The 60s Pedal Battle
After 40 years of being around bass drum pedals, these are the major ones I regularly saw--the Ludwig Speed King, the Slingerland Tempo King, the Rogers Swiv-o-Matic, the Camco and the Gretsch Floating Action.
Camco made its pedals and the look-a-like Gretsch model. And today, you can see the heritage of Camco in the DW line.
Rogers was famous for its right side single post pedal, copied later by Pearl.
Slingerland's Tempo King was around for decades.
And the Speed King, which traces its roots to 1937, is still with us 68 years later! I would guess the runner ups that I saw were the rubber footboard Premier pedal and the Ludwig Ghost.
By far the most popular--and probably also most reviled--was the Speed King. Often the washer and tightening screw underneath are missing. That design allows a split footboard look instead of a one piece footboard.
Too often Speed Kings were called "Squeak Kings" due to the sounds that occurred near the read hinge. Hint: WD 40.
I'd say, by far, the Speed King was the pedal of choice regardless of what drums those 60s players played, unless it was Buddy Rich, and then it was always Rogers.
If you'd like to learn more about vintage drums, then I encourage you to order a copy of my book, The Great American Drums. |
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