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The Best Double Bass Pedal for the Money: Find Yours Today!

August 10, 2022 by Yannick 17 Comments

Updated: March 4th, 2024

“When Mr. Ludwig invented the bass-drum pedal, that’s what made the drum set possible” (Neil Peart)

So double bass pedals are crucial to your drumming for sure! But they can also suck up a lot of time when it comes to tweaking them so that you’re able to play faster.

If you’re into that, that’s fine. But be aware that it will cost you not only time; more features to tweak make for a higher price as well.

And I’m not into either tweaking or paying more. I want to sit down at my kit and play. I want a pedal that feels good out of the box. Ideally the best double bass pedal for the money.

If you’re anything like that, you’re in for a treat. I’m going to show you the pros and cons of 4 budget double bass pedals (most under 300$). And I’m going to tell you which is the best double bass pedal for the money (and for a particular purpose).

After all other people can do incredibly fast double bass action with a pretty normal and affordable pedal too (jump to 1:55):

Best Double Bass Pedals Reviewed

Best Bang For Your Buck
Best Bang For Your Buck

Mapex 500

  • Affordable
  • allows advanced configuration
  • Durable

CHECK IT ON AMAZON

CHECK IT ON SWEETWATER

Best For The Money
Best For The Money

Pearl Demonator (P932)

  • Appealing design
  • Longboard for heal-toe players
  • Click lock for frustration-free tension setting

CHECK IT ON AMAZON

CHECK IT ON SWEETWATER

Best for Speed
Best for Speed

Tama Speed Cobra (HP310)

  • Recessed footboard
  • Light sprocket for increased speed
  • Longboard for fast heal-toe doubles

CHECK IT ON AMAZON

CHECK IT ON SWEETWATER

Best Direct Drive Double Pedal
Best Direct Drive Double Pedal

Yamaha DFP-9500D

  • Cheapest direct-drive pedal on the market
  • Basic configuration possible (spring tension etc.)
  • Much more rebound that produces in comparison to a double chain pedal

CHECK IT ON AMAZON

Mapex 500 – Best Bang For Your Buck

Mapex 500 - best double pedal

Click for Current Price

To my mind, the Mapex 500 is the cheapest useful double bass pedal on the market.

The extremely low price made me skeptical when I ordered it, but this pedal is good value for the money:

Sure, the Mapex doesn’t allow for advanced configuration such as replacing the cam (I’ll explain in a minute) or changing pedal height. But if you just want a bass pedal to sit down with and start playing right away, the Mapex will do the job (jump to 1:23):

Of course, you can adjust basic parameters like spring tension or beater height. And you can turn around the beaters to change from felt (for a well-rounded sound) to a plastic surface (for louder, more pronounced kicks):

 best double bass pedal for the money

Single chain? Double chain? What does that even mean?

The most significant difference to more expensive pedals is this: the Mapex 500 is a single-chain double bass pedal. Meaning: that the board is attached to the beater via one chain. This can also be done with two chains side by side (“chain drive”), with a strap (“belt drive”), or with a piece of metal (“direct drive”).

Single chain, like here, is usually found on cheaper pedals, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It only produces different results:

A single chain is less durable than a double chain, and you might also feel that the pedal is less responsive. At the same time, you might feel single-chain pedals are more controllable, because there isn’t that much rebound. I say you “might”, because this very much comes down to tiny differences that are felt differently from person to person. So…

…if you want to become a really fast double bass player look at the double chain or direct drive pedals below. If you’re more into rock or punk or jazz, the plus in terms of control will probably benefit you more.

(Many direct drive players (the metal connection between pedal and beater; most expensive) encourage beginners to start with a chain pedal, because you have to be slightly more intentional in your hits, and this is good for building the right muscle memory.)

Durability

Finally, I’ve read one person complained about the durability of this pedal. But for me, it held up for 2 years without problems (sold it then). The same seems to be true for the “therevsdeathbat” who you saw in the video above: (note how he has improved in just one year)

Pearl Demonator (P932) – Best Double Bass Pedal For The Money

double pedal how to choose the best
Check it on Amazon

Check it on Sweetwater

Pros
  • Appealing design
  • Longboard for heal-toe players
  • Click lock for frustration-free tension setting
  • Choose between offset and linear cam
Cons
  • Not the best for really fast double bass players (single chain)

Why this is my best double bass pedal for the money? Well…

Nice design

First, I hope you find the Pearl Demonator as visually appealing as I do. This doesn’t give you any speed or control, but I’ve experienced with my students that good-looking gear will increase your motivation to practice.

For heal-toe players?

