Gibraltar 6711DD Direct Drive Double Bass Drum Pedal

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First, let me say that this is one heck of a good pedal and an excellent value, as with most Gibraltar hardware. I purchased this as a gift for my son and spent about three days playing it and dialing it in for him. Here are the positives: Big, smooth footboards, strong, easily adjusted and locking springs, separate footboard/beater angle adjustment, very quiet (once adjusted), FAST, smooth action, and tenacious Velcro on the slave pedal baseplate. Having said that, this is not a pedal that comes ready to play right out of the box and I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner who doesn't have a veteran drummer to help dial it in. First, the joint between the linkage and primary footboard was far too tight, which caused a lot of resistance, grinding, and an unacceptably slow return stroke. Second, all of the bearings and joints needed lubed. These are sealed bearings and the only way to lube them is to use something like Marvel Mystery Oil or TriFlow with a straw spray tip. Once lubed, they were extremely fast and quiet. Third, the universal joints have two lugbolt holes on the female end that attaches to the pedals, but only one lugbolt installed. The other two lugbolts are included as "spares" in a small bag. This is probably due to the fact that there is only one flat side on the male portion of the axle for a lugbolt to bear upon. The problem is that, with only one lugbolt installed, the u-joint works itself free after about 30 minutes of playing and the slave pedal footboard will fall to the floor. Installing the second lugbolt on each u-joint cured this and we haven't experienced a issue since. Fourth, the beater angle adjustment bolt on the cam is in the wrong place. It is on the footboard side of the cam, which is good, but on the bottom and not the top, which makes adjustments very difficult. Additionally, if you like your beaters set back for a long stroke, there is a very good chance the lugbolt will strike the drive link on the return stroke. This is super annoying and requires adjustment to get it right. I'm not trying to complain, because once I got this pedal adjusted, the results were amazing. I believe most pedals require some level of adjustment to fit the player and we should be thankful that Gibraltar offers so must adjustability in their pedals. However, do not buy this for a young drummer and expect that it will be ready to go. You will need to wrench on it a bit. Once you get it right, you'll be extremely happy with the results.

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