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The Drum Experts

Ludwig Speed King Pedal Question - Cleaning

Hi

I recently acquired some drum parts in a cardboard box. Some of the parts included a very rusty Speed King hihat stand and a Speed King bd pedal. I've cleaned the pedal up but can't get the end-caps off (maybe I shouldn't do that I don't know) the ends of the horizontal shaft. I did take the bottom screws out of the vertical stays and got the springs and (cam-rods?) out -cleaned and replaced. It seems to work okay - it's a little beaten up though.

Thoughts on the end-caps?

Is there a site where I can look at "exploded" diagrams of these two Speed King items? Can I get replacement parts (I haven't looked at your site yet - but I will as soon as I send this email off).

Is there any way I can tell how old these two pieces of hardware are?

The Drum Experts Say...

Hello and thanks for your question. We do not recommend taking the ends caps off of the pedal. We do have answers to your questions on different parts of the network of web sites. If you want to read about restoration, there is a forum post that is on-going. Unless the pedal has seen 1,000's of hours of use it should not need replacement parts. A good cleaning should bring it back to life. The only other option for parts is purchase another used Speed King on eBay.

Ludwig Speed King Pedal Restoration

We also have the original pedal that was in the Ludwig Drum Factory that Ludwig would use to show people the internal parts of the pedal. We have detailed photos on our Vintage Drum Guide.

Ludwig Speed King Pedal Parts

In regards to the year, they made the same pedal for so many years, unless it is an earlier version finding a year is next to impossible. Usually people just say a 70's Speed King. Without seeing it if course it is hard to know for sure what version you have.

Thanks for your question

The Drum Experts

Drum Lessons - Practice Frequency

I'm New to Rudiments. My questions:

1. When should I practice (every day, once a week????)
2. How long should I practice? (10 Min, 20 min, 30 Min?)
3. When should I see some good headway and hear some good rolls. 1 year?


The Drum Experts Say.....

1. When should I practice (every day, once a week????)
It should be part of your daily practice.

2. How long should I practice? (10 Min, 20 min, 30 Min?)
Let's determine how you are practicing them and which rudiments. If you are talking the 26 standard rudiments which ones are you currently working on?

3. When should I see some good headway and hear some good rolls. 1 year?
This depends on a lot of factors, but when I was teaching depending on the age of the student it was about a year. Some took longer and some picked it up faster.

The rudiments should be practiced slow-fast-slow. The fastest speed should never be a speed where you lose control. You always go to the point where it keeps the same sound and control. Then every once in a while push the limit.

Drumming is more about control and groove. If you are sacrificing your grip to increase speed then that will hurt your playing in the long run.

David Anfuso
The Drum Experts

Rogers 9/72 Label

Does anyone know if the '9/72' on Rogers serial no. stickers has any significance please? (eg., is it a date reference?).
Thanks for any help.


The Drum Experts Say.....

The Rogers 9/72 white label/badge was installed on Fullerton, CA built Rogers drums, then owned by CBS/Fender. Rogers historians, myself included!, have found out that this particular label/badge did indeed begin life in September of 1972, but was used in ALL Rogers drums built from then until almost TWO YEARS later! So...

One could conceivably have a drum set that is actuality a 1973 or even 1974, and still have the 9/72 label/badge. I guess CBS/Rogers figured "close enough for jazz" with regard to the use of the "dated" little white label/badge. Typically though, as has been said so many times: They were just building drums back then without a thought or notion as to what would happen 30 or 40 years later with regard to enthusiasts trying to date every little washer and fastener. It does make it interesting though, and the research is actually kind of fun!

SD7K Mapping & EXS-24 Software Sampler

I recently came into possession of a SD7K (cheapo) electronic drum kit. I'm trying to map it on the exs24 in logic - its a pain in the butt, what I really want to do is map it to EZDrummer as it has way better sounds - how can I do this?


















I need to do this on the cheap - is there a midi to AI unit that will do this for me or make it easier or possible? Or do I have to get more software - or just settle for mapping it to the exs24 and if that's the case how does one program the high hat peddle?














Please point me in the right direction, I've been on the net for weeks trying to find some answers and its been fruitless.


The Drum Experts Say.....

The SD7K uses General MIDI drum mapping. Thankfully, so does EZDrummer. Linking the two should be pretty straight forward.

The SD7K has both a MIDI out and a USB MIDI connection. Once you have it connected, make sure that EZDrummer is listening on Channel 10. That is the only channel the SD7K transmits on. EZDrummer should now hear the MIDI notes and play the right sound. The Hi-Hat pedal transmits on CC4. I am not sure how much data is actually transmitted, it may be just open, close and splash - it may be more.

If all else fails, EZDrummer will allow you to map the SD7K notes to their drums. This is time consuming, but you only have to do it once.

Michael Render

Thanks Michael for your expert advice!

Jim Spenner
The Drum Experts

Rogers Bass Drum Hoop

Description: What kind of BD hoops are on a 20" Dayton-era BD? (material, color, width, inlay, etc). For reference, I am restoring a 20" red sparkle holiday BD.

The Drum Experts Say....

Material Maple/wood
Color Semi-gloss black
Width 1.5"
Inlay 1/2" wide

Yamaha Early 80's Stage Kit Shells

Hello I am in need of the shell type or configuration for the early 80-mid 80's stage kit and did Yamaha produce an all maple kit during that time?

The Drum Experts Say.....

Hello and thanks for your question.

There were 3 lines for most of the 80's. The Recording Customs were all Birch shells. The Tour Series were a combination of Birch and Mahogany and the Stage 2 drums used layers of mahogany with a single inner ply of beech. (1986)

In the early 80's basically the same shells except the Stage Series were all Philippine Mahogany.

Dave Anfuso
The Drum Experts