Best way to adapt bass pedal to swing upward

[zimbop]

I have adapted my traditional bass drum pedal to swing upwards into the bottom head of a floor tom. This does not allow the best placement of the pedal though because placing the beater in the center of the head puts the foot pedal far out in front of the drum. I would rather have my foot farther underneath the drum.

So I was thinking about an alternate method. I thought perhaps I could use the normal setup for a regular bass drum, and just bend the beater shaft backwards so that when the pedal was fully depressed the beater was still traveling upwards. That would allow me to use that setup under a floor tom without reversing the cam on the pedal pivot shaft. It also places the beater above my foot so I can put my foot under the drum and still have the beater hit the center of the head.

I would have to carefully choose an angle to bend it to, as well as what point along the shaft to make the bend. Anyone tried this? Feedback on this idea would be appreciated before I permanently alter my beater.

[matthew medeiros]

Maybe you can use a piece of inexpensive metal rod the same diameter as your beater shaft and tape a small rubber ball to the end, you are just trying to get the proper location placement. Then, after you have it the way you want, you can use that as a template for your beater shaft and hopefully not ruin a good drum piece.

[zimbop]

Maybe you can use a piece of inexpensive metal rod the same diameter as your beater shaft and tape a small rubber ball to the end, you are just trying to get the proper location placement. Then, after you have it the way you want, you can use that as a template for your beater shaft and hopefully not ruin a good drum piece.

So you mean experiment on cheap stuff then do the real thing to my beater? Not a bad idea. I think I'll use a golf ball and some threaded rod.

[halfcocked]

Thats a clever idea! The pedal is too far out in most cases. Cant reach the toms across the way very easy cause of that. A beater cost nothin here (kuala Lumpur), 3 - 4 $ made in china. I bent one back to use for a mini horizontal 16" bass drum cause the wood hoop put the head too far back from the striker head with a riser and it struck on the edge rather than flat on. Now I'll try it for my cocktail kit. With a cocktail drum i think you could lower the overall height of the bass with the bass pedal like that huh? I tell ya, these cocktail drums really make ya scratch your head alot! Good thinkin!

[zimbop]

Yes, with the bent beater shaft, I believe I'll lower the tom a bit. That's good for other reasons too. Especially for the stand-up configuration with the snare on top, keeps the whole thing at a better height I expect, once I get the snare mounted that is. Though I am pretty happy sitting down so I might not bother with stacking them.