DW MFG Bass Drum Pedals

93
WWW.MUSICRADAR.COM/RHYTHM SUMMER 2017 |
PRICE
DW MFG Chain Drive
Single Pedal, £667;
DW MFG Chain Drive
Double Pedal, £1,367
MATERIALS
Largely machined
aircraft grade
aluminium structure
with high grade steel
components
FUNCTIONAL
FEATURES
Independently
adjustable features
include:
Sprocket-less,
adjustable, fl oating cam
with ‘gear shift’ action;
Vertical Sliding Tension
Adjustment (VERT);
Tri-Pivot Swivel Toe
Clamp; solid, perforated
aluminium footboard;
110 Control Beater, with
three interchangeable
faces and adjustable
weights; double chain
drive; black carrying
bags included
CONTACT
[e-mail]
[phone]
www.dwdrums.com
Essential spec
the right one houses the rather ingenious
VERT Vertical Spring Adjustment Tensioner.
Instead of having to manhandle a locking nut
while simultaneously stretching the spring (as
you do on nearly all other pedals) you use
your drum key to rotate an adjustment nut.
This stretches out the spring till you reach the
desired tension. It’s calibrated too. Clever or
fussy? I’d say clever.
As always, the business end rotates around
a horizontal spindle. But here comes the next
innovation, which DW terms Floating Rotor
Technology. Eerily, this spindle is not clamped
to the cam, but is completely free, so the cam
and double chain ride on it without being
fi xed to it. The effect of this is to make your
beats feel even more friction-free as well as
totally silent.
The cam itself is sprocket-less and has
what DW describes as a ‘gear shift-style lever’.
This takes the form of a cute little protruding
nose on the cam casting that you can push up
or down, thus moving between a circular,
direct cam drive and fi ve close calibrations of
oval, accelerator cam drive.
I can’t say how all this causes the new
pedal to differ from the earlier DDM as I don’t
have one for comparison. But suffi ce to say
that the MCD has a silent and free, smooth-
gliding, effortless stroke, as good or better
than any previous DW pedal. Which is high
praise indeed.
VERDICT: For those with money to
spend and an attraction to hi-tech,
multiple-adjustment pedals, DW’s
Machined Chain Drive single and
double models are cutting-edge
instruments with smooth and
silent operation.
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
RATING
As reported in the earlier review, the slave
pedal is perfectly matched allowing accurately
balanced double-kick playing. The two pedals
play as one: enough said!
ALUMINIUM FOOTPLATE
Solid perforated aluminium footboard
and contoured heel plate are linked via
an interlocking Delta hinge
VERTICAL POSTS
The spring tension adjustment
is cleverly positioned in the right
side vertical post and operated
by turning a drum key nut
GEARED CAM
The sprocket-less cam has a ‘gear shift’
style lever, a small protruding nose that
allows movement between direct and
accelerator strokes
HEAD BANGER
The beater head has an
up-down swivel so that you
can align it perfectly with
your bass drum batter head
THREE-WAY TOOL
Clamped to the base plate is
a three-way tool used to
make various adjustments
RHY271.gear_dw.indd 93 13/07/2017 13:40