Making a Cocktail Pedal

DrumGuy · Post by **DrumGuy** » Tue Oct 17, 2000 11:04 am

I want to make my own cocktail drum pedal (striking upward). It looks like many modern pedals can be converted easily. I would like to hear what others have done. Any pedals particularly good or bad?? 
 
Thanks, 
 
Pete

John Mettam · Post by **John Mettam** » Thu Oct 19, 2000 9:08 pm

Hi Pete, 
 
I have never actually tried to make my own inverted pedal. I do have an old Slingerland pedal with a leather strap that someone switched around. Pedals with straps seam like they would be the easiest to switch. You probably need a slightly longer piece of leather. 
 
The Ludwig Speed Master is a very common old pedal that was easily switchable between normal and cocktail settings. It is not as smooth and sturdy as modern chain drive pedals but they are always on ebay pretty cheap. 
 
What have others done for pedals?? Please let us know! 
 
John

screemnjay · Post by **screemnjay** » Sat Oct 21, 2000 12:16 am

I've flopped both Yamaha and DW pedals (chain drive). 
My favorite is a 7000 series DW with the plate. It was a fifteen minute operation and the pedal is bullet-proof (I did add a Delta bearing).

Post by **jmettam** » Tue Oct 24, 2000 9:17 am

Hey Screemnjay, 
 
Could you describe the delta bearing addition? 
 
Thanks 
 
John

screemnjay · Post by **screemnjay** » Wed Oct 25, 2000 4:05 pm

It is a hinge replacement. For Clarity's sake, it's the Red hinge DW offers and is on their higher end pedals. The only "weak links" on DW pedals are thier "old style" (both steel and aluminum) hinges. This is a fix (and a good one) for that problem. The Delta hinge is BULLETPROOF to my experience. I've never seen a broken one.

Dean koba · Post by **Dean koba** » Thu Dec 21, 2000 2:59 am

With most pedals you can just reverse the sprocket. I've done it to DW, Yamaha, & Tama pedals. I've found that pedals with stabilizing plates work the best. 
 
Dean 
www.bayoubrass.com

Traps95 · Post by **Traps95** » Tue May 01, 2001 4:26 pm

Hello Cocktailers! 
 
I have a double bass pedal rigged up to my cocktail kit...it's a DW 5000 Turbo (older model). It would have been a simple conversion (reverse the sprocket) but I couldn't get the shaft out of the primary pedal...so I had to improvise. I contacted DW and see if they had any ideas, and they said "stroke adjustment...but you'll void your warranty...blah, blah, blah..." 
 
Anyway, to make a long story short, you can modify a DW double pedal by loosening the stroke adjustment (the triangle-shaped piece that the spring is hooked to), and pulling the sprocket back until the pedalboard almost touches the shaft. Then tighten the stroke adjustment. This puts the pedal board at a very high angle, but it does not reverse the action of the sprocket. 
 
Instead, the beaters are striking the drum much the same way they would strike a "normal" bass drum, except the sprocket has been rotated back to where the end of the actual stoke is at a 90 degree angle to the floor. Do the same thing to the other side and you have a double bass cocktail pedal...Just wear some thick shoes when you play because the beaters will hit the top of your feet after the stoke! 
 
I'm going to get a pic of this on here very soon...if John will let me!

drew176 · Post by **drew176** » Tue Sep 18, 2001 8:37 am

I just got an old Speed Master pedal. Is it a simple matter of putting the pin in the opposite hole, or do some components need to be reversed. 
 
Thanks, 
 
Andy Hollinger

Jason Shanfield · Post by **Jason Shanfield** » Mon Oct 01, 2001 1:32 pm

I just thought I'd post a response seeing as how several people have asked about reversible pedals and I have had great success with my reversed DW 5000. Yes, it is indeed possible to reverse a DW pedal without having to compromise with so-call "stroke adjustment." It's also quite possible that this sort of modification voids the warranty, but seeing as how replacement parts are readily available and the pedal is virtually indestructable, I can't really share anyone's concern that they may be losing something if they work on the pedal. I think the DW with Delta Bearing is the smoothest, toughest,and most useful cocktail pedal. That said, here's a brief description of the reversal process. 
 
