Mike Portnoy, Marco Minnemann, Mike Mangini, Virgil Donati comments (excerpt)

[Article about different drummers and whether they use a double bass drum set up or double kick with single bass drum. Only selected MP, MM and 2 guys that auditioned for the drum slot. Coincidentally, they all are grouped together.]

Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, Transatlantic)

I’ve actually been using both setups for a while because of the various projects I’ve been involved with. When I first started, in the early ‘80s, it was with two bass drums. Double pedals really weren’t that popular, and I didn’t really know about them. So for the first fifteen years of playing double bass, it was with two bass drums. And to this day, that is what I still feel most comfortable playing.

When I started doing the side projects like Liquid Tension Experiment and Transatlantic, I wanted to scale down my kit to create a new perspective in my playing. I had actually gotten a little bored with the huge Dream Theater drumkit. The first thing I did was get rid of the second bass drum. But I wasn’t ready to give up the double bass approach, because it is such a big part of the way I play. That’s when I incorporated a double pedal.

It really took some getting used to, mainly because the drum has half the time to breathe and respond to being attacked by two beaters at such a furious pace. I used the double pedal a lot with Liquid Tension, and it was a big adjustment for me to really get used to the feel. As a result Of using the double pedal, I’ve now been doing a lot of my clinics with the smaller set as well.

With two bass drums, you do have more control over the sound of the drums, because you can adjust the EQ and volume of each drum separately. With one drum and one mic’, you’re really at the mercy of what that one microphone is going to pick up from two beaters. Basically, in all aspects, I really do prefer two bass drums. That said, I’ve also enjoyed the aspect of the smaller kit. So I’m forced to adapt to the double pedal because I really enjoy the different inspiration that the smaller kit gives me.

I use a double chain-drive pedal with felt beaters. Back in the day, I used to use plastic or wood beaters to get more attack. Now the felt beater feels warmer to me. I can change the attack by adding a pad on the head or messing with the EQ.

Marco Minnemann (Illegal Aliens, Solo Artist)

I love using a double pedal because I don’t have as much equipment to set up and carry. It’s easier to set up your drums with a double pedal, and it allows you to be more flexible in your setup. It saves time at soundcheck because you don’t have to worry about getting sounds from two bass drums.

I’m used to the feel of the double pedal, though it might be good to play the fast stuff on two bass drums. When you hit the head with the left beater of the double pedal, the head is still moving from the right one striking it. But as I said, I’m used to the double pedal, and so far there’s no reason for me to change.

I’ve used two bass drums, but it takes a while for me to get into it because it feels so different. I’ve been playing on a single bass drum with a double pedal for sixteen years. There were a couple of times I had to switch to a double bass drum setup. First, it was a little weird for me because you have two sound sources and a different response from the drum heads, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

I like the single-chain, rolling-glide Iron Cobra pedals – very direct and natural-feeling. The tension on my double pedal is about medium. I play a lot of flams, drags, ratamacues, etc. on the bass drum, so I need a little “help” from my pedal.

Mike Mangini (Extreme, Steve Vai)

I find that the main differences in two bass drums over a double pedal are in the sound and feel. Single strokes sound better to me on two separate bass drums. Double strokes sound and feel better on the double pedal because there’s more air flying through the drum and more bounce, making the double strokes easier – that is, if the sound is not a dead sound. Otherwise there’s really not much difference in which you choose.

I’ve been using the double pedal more lately because it feels better for double-stroke combination patterns. I can play them faster with the double pedal. I’ve been doing lots of sessions lately, and it’s been a nightmare to try and get an engineer to get two bass drums to sound the same. I’d rather chew glass than deal with most engineers to try and get it right.

I’m pretty flexible with using either setup, and when I do clinics I can get pretty comfortable with whatever they have available for me to use. When I toured with Steve Vai, I used two bass drums in North America, but a double pedal everywhere else. I would have used two bass drums in all of the other countries, but it cost too much to ship them.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed about the development of the double pedal from the start is that it helped to silence all of the people who unfairly stereotyped drummers based On how many bass drums they used.

Something that has helped me develop my speed and feel for the double pedal is practicing on a Pearl BD10 practice pad kit. It allows me to simulate speeds that I haven’t really “earned” yet on a real kit by giving me the opportunity to develop some of the muscles that I wouldn’t normally use.

I never use a chain drive pedal, at least when I have a choice. I get more speed and control with a nylon strap. With the chain drive, it forces the gear all the way back and doesn’t allow the same type of flexibility as the strap does.

Virgil Donati (Planet X, Solo Artist)

I’ve used both setups, but I haven’t used the double bass drum setup for quite a while. I’m often perplexed by mechanical choices, where one day I’ll get behind a double bass kit and it feels really good, and then the next day the double pedal feels better. Then I wonder if I’m sacrificing any facility or technique by playing the double pedal instead of two bass drums.

I guess what matters at this stage is that I’m enjoying the single bass drum setup. So I escape any doubt by also avoiding any thought of the options. I think that the double pedals today are made well enough to disguise any potential problems there may be with the left-foot link.

Occasionally, when I sit behind a big double bass kit, it feels really good to me and I dig it. I don’t think that I’ll always play a double pedal. For example, the other day I sat behind Simon Phillips’ kit in his studio and it felt great! I’m pretty adaptable when it comes to different setups. I enjoy changing things around like the alignment and placement of the toms and so on. I have a double bass kit. I just haven’t taken it out on the road yet. And I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing any sound quality at all by having only one mic’ in one bass drum.

I’m using the new strap-drive with the Pearl Eliminator double pedal. What’s cool about the Eliminator pedal is that you can change the cams to get different feels from the pedal. I prefer the blue cam, but they offer four different cams to choose from.

I’ve also noticed that the smaller the bass drum, the easier it is to play. I can play much faster and much easier with a 20” bass drum than a 22”. But I prefer using a 22” because the sound is what I’m looking for. I like my heads very loose, which means I’m also sacrificing speed as well. But I prefer sound over speed.