boogie23 Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Does anyone use the Ludwig Speed King bass drum pedal? Do you think it still is a good pedal and why? I would like to buy it, would it better a new one or a vintage one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danelectro59 Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Does anyone use the Ludwig Speed King bass drum pedal? Do you think it still is a good pedal and why? I would like to buy it, would it better a new one or a vintage one ? Hey boogie23. I've used the Speed King before, although many years ago. To be honest, it wasn't the greatest foot pedal made, even at the time. The original Ghost pedal out performed it by miles. Now, I still have one of those, and use it on my spare kit. But like anything else in musical equipment, you have to sit down and play it for awhile to see how it feels. Right now, my main foot is a Tama Iron Cobra double pedal. I've had it for six years and it's still going strong as hell. And I don't play lightly either. As far as purchasing a used pedal, don't bother unless you're putting together a vintage kit. Chances are, it's had many a mile put on it. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzovonludwig Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 The speed king does indeed take some getting used to.To me it always felt kind of soft. I'm using a DW 9000 now. Very comfortable pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJD Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 Great pedals, you gotta really clean 'em up if your using a vintage one. Its a totally different type of pedal from the newer heavy duty pedals but great for what they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astill89 Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 I utterly love them, takes a bit of getting used to but once you're used to it, it really allows you to get lots of dynamics out of the kick drum. it's main downfall is sturdiness, if you have a heavy foot, it can easily break on you, I broke the bearing on the side of mine clean off within 6 months of having it, but once it's back up and running it'll be the only one I use (unless it breaks again!) Cheers, sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonzoLikeDrumer Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 A few decades ago I had an old Speed King (don't know what year) with a leather strap connecting the the beater axial to the foot plate. It kept breaking so I got a DW 5000 double peddle system when they first came out in the mid 80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickory Man Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 It was great for it's time...I still have one with the old "WFL" logo on it in storage. Bass pedals have progressed nicely, and I'm one of those that brole the "S" clamp on the Speed king constantly, making it a nice piece of historical equipment to have but not to use! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roblindblad Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Ya it's a GREAT pedal!!! Except that after awhile the steel part that attaches the pedal to the hammer breaks... it's anuisance but still better than the much more expensive Axis pedal I bought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzo1026 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Love the Speed King because you have a good amount of control because there's no springs, etc. It does what your foot does but I've broken about 6 of 'em both new and vintage. I changed to DW 9000 but broke that at the heel hinge. I now have a Tama and just broke that too. I'm hell on a foot pedal.LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evster2012 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I love my drummer's old 80s Camcos (which were Tama's original equipment). They get a lot more articulation than his Iron Cobras or DW9000s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarlaxle 56 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 So what you're all saying is that it's meant for playing Jazz? Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonzoLikeDrumer Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 So what you're all saying is that it's meant for playing Jazz? Right? Well, being that Jazz and Big Band was the popular music at the time (70 years ago) it was released, I would say yes. But, if you're like Bonzo1026 and knock the @!#$ out of your kit! Get one extra one for back up or get something beefier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hickory Man Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Well, being that Jazz and Big Band was the popular music at the time (70 years ago) it was released, I would say yes. But, if you're like Bonzo1026 and knock the @!#$ out of your kit! Get one extra one for back up or get something beefier! I'm rather hard on bass pedals as well, after playing Speed Kings, I went through a couple of other forgettable models then started playing the DW5000's when they came out. the heel plates were their weakness, and a tendency for the double bass linkage to "round out" and eventually split. I swithed to a Pearl Eliminator double bass system around 2002 and other than the usal screws rattling loose from being transported all the time, have been exceedingly happy with the pedal. No major issues or weaknesses to report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrzepbonham Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Does anyone use the Ludwig Speed King bass drum pedal? Do you think it still is a good pedal and why? I would like to buy it, would it better a new one or a vintage one ? when it cums two pedduls it all depens on your style i use some old crappy pearl, about a year ago i bout a iron cobra but after ussing it fore like a week i sold it and went back 2 my POS pearl. i would never get a speed ling becaus im a big fane of the heal tou and i dont think it would be good fore that but if u tend 2 play heal down more it may be perfict if i were you i would do everything you can 2 play on 1 b4 you make up your mind cuz what might suck 4 me cold be perfict 4 u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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