DW Titanium Double Bass Drum Pedal

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As a long time DW pedal player, I decided to review the DW 9000 Titanium Double Bass Pedal.  I will endeavor to be as unbiased as possible in my review.  As a disclaimer; I am not a DW endorser. For an additional review by  Dan Snellenbarger please visit:  http://www.drumwild.com/dw9000.html
 

I switched to DW double pedals in about 1984.  Prior to that I used Ghost pedals.  The change was somewhat difficult, as the old Ghost pedals had a one piece foot board which made heel bounce double strokes very easy.  I wanted to get away from hauling two kick drums around, so the switch to a double pedal became a must.  DW was apparently the first to make a truly functional double pedal, so I bought one of the early version DW double pedals.  Since that time I have been using DW5000 pedals.

Recently I acquired a set of the limited edition DW 9000 Titanium pedals.  DW produced only 500 of these,  making them quite hard to come by.  Due to the success of the Titanium pedals, DW released the DW 9000 production version of these pedals, which use an aluminum foot plate and cast parts.
(see a of the production version at: http://www.mikedolbear.co.uk/story.asp?StoryID=401 )

These pedals have thin titanium foot boards and machined aluminum fittings.  On the under side of the main foot board is an imprint into the titanium bearing the number of the pedal.  ( I own 344/500 ) The pedals are remarkably smooth and quiet.  Even the left remote pedal was silent and smooth with no chain or gear sound.  The addition of sealed bearing type hinges in the spring connectors (at both ends of the spring) and in the cam shafts no doubt adds this silent and smooth character.  The springs are mounted on the inside of the main pedals support rods.  The springs and their tension adjustment are basically unchanged from previous models, however the spring connector uses sealed bearings which can not be easily detached from the pedal.  (I agree with another reviewer that the spring adjustment is in need of a reworking by DW in the near future)  The pedals have the familiar DW type hoop connector which as always is easy to use.  Two spike type anchors and Velcro stripes on the bottom of the pedal plates help to keep the pedals in place.  (a removable, replaceable Velcro strip system would be an excellent idea here, for as others have noted, these Velcro strips can pick up all manner of hair and grunge. It would be nice to be able to replace these once a year or so.) The pedal supports and fittings are made from machined aluminum while the foot plates are made from titanium.  Remember, titanium is very strong, and this enables the footplates to be very thin. ( I would like to know if anyone has broken one of these foot plates yet? )  I have read that some players of this pedal noted flexing of the footboards and I can confirm that there is a slight flex of these boards.  This is not appear to be a problem however as the mild flexing is nearly imperceptible and adds to the feel of the pedal and seems to reduce stress in my foot and leg. The left remote pedal has its support shaft on the left side of the pedal.  I was a little concerned about this, as I feared the support shaft may interfere with movement from the hi-hat to the pedal.  I was relieved to find that it did not interfere.  The feel of the pedals was nearly effortless.  Smooth and confident is how I would describe it.  There is no "gear feel" as the connecting chains no longer run on a gear.  The chains pass over a Velcro like material over the cam.  The pedal offers tremendous feel, and makes dynamic play very easy.  It is very easy to control the volume of these pedals.

One apparent problem with the pedal however lies in the positioning of the beater connector screw.  The beater connection screw is placed on the drum head side of the pedal.  This is a problem because it makes it quite difficult to set up and adjust the beater length by positioning the beater at the contact point on the head and then tightening the beater connector screw.  On the old pedals, the connector screw was on the opposite side, allowing placement of the beater to its contact position on the head and then tightening down the screw.  If you use fixed position, low mass beaters (ironically, like the ones included with DW pedals), you will find it difficult to adjust the beater properly.  As I prefer round felt beaters, this is less of a problem.  This problem is compounded by an additional related difficulty.  On the old pedals, it was easy to disconnect the springs from the pedals to allow the pedal to easily fold up, without the need to remove the beaters. The new spring connection design, although functionally far superior to the old versions, can not disconnect from the pedal.  In order to use a double pedal type case (as provided with these pedals) you must remove the beaters.  As you see, this makes the problem noted above more.....problematic.  (Players fortunate enough to have drum techs will have no complaints setting up this pedal.  But those who must do all the work themselves will feel the frustration, especially when asked to break down their kits in 5 minutes, by themselves in near darkness at 1 AM. )

The included pedal bag is a monster.  It is somewhat larger than the standard DW double pedal bag and quite heavy.  Once packed up, the low weight pedal set weighs quite a bit more than the 5000 series in a DW bag.  The production model DW 9000 comes with a molded plastic case.  I would like to see  how that works out.  Apparently, DW is supporting the Titanium pedals with replacement parts   The Bottom Line The Good: - Smooth pedal feel - Silent pedal action - Outstanding pedal feel and feedback - Quality construction - Unique feel and appearance (like appearance matters in a pedal!) - Possible "collectors" value

The Bad:

- Hard to find due to limited number produced

- Expensive

- Poor placement of the beater attachment screws

- Must remove beaters to fit in case, springs can not be removed for break down

- Bag is too large and heavy (picky, picky!)
- Replacement Parts? (connecting rod screws in particular) are hard to find. 

Would I recommend the DW 9000 Titanium Double Bass Pedal?

Yes, if pedal feel is important to you.  These are the smoothest and quietest pedals I have played.  I don't know if a less experienced player would be able to feel the difference, but those of us who remember the old Speed King pedals (which were marvels of simplicity and performance in their day!) will feel the improvement.  I have not yet played the production version of these pedals.  If they deliver similar feel, quietness and smoothness of play, then they too may be worth their price.

I would like to mention; I tried to NOT like these pedals because I have used the 5000 series pedals for so many years, I didn't want to relearn the feel of a new pedal.  I played for an hour with the Titanium pedals, then switched to the 5000 series.  Then back again.  While the difference was not earth shaking, it was noticeable for the smoothness and "solidness" I felt in the Titanium pedals.  I personally feel that the "core" of the drum kit of utmost importance.  The kick/pedals, hi-hat, snare and ride make up the core of the modern drummers instrument.  I want that core to give me confidence in its construction, feel and sound.  I felt improved confidence in the construction, quality and feel of the Titanium pedals.  Although I wanted to go back to the old 5000 series pedals, I found I just couldn't once I played the Titanium pedals. 

I hope the DW 9000 production series lends the same improvements as the Titanium pedals.  If the production version can offer similar feel and quality as the Titanium version, I would recommend them.  If you can find a Titanium version, and you care about the "core feel" or your kit as I do, then the Titanium version may be worth the extra dollars spent.