I have the same pedal & had the same issues. If you crank the bolts/screws a bit harder than "normal" and really set them, it'll stay stable for a long time - you just have to tighten things until it feels a bit uncomfortable/dangerous. Even replacing the springs they still feel like mush no matter what you do. ymmv.
I'd also look into used pedals. I always see a lot of older Pearl, Tama pedals at decent prices. But nothing wrong with Tama Iron Cobra Jr pedals. You can always upgrade them with different cams, springs, chains, etc..
The problem with used pedals is you don't know how abused they were. I've gotten a few good used ones over the years though. I have Mapex double that I got used that I like quite a bit.
it hasn't fallen apart its just come loose , you buy a tube of loctite coat the grub screws with some loctite and retighten they won't come loose again ,it doesn't make it "total garbage" ,would send your vehicle back if the wheel nuts came loose on one wheel or would you retighten ?
I had already tightened up the whole pedal, I could feel components bending and flexing while playing. It indeed is total garbage. Go ahead and buy one and find out if you don't believe me, haha.
I've been playing drums for many decades and in that time, I've learned that you get what you pay for. I saved money to buy a set of Tama Iron Cobra double bass pedals and I've been playing on them regularly for 21 years. They work as well today as they did right out of the box. The same goes with buying quality cymbals. I have beat the heck out of my Ziljian cymbals for more than 20 years and they're still perfect.
@@demonicsweaters I agree. My drum set, the one in my avatar photo, is a 1981 Tama Imperialstar. It's got 9 ply mahogany shells that you can't find anyone else producing in 2024, even Tama. They sound great, and it is actually the same model and drum sizes that Neal Peart recorded the "Rush" "Moving Pictures" album on.
I'm a big DW fan, but years ago, I picked up a Mapex 500 double pedal which was cheaper than DW, and it's pretty decent. Doesn't have the feel of a DW but probably good enough for a student to learn on. I think the Mapex was around $100 USD.
I picked up a similar pedal on eBay for 56 bucks with 'make an offer', just to use as a practice pedal. Everything was loose and the drive shaft was stripped, so it would always fall off. Ended up buying a new drive shaft for it 🫤
I learned something today thank you Justin. I am going to check and see if I can take the spring off my slave pedal. I have had it for years and like you said it was more spring or had more tension than then main pedal. I have alway liked the way my main pedal felt. But I didn't know you didn't need the spring on the slave pedal!! Thank you for this review!!
Take some advice from a guy that just got back into drumming after almost a decade hiatus: don't do it! The single budget pedals like this have slop, play, and often dead spots in the action. They often have higher effort too. Quality control isn't great. When it comes to double pedals, all but the most costly have left pedal lag. Cheap drive shafts also wear quickly. Drive shafts like trick and axis are more precise and durable than others. IF you buy a cheap pedal, it's detrimental to your playing and development! Some of the major brands offer economic pedals which are ok (like tama iron cobra 200) but they are small, higher effort and have few adjustments. Aim for the middle. that is: eliminator, iron cobra, speed cobra, dw5000 or other quality pedal. Pedal lag/slop/wobble are unacceptable and counterproductive. Save your money, and get a quality pedal, otherwise you are fighting to play.
Hmmm... That sprocket seemed very familiar to me, so i looked at my Tama Speed Cobra pedal and it has almost the EXACT same sprocket. I bet they just made a mold from an original Tama part, that"s why the hexagonal hole is too big as the cheap casting shrinked a lot. It looks really rough compared to the original
It really seems like all the focus was on trying to make it APPEAR sturdy, and none was on actually making it sturdy. By contrast, the Tama HP30TW has a single chain, no base plate on the main pedal, but when you put that thing together and play it, it feels solid AF.
i dont care what level you are even a schoolgirl needs quality equipment .. now she's gonna think SHE sucks , when its actual her sh@t pedal.. to be honest , the best way to learn double bass is to acquire a second bass drum and matching pedal you should slap two club jam kits together ..lol
Bought a cheap hi-hat stand on Amazon with a similar looking pedal. It was awful, returned it immediately and got an iron cobra 200.
I've had really good experiences with the Big Dog double pedals. They're no Speed Cobra, but they're surprisingly good for the low price point
if you want cheap pedals get a used one from a major brand
At one point in time, I was considering getting one of these. I’m so glad I got a used Pearl Redline because it is fantastic.
I have the same pedal & had the same issues. If you crank the bolts/screws a bit harder than "normal" and really set them, it'll stay stable for a long time - you just have to tighten things until it feels a bit uncomfortable/dangerous. Even replacing the springs they still feel like mush no matter what you do. ymmv.