Second, the Demonator has a longboard – that is, the thing is at the very end of the footboard, so the entire thing acts as a playing surface. That’s good for you if you(‘re planning on) using rocking motions (“heel toe technique“) for really fast double bass patterns.

(By the way: a longboard doesn’t have anything to do with shoe size. You’ll often have your foot halfway off the pedal anyway.)

A single chain

Third, this pedal feels responsive when playing it – despite the single chain. And because of it, it has the added benefit of a fair amount of control. (But remember: tiny differences! Irrelevant for first-time double bass players, and I bet many of the intermediate ones won’t notice either.)

See how well it works for the average double bass player:

Configuration

Fourth and finally: in addition to a turntable beater (felt and plastic) and adjustable beater height, the Pearl Demonator has two advanced configuration features:

  • a click lock at the bottom of the spring to adjust its tension
    No laboriously turning the screw here. Just switch open the lock, spin the dial, close the lock – and done.
  • choose between offset and liner cam
    best-double-bass-pedal mechanismThis is a cam, and it is offset because it’s not evenly shaped. Therefore, the beater won’t be accelerated evenly either. It will gain speed towards the end of the stroke, so you’ll achieve a more pronounced kick sound.
    best double bass pedal setupAnd with the Pearl Demonator, you can either leave the offset cam in place or take it off and have a liner (evenly shaped) cam.

All in all, my best double bass pedal for the money!

Tama Speed Cobra (HP310) – Best Double Bass Pedal for Speed

Tama Speed Cobra (HP310) - Best Double Bass Pedal for Speed
Check it on Amazon

Check it on Sweetwater

Pros
  • Recessed footboard + light sprocket for increased speed
  • Longboard for fast heal-toe doubles
  • Double-chain for more responsiveness
Cons
  • Cam is not changeable (important for fast players)

The Tama Speed Cobra does exactly what the name implies: speed you up.

And speed it has:

Now, you might have noticed that the beaters of the Speed Cobra in the video are different. That’s because it’s shot with a Speed Cobra 910, the big brother of our model (the 310).

The more expensive version has quite a few differences in detail, but the only ones that stand out to me are the different beaters (see video) and the “cobra coil”. This spring underneath the board accelerates its rebound for even faster tempos:

Tama Speed Cobra (HP310) mechanism

That’s certainly an effective weapon for really fast double bass players (think 250+ beats per minute. But for uses like in the video above, I’d recommend saving a few hundred dollars (you could invest them into lessons, drum heads, or cymbals).

For heal-toe players?

Compared to the other budget double bass pedals in this review, the Speed Cobra is similar to the Pearl Demonator in terms of its board. It’s longer than that of normal pedals, so you will have leverage for really fast heal-toe action.

What is special about the Speed Cobra and what makes it so fast is the fact that the footboard is moved back a little bit:

Tama Speed Cobra (HP310) how it is so speed

So the seemingly clever arrows in this picture mean to tell you nothing else than that you need to apply less force (F1) to produce a nice, powerful kick with the Speed Cobra. What is more: the sprocket of this pedal is lighter than usual, so this adds to the less-power-more-endurance-effect.

Configuration

Nothing special here, but just like with the other pedals the Speed Cobra lets you adjust the beater angle, the spring tension or change the beater from felt to plastic.

All in all, my best double bass pedal for speed!

Yamaha DFP-9500D – Best Direct Drive Double Pedal

Yamaha DFP-9500D - Best Direct Drive Double Pedal
Check it on Amazon

Pros
  • Cheapest direct-drive pedal on the market
  • Basic configuration possible (spring tension etc.)
Cons
  • Slightly overpriced
  • Cam is not changeable (important for advanced players)

The Yamaha 9500 doesn’t have a cool name like the other double bass pedals so far. But actually, it’s got one thing the others don’t have:

A direct drive:

Yamaha DFP-9500D Drive mechanism

Instead of a flexible chain, the Yamaha 9500 has a solid piece of metal connecting the footboard to the beater. In contrast to a chain, this metal bridge maintains a perfect connection from the beginning of the stroke to the end. So the beater will hit the head with all the power you put in.

You can see how much more rebound that produces in comparison to a double-chain pedal. (The single chain he uses is much cheaper than the other two pedals, so better ignore that one.):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd4q7gxLVU8[

So is direct drive the holy grail of double bass drums? Well…

…many really fast double bass players (250+ beats per minute) swear on it as it gives you a lot of speed and small-scale precision. But at slower tempos direct drive pedals can be more difficult to control – if you play heel-up. Yet, heel-down players often value direct drive, because it will supply the power and speed that heel-down playing naturally lacks.

