Hi folks, trawling through some old MDs I am reminded of Peter Magadini's Power Rod pedal, and wonder if anyone has tried one, owns one or even just seen one in the flesh?
I'd love to know how it felt to play - I am open to believing it might give extra leverage, but looking at it I can't see how it might be anything other than slow.
Anyway, opinions? Memories? acid flashbacks?
Stuflyer,
Other than knowing his Polyrhythm books well, I have never heard of this. Thanks for posting. What year is the article from?
Hi KDG - it's from the Jan 78 issue of MD. I love old mags - the ads in those days were completely different - you had to really read them to see what they were offering.
I remember that pedal. But I’m not sure if the recollection is from playing it (that would have been in my teacher’s studio) or just from the ads. Interested to hear more.
They play very well. I would compare them with a Martin Fleetfoot/Camco/Floating Action/early DW. I collect bass drum pedals and this is one of my favorite designs. They don't fit in your hardware case very easily but then that applies to a lot of pedals.
Does that mechanism have a thin strap? a flat metal coil spring? a thin chain?
It is a nylon "strap". Looks kind of like thick weed eater string. There is something similar on an early DW pedal. You can see it better on the photo of the DW pedal. Sorry I don't have the date or other information on the DW pedal.
Thanks for the info, Pedal Pusher. Seems to me that keeping a spare pedal on hand at all times would be a good idea because that thin filament could fail.
Pedal_Pusher,
Can you tell what the advantage this pedal has over the Martin/Camco style?
I'm trying to wrap my head around the physics of this thing. Seems like some extra mechanical stress points here.
I am not sure if it is really an advantage over the Camco style but it plays with a light "touch" similar to those pedals to me. It has been a while since I played it so maybe it works better only in my memory! (the older I get, the better I was?) I seem to remember that it is more of a fine adjustment to go along with the big cam's sliding positions you can see in the fifth photo. I sent an email to Pete Magadini when I first got it years ago but did not get an answer. I can get it down from the attic in a week or so and see if my memory was correct. The plastic cable has aged well and is not stiff from age so I don't think breakage or slippage would be a problem. I think it was just different enough to not catch on with the pedal buying public. That happens a lot. Hope this helps.