I'd also look into used pedals. I always see a lot of older Pearl, Tama pedals at decent prices. But nothing wrong with Tama Iron Cobra Jr pedals. You can always upgrade them with different cams, springs, chains, etc..
The problem with used pedals is you don't know how abused they were. I've gotten a few good used ones over the years though. I have Mapex double that I got used that I like quite a bit.
The extra spring is to use it as a single pedal.
Have a look at the Millenium PD-223 direct drive double pedal, excellent value for money!
it hasn't fallen apart its just come loose , you buy a tube of loctite coat the grub screws with some loctite and retighten they won't come loose again ,it doesn't make it "total garbage" ,would send your vehicle back if the wheel nuts came loose on one wheel or would you retighten ?
I had already tightened up the whole pedal, I could feel components bending and flexing while playing. It indeed is total garbage. Go ahead and buy one and find out if you don't believe me, haha.
@@demonicsweaters this! You can practically tear it apart by hand. Total mush!
@@imjustadrummer I actually think you could, and pretty easily.
I've been playing drums for many decades and in that time, I've learned that you get what you pay for. I saved money to buy a set of Tama Iron Cobra double bass pedals and I've been playing on them regularly for 21 years. They work as well today as they did right out of the box. The same goes with buying quality cymbals. I have beat the heck out of my Ziljian cymbals for more than 20 years and they're still perfect.
Tama makes the best hardware in my opinion as well. They're been doing it a long time too.
@@demonicsweaters I agree. My drum set, the one in my avatar photo, is a 1981 Tama Imperialstar. It's got 9 ply mahogany shells that you can't find anyone else producing in 2024, even Tama. They sound great, and it is actually the same model and drum sizes that Neal Peart recorded the "Rush" "Moving Pictures" album on.
I'm a big DW fan, but years ago, I picked up a Mapex 500 double pedal which was cheaper than DW, and it's pretty decent. Doesn't have the feel of a DW but probably good enough for a student to learn on. I think the Mapex was around $100 USD.
If you have a Music Go Round near you you can find some good deals.
I picked up a similar pedal on eBay for 56 bucks with 'make an offer', just to use as a practice pedal. Everything was loose and the drive shaft was stripped, so it would always fall off. Ended up buying a new drive shaft for it 🫤
Yeah, they're just not worth it when the Tama HP30TW is $150.
I learned something today thank you Justin. I am going to check and see if I can take the spring off my slave pedal. I have had it for years and like you said it was more spring or had more tension than then main pedal. I have alway liked the way my main pedal felt. But I didn't know you didn't need the spring on the slave pedal!! Thank you for this review!!
yeah I bought them as well. Worst ever. I returned them but unfortunately they taxed me 30$ on the way back........... I feel stupit and ripped off
Take some advice from a guy that just got back into drumming after almost a decade hiatus: don't do it!
The single budget pedals like this have slop, play, and often dead spots in the action. They often have higher effort too. Quality control isn't great.
When it comes to double pedals, all but the most costly have left pedal lag. Cheap drive shafts also wear quickly. Drive shafts like trick and axis are more precise and durable than others.
IF you buy a cheap pedal, it's detrimental to your playing and development!
Some of the major brands offer economic pedals which are ok (like tama iron cobra 200) but they are small, higher effort and have few adjustments.
Aim for the middle. that is: eliminator, iron cobra, speed cobra, dw5000 or other quality pedal.
Pedal lag/slop/wobble are unacceptable and counterproductive.
Save your money, and get a quality pedal, otherwise you are fighting to play.
how can you even sell that thing at that point thats just scamming
Hmmm... That sprocket seemed very familiar to me, so i looked at my Tama Speed Cobra pedal and it has almost the EXACT same sprocket. I bet they just made a mold from an original Tama part, that"s why the hexagonal hole is too big as the cheap casting shrinked a lot. It looks really rough compared to the original
Im surprised it has double chain drive
It really seems like all the focus was on trying to make it APPEAR sturdy, and none was on actually making it sturdy. By contrast, the Tama HP30TW has a single chain, no base plate on the main pedal, but when you put that thing together and play it, it feels solid AF.
@@demonicsweaters Yeah makes sense, Ive seen a double pedal like that on amazon and thought right away, Nope never getting that piece of shit
Pay full price, only cry once!
i dont care what level you are even a schoolgirl needs quality equipment .. now she's gonna think SHE sucks , when its actual her sh@t pedal..
to be honest , the best way to learn double bass is to acquire a second bass drum and matching pedal
you should slap two club jam kits together ..lol
Yeah, a bad pedal is one of the worst things.