Kick pedal double hits????

[Spandrel]

Quick back-story.....

I've been playing drums on and (mostly) off for about 25 years. I'm not a great drummer, but capable enough that I can and should FC "I Think I'm Paranoid" by Garbage on Expert. This became a bit of a quest for me, because I'd frequently drop notes here and there despite playing the song perfectly.

The Drums: My old EL kit would drop notes and after cracking the yellow pad from over-compensating, my RMA'ed EL kit has been near flawless. I've spent lots of time in Practice mode making sure that this is not the problem.

The A/V and lag windows: After the March 28 update, I went through and methodically calibrated my A/V and lag to where I am certain they are spot on (-25 ms AV, and +55 ms lag). In fact, on one try, I made it through the song with only one missed note.

The bass pedal (?): After diagnosing the drums and timing, I played a couple of times and noticed that nearly always, when I broke streak, it was almost always after the part in the song with two kick beats and usually on the second kick beat (sometimes on a single Yellow+Kick). And, one time I noticed that it felt like my foot ever-so-slightly bounced on the pedal and may have caused a second beat. I went into practice and noticed that it is fairly easy to generate an extra kick beat with a relatively small "bounce".

Has anyone else noticed this? I'm at a loss to figure out why I am still dropping beats, other than my timing stinks, but I don't think that is why. Anyone else have any other ideas on what to check?

[davidshek]

I'll give you the same advice I've given to all the other real drummers on these forums (and even to the non-drummers): Use a real pedal.

Since you've been a drummer for so long, you've probably got at least one spare pedal laying around the house (I know I had several). Then use these very simple instructions to mod it to work with this game:

http://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2967

You'll be very happy you did :)

[Spandrel]

I've seen those threads, and now I'm being tempted to try it. I actually do have an extra pedal lying around. I've seen some of the real pedal mods. Maybe it is time to give it a try. I have nothing to lose, right?

Thanks for the advice. Maybe a trip to Radio Shack is in order.

[davidshek]

Yep, definitely. From one drummer to another, you obviously know how a real pedal feels, and I'm sure you can feel that the RB stock plastic pedal feels "wrong".

Make that pedal feel right again! :D

[Spandrel]

Yep, definitely. From one drummer to another, you obviously know how a real pedal feels, and I'm sure you can feel that the RB stock plastic pedal feels "wrong".

Make that pedal feel right again! :D

Done and done. I just placed the order for the $2.99 magnet piece that he links in the article. I'll run over to Radio Shack and pick up a the mono plug, and give my old pedal new life, and hopefully avoid those dropped notes from double hits with the plastic kick pedal. Heck, I could probably sell the pedal on ebay and cover the $10 in parts it will cost to mod my old kick pedal.

[Grimlouis]

ill buy your plastic pedal for 10$ :)

[Spandrel]

If my attempt at modding my old kick pedal works, I'll let you know. ;)

[Spandrel]

I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of this before, but I had a question. I normally play on my Roland TD-10 kit, at home, and I was wondering if it would be possible to use the FD-8 hi-hat pedal as a replacement for the plastic pedal? I believe it is just a mono-out with an open-close switch in it, and I would probably just need a 1/4" to 1/8" plug converter, but now I'm curious.

Has anyone else tried to use the Roland FD-8 (or any other comparable hi-hat pedal) for the kick in Rock Band?

[davidshek]

I know a bunch of people have gotten e-drum hi-hat pedals to work successfully with a 1/4"-1/8" adapter.

I don't know for sure about the FD-8 though. Give it a shot and let us know if it works. If it doesn't, you should be able to return the adapter to Radio Shack :)

[Spandrel]

I know a bunch of people have gotten e-drum hi-hat pedals to work successfully with a 1/4"-1/8" adapter.

I don't know for sure about the FD-8 though. Give it a shot and let us know if it works. If it doesn't, you should be able to return the adapter to Radio Shack :)


I probably have a 1/4" to 1/8" cable kicking around somewhere, so I'll give it a shot. If it works, I may not need that alarm magnet I just ordered, but oh well. I think the foot pedal would be a better solution, if it works, because it is essentially a metal version of the Rock Band pedal. It is not a problem to swap it between my Rock Band pads and my Roland kit.

[Spandrel]

Well, no luck with my Roland pedal. I plugged it in, and it played the first beat on the pedal fine, but after that, nothing. I pressed the pedal, but nothing was getting through. Good thing I couldn't cancel my order for the alarm magnets.

[davidshek]

Well, no luck with my Roland pedal. I plugged it in, and it played the first beat on the pedal fine, but after that, nothing. I pressed the pedal, but nothing was getting through. Good thing I couldn't cancel my order for the alarm magnets.

Were you using a stereo or a mono adapter? I've heard stereo adapters can mess it up.

[Spandrel]

Were you using a stereo or a mono adapter? I've heard stereo adapters can mess it up.

It could be that I had the wrong patch cable. I actually had a cable that was 1/4" on one end and 1/8" on the other end, but didn't know if it was a stereo cable or not. I think that you are right, and I should just go buy a 1/4" to 1/8" adaptor since I know that my E-drum cables are monos.

Messing around with the feel of it, though, I'm thinking that modding a real bass pedal would still be the way to go. The FD-8 pedal has a huge spring on it, and it is a little bouncier than I might like. My whole goal is to eliminate the bounce I get from the Rock Band pedal that causes the accidental double hits.

[Spandrel]

Woo-hoo. David, thank you very much for the link and the suggestion. SafeHome shipped my alarm magnet very quickly, and I went out to Radio Shack to get the cable. I just duct taped it all together with my old Tama Power Glide, and it is night and day. I popped in "Epic" on Expert and just crushed my best score. I haven't even epoxied the magnets on yet. They are hanging by duct tape, but I'll do that later. Right now, I'm going to sneak in a couple more songs on the drums with my new retro-fitted pedal. The thing was just collecting dust in my basement, so for less than $10, I have a pedal that can withstand the worst heavy-foot pounding I can dish out.

It is amazing being able to nail those triple kick beats in "Epic" without a second thought. Next up might be that Fall Out Boy song. Thanks again, David.

[davidshek]

It is amazing being able to nail those triple kick beats in "Epic" without a second thought. Next up might be that Fall Out Boy song. Thanks again, David.

You're welcome.

Another satisfied customer! :D