You'll need appropriately sized allen (hex) keys (forgot the sizes), a phillips screwdriver, some sort of soft metal or plastic piece to use as a drift (use your screwdriver handle!), a drum key, and some patience. 
 
1. remove the spring from the stroke adjustment bearing cup. 
2. remove the beater and loosen the beater holder and chain or strap cam on the main axis of the pedal. 
3. use your allen key to loosen and remove the stroke adjustment piece. 
4. use your allen key to loosen all 4 fasteners on the front and back of the cast iron mounts that hold the main pedal axis. There are bearings in each mount held in place by circular steel rings, which act to secure the outer races of the bearings without distorting them. Remove these rings if possible. They'll come out anyway when you use your soft metal or plastic drift to tap the axis out of its mounts from the protusion onto which the stroke adjustment was fitted. 
4.5 At this point, you'll have the axis floating freely between its mounts with the chain or strap cam and beater holder still loosely attached. 
5. remove the beater holder. 
6. use your screwdriver to remove the chain from the footboard. now your chain is hanging from the cam. 
7. slide the cam off the axis and simply turn it around so that the chain is attached toward the beater end instead of toward the footboard. Slide the cam back onto the axis so that the center of the cam (with teeth or strap channel facing upward) is evenly centered over the pedal axis while viewing it from the side. 
8. slide the beater holder back onto the axis so that its longer end points toward the front of the pedal and points slightly toward the floor. reattached the chain to the footboard. 
8.5 don't bother tightening anything up. there's lots of experimenting to be done to find a suitable configuration for your playing style. 
 
repeat steps 7,8, and 8.5 to find a configuration that pleases you. relevant adjustments at this point include only finding positions for the beater holder and cam on the hexagonal pedal axis that both allow the footboard to rest at an appropriate height for you and allow the beat enough upward/downward motion to generate appropriate velocity without smacking back down onto the pedal at its downstroke. This may take a few minutes the first time. You'll have to take the beater holder and cam off several times to get this right. 
 
If you're stumped and think I can help, let me know at 
jason_shanfield@hotmail.com 
 
Have fun.

Jason Shanfield · Post by **Jason Shanfield** » Tue Dec 18, 2001 12:25 am

Just got an email from someone asking about whether I use a mounting bracket to hold my converted DW 5000 pedal in place and I thought some of you might be interested in my solution. 
 
I actually have some small thick wool rugs that I set the drum on when playing. Since I don't use a stool, the rugs really keep my feet feeling good considering I'm basically playing a whole show standing on my left foot. 
 
DW pedals have really nice long screwable spikes facing toward the front of the pedal that keep them from moving if the spikes can bite into deep carpet. So, the answer is, you really don't need a fancy pedal mount if you've got one of these pedals. Considering how nicely made they are, how easy to convert, accessibility of replacement parts, etc, I really recommend DW pedals. 
 
And no, you really don't need to worry about the pedal moving around while you play as you would were you playing a traditional sit-down kit. Since you're basically striking the pedal straight down as opposed to at an angle more parallel to the direction the pedal would want to move, it pretty much always stays put. Even after several hours of playing!

kcronin · Post by **kcronin** » Tue Dec 18, 2001 9:16 am

Dennis at Phattie Drums had the same recommendation, that a heavy pedal with a large, solid base plate with rubber pads on the bottom and retractable spikes doesn't even need to be mounted to the drum legs. 
 
The model Phattie sells (called Worldmax) can be quickly converted to a regular pedal, which is a big plus too. 
 
I bought one and I love it - it also makes for VERY fast setup. 
 
I think any pedal with a similar baseplate should work, as long as it's relatively heavy.

beattheskins · Post by **beattheskins** » Wed Apr 03, 2002 7:49 pm

You can also convert a DW pedal by buying one of the 5000 single post models. These are intended as being the slave pedal on their double pedal. There is only one post moving up to the cam on the spring side. So, you just remove the beater holder with a drum key. Then, you can take the cam off of the hex shaft with a drum key and unscrew the chain off of the footplate. Then just spin it around back wards and reattach the chain to the footplate. Just put the beater and beater holder back on and your ready to go. 
 
By the way there's no lack of stability with the single post. Those suckers are built like a rock. 
 
-Pat

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Making a Cocktail Pedal