talked to a guy (Axis player for 5 years) that works at Indoor Storm (trick dealer). He said that he likes the Trick pedals a lot but that you have to mess with the settings until you find what you like (just like any other pedal). He said that you can make a set of Tricks feel just like a set of Axis pedals if that's what you want. So now I'm back on the fence. I might just say fuck it and order them from interstate. They have a return policy. I'd have to pay return shipping but that wouldn't be too bad, worth getting to try them out IMO. Oh, and they're only $730, not $900. Too darn much but maybe worth it. I'd rather have a good set for $730 as opposed to another set of IC's for $300. I was just glad to hear an "Axis guy" say that he liked them I guess.

Madmike, it's good to see a double bass setup without a pillow in each bass drum. Let them puppies sing! or rumble, whatever. Nice modification too.

Believe it or not, I was actually able to play pretty fast in those boots...our first 5 song MCD "Beheaded by Volition" was recorded with me playing in them. However, I wasn't consistent enough, because they were so clunky. And as the music evolved, my feet needed to be more accurate, and obviously faster. So now I use lightweight shoes. But not too light.

[KeyserSoze]

I'm accessing my shoe situation now actually. I wear some NB tennis / hiking shoes during the day so that's what I've been playing in. They don't work out for heel down (which I'm trying to learn) and they are a little clunky so I'm thinking about going back to wrestling shoes. This would be the first time I've had "playing shoes" in like 14 years or something.

All this "Go Axis!" banter makes me want to be the odd man out with some Trick pedals. :emot-roll

[MadMike666]

Ahh, good to know...and your mod with the IC beaters looks pretty sick, I must say...serves the same function as the regular hammers, but without the ridiculous left to right adjustment. Very nice. Are the beaters available without the felt? I prefer solid contact myself...might have to look into picking up some IC beaters...I'm going to the Bay Area this weekend to blow a shitload of cash on new triggers, new heads, and a bunch of new cymbals. And a truck. Had my self a nice payday, now I'm gonna go spend that shite...

Yes, Tama makes them in wood and rubber as well. Do NOT get felt, they wear down like crazy, I pick up my new rubber IC beaters this weekend to replace these ones.