TheJollyMan707

Hey guys my first post, I used to be able to play double bass pretty clean and consistene (singles only) not too fast like 150-160, and a little bit messy around like 180. The thing is that now I'm kinda getting a flam rather then a clean rlrl. I dont kno why this happened I changed cams and things and try loose/tight tensions but I seem to have the same problem. I also noticed that wen I play double bass my right beater doesnt come back as far as the left when playing rlrlrl... Is this my technique or the pedal or what? Its really annoying cause I was kinda pround I was so clean with it (kno its now much but...) but now I cant do it at all even at like 120-130 its like flam flam rlrl flam rl..... not clean at all. Please some help or advice ? Any reason this should happen? (I"m not out of practice or anything)

SunDemon18

this may sound stupid as hell but just relax. when you play and get pissed you definately wont be able to do it so you should always keep your cool when trying stuff like that. just dont try to overdo it and stay as calm and loose as possible because tension in the limbs is a drummers worst enemy especially when you are "in the pocket". so above all just keep your cool and just keep it in your head that you CAN do it then it will come back in no time

__________________
all you get from practicing is sore wrists - Buddy Rich

D. Slam

Actually, SunDemon, that doesn't sound stupid at all. I was going to suggest to TheJollyMan that maybe he was trying too hard and tensing up and that he needed to try and relax...

I think your advice is very sound.

D.

__________________
"Give The Drummer Some"

TheJollyMan707

hey guys thanks I started to really relax and its coming back now. One thing tho does it make sense if I stay relaxed but hit the pedals harder I'm getting a cleaner sound and its easier to play faster like 170? Also for double strokes (trying to learn) do u recommend a looser tension or tighter cause I beleive some people recommend really tight for fast singles. But wut would benefit playing singles and doubles without too much strain?
Thanks

SunDemon18

sorry bro i have no advice on that one im in the same boat as you lol. im just now starting to learn doubles... i think i can do them at 10 bpm and thats on a good day. i can get clean singles at like 190 but thats my limit. its hard for me to even use that **** when im not doing a drum solo ,but i think doubles would help me out a lot especially with creativity so good luck to you my man i hope everything goes well. and as far as hitting the pedals harder... whatever feels good man. its good to hear advice but YOU are the one playing the drums so you do whatever is comfortable to you ,and remember there are many ways to do everything so if something doesnt feel exactly right just explore until you find something that matches YOU. good luck

__________________
all you get from practicing is sore wrists - Buddy Rich

treyh

to jollyjam, first off the obvious is to make sure that both pedals are tentioned exactly the same.(im sure that they r , but u never know) the other is i know a lot of people think once they can get realy fast that they think they always have to play fast. the key is to start slow with a metronome and increase bpm every 4 bars(8 beats per bar) and build that up to almost to where it is to fast for you and do the last bars 8 times.
this is what virgil does in the power druming video. its all muscle memory once u go so fast. so if u play just fast all the time and dont have a metronome u might start to slip up and not know it and your muscles start to memorize the mistake then you have to start over. and of course relax

peter

Seat height is something I would look at. Sometimes,
just small changes can change how you feel about
what you are doing radically. Have you compensated
for a set-up change by raising or lowering your seat
height? What about distance from the kit? Check
into this and get back to us.

__________________
To Virgil,
A Drummer Who is Changing the World

TheJollyMan707

My seat is fairly high actually. Not alot but more than the "legs parallel to the floor" thing. An old drum teacher suggested raising my seat actually and it helped wen I first started playing double bass. As for distance from the kicks I dont kno wut to say really, average? I'm not far but not on top of them. Also I play in the middle of the pedal or towards the end heel up. I have the eliminators and fooled around with some of the features. I used to use the blue cams but I had trouble learning doubles on them, it was harder to push down the pedal when it got closer to the head but thats wut they were designed to do I beleive for the offset cam. So right now I have the blacks on. I also wanted to try out maybe the dw 5000 or the iron cobra cause some people told me that they had a similar problem and wen they tried out a diff pedal it went away. I've also heard the eliminators are heavier than other double pedals but I dunno

TheJollyMan707

Sry one more thing guys, I noticed virgil and a bunch of other drummers using double pedals have a driveshaft that is kind of extended. Now I have the eliminators as well but where can I buy a longer driveshaft that connects the two pedals. In some pictures it looks like Virgil's is adjustable? Or would u recommend the axis driveshaft? (is that longer or adjustable?)
Also the problem I mentioned that I'm having was experienced by someone else I noticed in another thread http://www.virgildonati.com/msgboar...p=6946#post6946 shane. I also have the problem where if I release both pedals at the same time, the right one osciallates for a second or two longer than the left. Could something be wrong with my pedal if the left is comin back farther and oscillating for less time than the right or something with my technique?

IronCobraMan

dude...one thing i gotta say about double bass drumming, its a rigurous and long process... it takes dedication.... wat u have to think about is having ur body as comfortable as possible...by this i mean...not having ur pedals to far apart or to close together... and if ur foot is resting on the pedal ur leg should have a nice 90 degree angle to it.... so try playing around with ur seat height and ur pedal distance.... all these factors make a difference...god knows ive messed around with my settings (seat, pedals,tension,bass drum skin,bass drum inclination) for hours on end.... its all part of finding ur position.

TheJollyMan707

Yea thanks for all the advice everyone. I used to practice double bass alot and eventually I figured that its not good unless its musical and incorporated into the song. However, this problem kept bugging me and I tried a few things, I lowered my seat height, and then I set the eliminators to a pretty loose spring tension, but thing a pretty big beater throw (angle). I dont kno wut it was but I found this sweet spot the pedal rite then and there. Today I hit 215 bpm not that clean and only for about 15-20 sec, but I can succefully play around 180 comfortably now and for extended periods of time. Thanks all.... now onto double strokes

peter

I would experiement with seat height. If you
wind up sitting high, fine but work it and see.

The Eliminators, set all the way in (Power-
Shifter), with blue, purple or red cams are
designed to give you the best doubles. If
you aren't getting them, I am wondering if
you are not low enough.

For singles, I stay on the higher end of the
footboard. For doubles, I drop down and by
the way, my spring tension is almost as
loose as possible.

__________________
To Virgil,
A Drummer Who is Changing the World

TheJollyMan707

I like a loosespring tension but with a larger beater angle so it kinda makes up for it. Also where can I get the new purple and yellow cams? I was actually interested in the yellow ones, but reading some of your posts Peter I heard the purples are really great.
Thanks

Brainchop

How do you find RHCP drummer?