So no holy grail here. Only depends on your technique and the style of music you play.

Configuration and board

Apart from the chain drive, the Yamaha 9500 can do what the others in this review can too: beater height and spring tension are adjustable. And the beaters can be turned, so you can play the felt or plastic surface.

That’s nothing fancy, but everything you need if you want to tweak the pedal at some point.

Price

This is the most expensive model in this best double bass pedal for the money review, and when I bought it, I thought this is just because of the direct drive.

But then I found out that the same pedal with a double-chain drive only costs a few dozen bucks less. So I dug and dug for other features to justify this price difference to the other pedals…

…but to this day haven’t found any. (If you have, please let me know in the comments.) So I think this pedal is slightly overpriced. But then again, if you want a direct drive, this is the cheapest pedal on the market.

Currently, you can get it in a free case for the Yamaha 9500 along with the double pedal on Amazon.

Over to You

So there you have my best double bass pedals for the money. If you’ve got another recommendation or any questions, please drop me a comment. I answer 100% of the time!

Filed Under: Accessories, Acoustic drum kits, Electronic kits

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Vladimir Lopez says

    November 10, 2017 at 7:27 pm

    I have a Pearl demonator double pedal and also a single and I really like them. Best thing is I purchased the double and single together on sale for $200US. Can’t beat that deal.

    Reply
    • Yannick says

      November 11, 2017 at 7:23 am

      Awesome deal, Vladimir. Congrats and thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  2. jelle says

    January 30, 2018 at 12:00 pm

    That explained a lot, thank for giving this advice and information about double base pedals.

    Reply
    • Yannick says

      January 30, 2018 at 11:49 pm

      Thanks, Jelle. Happy I could be of help!

      Reply
  3. Curt Black says

    February 25, 2018 at 1:24 pm

    Yes I found this very informative. I’ve been playing drums for more then 50 years and I have never used a double pedal. After reading this and doing some other research I’m going to pick up a Pearl. I think it’s a good place to start. Thanks Yannnick.
    Cheers Curt.

    Reply
    • Yannick says

      February 26, 2018 at 12:00 am

      Thank you very much, Kurt! Lots of fun with your new double pedal!

      Reply
  4. Raj Bose says

    March 2, 2018 at 11:24 am

    I am a fast dauble bass Player.. I’m looking for a dauble pedal for playing up to 300BPM.. but I can’t afford an expensive pedal.. so I decided to pickup one of them (Speed Cobra hp310 or Demonetor P932).. but I’m confused which one will be better for super fast playing.. can u help me..??

    Reply
    • Yannick says

      March 3, 2018 at 5:15 am

      Hey Raj,

      That’s fast for sure! If I were you, I’d go with the Speed Cobra as it has a double chain (the Demonator is single chain) – which gives you more control as it makes the rebound of the pedal more stable.

      Best,
      Yannick

      Reply
      • Raj Bose says

        March 3, 2018 at 3:52 pm

        Thanks for reply 🙂 .. It’s really helpful. I want to know one last thing.. how much diffrence a cobra coil creates between Speed Cobra 310 and 910.. ??

        Reply
        • Yannick says

          March 4, 2018 at 4:36 am

          Sure, Raj – but this is hard to say. The Cobra Coil has the effect of strengthening the rebound from you pushing down the pedal. How strong this rebound is and when it is set in motion can be customized by pushing the Coil back and forth on the base plate of the pedal. So the Cobra Coil certainly does increase your potential to play very fast BPMs – but it’s very hard to quantify this compared to the Speed Cobra 310.

          Best,
          Yannick

          Reply
          • Raj Bose says

            March 4, 2018 at 9:27 am

            Thanks for the information..

          • Yannick says

            March 5, 2018 at 12:30 am

            My absolute pleasure!

  5. gracie says

    March 3, 2018 at 6:24 pm

    Whoa, thanks for the great breakdown. I think i’ll go for the Yamaha 9500~

    Reply
    • Yannick says

      March 4, 2018 at 4:21 am

      Awesome. Thanks for the kind words, Gracie!

      Reply
  6. NS says

    April 11, 2018 at 9:42 am

    Great review for the mortals. Well covered, balanced and practical. Thank you for taking the time to provide a rare, useful review and lesson at the same time.

    Reply
    • Yannick says

      April 12, 2018 at 12:19 am

      I very much appreciate your feedback! Thank you so much! I’ll do my best to continue providing those kinds of reviews.

      Reply
  7. Vladimir says

    October 5, 2022 at 5:50 am

    Hi. Just a note that the Yamaha dfp9500d also has independently adjustable foot-board angle.

    Reply

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