Pearl P-3002D Demon Drive Double Bass Pedal

DW still my favorite, nothing special.

Way over priced for what your getting

Pearl knew very little about pedal. I purchased blind.

After playing for over 40+ years, a pedal this expensive I expect Pearl to know the pedal inside out, but not so. I was told to call a dealer for my questions before buying. BIG MISTAKE! I have tried almost every double pedal and I have to say stay with DW.

You'll get the most out of my review by looking at the "overall rating" category, but I'll TRY to list all the features here. There are A LOT of features:

Direct Drive

Duo-Deck longboard??? shortboard to longboard pedal

Two-position beater stroke adjustment

Two-position direct link adjustment

Ninja bearings

Z link drive shaft

8 possible Pedal Configurations

Spring locking mechanism

Beaters have "shock absorption"

Possibly the best looking pedal ever built!

Basically, you can customize this pedal to feel however you want. I have owned TONS of the "best" pedals out there and I've never seen one as adjustable as this one. I give it a 9 because there is ALWAYS room for improvement on anything, but I think it has the most (and best) features of any pedal currently on the market.

I JUST got this pedal but it definitely seems to be built very sturdy. I can't imagine that it will have any problems. I'm giving it a 9 because it seems to be built like a tank from what I can tell. It makes my Iron Cobras feel like toys, and they've never given me any issues.

I don't know how good Pearl's customer support is, but based on how well built this appears to be, I doubt I'll ever even need customer support.

Okay, I know a lot of people on here act like they know a lot but really haven't had too much experience with all the equipment to compare things to. And sometimes people just haven't had much experience as a musician. Well I have been playing for 11 years, I TEACH drums, and I have owned most of the top quality pedals out there. So as the first reviewer of this product, I feel it is my responsibility to accurately let you know just how this pedal is. Let me start by giving you a list of pedals I own (or have owned in the past) to compare the Demon Drive to:

DW 9002 LIMITED EDITION ALL TITANIUM (Only 500 in existence) - The best pedal ever made UNTIL THE DEMON DRIVE

DW 9002

Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide Double Pedal

Pearl Eliminator Power Shifter Double Pedal

DW 5000 Double Pedal

So you may notice I have never owned an Axis pedal. I know a lot of you reading this want to know how this pedal compares to the Axis Longboards. Well I have never owned one because I have tried them and I hate the way they feel. Not that they aren't great pedals, I just didn't care for them. From all accounts I've heard they take a while to adjust to. So if you are wondering whether to get this pedal or the Axis pedal, take into account that the Pearl Demon Drive takes almost NO adjustment to get used to. I personally believe that this pedal is better. Many Axis players will try to stab you in the face if you say anything else is better, but it is MY opinion that this is a superior pedal. THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY FOR CERTAIN TO COMPARE THIS TO THE AXIS PEDALS IS THAT YOU WILL HAVE A MUCH SHORTER LEARNING CURVE WITH THE DEMON DRIVE.

If you are accustomed to any "normal" pedal (one with chain or strap drive) then you will find that this pedal feels AMAZING. It basically has the same kind of feel of normal pedals but FAR BETTER. It is more responsive to your foot, there is no latency between your left pedal and the beater, it is SMOOOOOOOOOTH, it is FAST, and it is virtually EFFORTLESS. If you play quick double bass rhythms you will find that you will play FAR more accurately with this pedal. The very first pattern I played was cleaner than I've ever played it, not to mention more powerful. The DW 9002 Limited Edition pedal that I own WAS the smoothest pedal ever until the Demon Drive. Even with its smoothness, it always felt too light to me. It had very little adjustability and I could not get quite the right feel out of it. I need a heavier feel because I have HUGE feet (Size 16!). With the Demon Drive I could dial in JUST the right weight balance within minutes. I haven't even spent time playing with the different possibilities and it is already the best thing I have ever felt under my feet.

The feel of a pedal is incredibly important, but the MOST important thing is how you will SOUND when using a pedal. It is all about the groove, and this pedal definitely will help with your groove. I can tell a difference in my sound already when using this pedal because it allows me to be more precise than ever before. In Pearl's promotional videos for this pedal, they say that "what you think is what you hear." It is not just an advertising ploy, it is true. You have more control with this pedal than with any other pedal on the market. Also, this pedal allows you to play with more POWER. The more powerful the bass is, the better groove you will get in certain situations. That being said, also take into account that this pedal is so adjustable that you can set it to be a great "finesse" pedal as well. I play with as much power as I can comfortably and effortlessly get, but when I've played heel down for jazz stuff with this pedal I noticed that I could get as much or AS LITTLE power as I wanted. Ultimately, the reason that this pedal is so good (and worth EVERY penny, despite it's high price point) is the fact that it allows you to be more MUSICAL. And it is ALL about the music...