heel up/floating double bass technique demo

This is me demonstrating my bass drum technique with an open-closed-open single stroke roll going up to near (but still less than) as fast as i can play. the metronome marking would be somewhere around 210 bpm assuming those are 16ths. I have been known to hit 220 on a good, warmed up day.

at no point in this video am i playing heel down. its all heel up or floating technique. this is on a 2000 or 2001 model iron cobra power glide with high but not maximum spring tension and beaters about 6 inches from the head.

here is an explanation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCjt0toay_4

yes, i could have (should have) played this more smoothly but i am too lazy to do another take. i know its not world class speed or anything, and i am not trying to say that its anything special, but its quick enough for most situations.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• drums
• double bass
• kick
• drumming
• technique
• speed
• fast
• double kick
• pedal
• Ryan Bloom
• drummer
• demo
• percussion

[ryukintakeda]

@00ghost27 I think it should be theoretically possible just from looking at the thing... But I have never tried and it would probably require completely disassembling the pedals to get the beater off the right and back on the left side.

[ryukintakeda]

@diablosvv12 see my video on bass drumming physiology and anatomy for an in depth discussion of this muscle topic.

[Nougat029]

nice work, i can do the floating technique, but i have to get in the position if you know what i mean, i have to warm up for the fast speeds, but then if i don't do it or keep doing it i loose the LRLR timing and yeah you get the picture, how did you get it like that? the transition from using your legs to just your ankles so smooth?

[ryukintakeda]

@Nougat029 you must be able to play the heel up portion as fast or faster than the slowest you can play floating. on the opposite side you must be able to play floating as slow or slower than the fastest you can play regular. you need to have a large overlap zone in your speeds. just like learning to play open rolls with your hands.

[yuuabvabv]

awesome!!! which muscle do you mainly use? calf or  shin?

[ryukintakeda]

@yuuabvabv see my anatomy and physiology of bass drumming video for this exact information. its on my channel.

[00ghost27]

is it possible to change the beater in IC position from right to left , and be able to play on two (double) bass drums? or IC allows only to play on one bass drum?

[Vidmakr6302]

hey great video, just wondering if you could send me the routine you did to obtain this speed and control. thanks would be very much appreciated

[DiabloSVV12]

Lol. Thats like regular speed for metal.

As for muscles, personally, i use my thigh muscles when doing long double bass.

When I'm doing complicated double rhythms, i focus more on my calves.

[ryukintakeda]

@AAXDrumFist as I said in the description, those are iron cobra powerglides double chain drive purchased in or around year 2000. nothing fancy, and way before demon drive ever existed.

[AAXDrumFist]

WOW! That's a inhuman speed you have! Awesome! Are those pedals iron cobras or pearl demon drives?