This is cropped from a 1922 publicity photo of Ma Rainey and her Jazz Hounds. What's the deal with this bass drum pedal? It looks like a little cymbal clutch on the top of a long rod that goes through the beater, but without a cymbal attached. Is this some sort of bass drum / sock cymbal combo pedal?
(PS - just to be clear, I'm not asking about the cymbal mounted to the hoop, and the little extra beater on the BD pedal - I know those were common then.)
I believe the way those worked was that the Beater rod hung down from above and was spring loaded to keep it away from the head. The pedal at the bottom was attached to the pedal beater with a flexible strap of some sort so when you stepped on the pedal the strap pulled the beater into the head. So there isn't a long rod passing through the beater, just the rod coming down from the top and what looks like the typical rod coming up from the pedal is actually string or rope or leather or whatever.
I think what you're seeing as a "clutch" at the top is the way you adjust the length of the beater rod going down, in order to accommodate different diameter bass drums.
I could be wrong but I do recall seeing some early pedals that were set up like that and this one looks very similar. As crude as it looks today the Ludwig's original 1909 pedal was a huge jump forward in bass drum pedal design that set the template for what we're used to today.
The generic name for these types of pedals is an overhang or "Omaha" pedal. The Omaha reference is from the Olney 1887 U.S. patent 357093. The rod from above stops at the beater ball and there is either a chain or string below that attached to a hinged wooden pedal (base and footboard). They work better than double drumming but can't do a fast ragtime tempo. Check out Dee Dee Chandler's home made version in New Orleans. Sorry to geek out on you, but I collect pedals.
The generic name for these types of pedals is an overhang or "Omaha" pedal. The Omaha reference is from the Olney 1887 U.S. patent 357093. The rod from above stops at the beater ball and there is either a chain or string below that attached to a hinged wooden pedal (base and footboard). They work better than double drumming but can't do a fast ragtime tempo. Check out Dee Dee Chandler's home made version in New Orleans. Sorry to geek out on you, but I collect pedals.
Thanks for the info!! What a neat looking pedal...You should start a thread to show us your collection of pedals!!
Cheers
Granto, Yes, one of these days I will be shamed into starting a thread about old pedals. For all the Ludwig pedal fans I can really recommend Steve Zemanek's (SAZ) new book on Ludwig pedals from 1909 to 1969. I am not sure if he has posted about it on this forum, but it is a great book and a real labor of love. Here are some more photos from the "what were they thinking" category. By the way, the Ma Rainey photo is one of the best views of that pedal (and drum set) since the drummer has his left foot on the pedal. I wonder if he played with his left foot and moved the snare drum or actually played this way. Nice throne too.
This is cropped from a 1922 publicity photo of Ma Rainey and her Jazz Hounds. What's the deal with this bass drum pedal? It looks like a little cymbal clutch on the top of a long rod that goes through the beater, but without a cymbal attached. Is this some sort of bass drum / sock cymbal combo pedal? (PS - just to be clear, I'm not asking about the cymbal mounted to the hoop, and the little extra beater on the BD pedal - I know those were common then.)
Very informative video with Daniel Glass. Talks about an overhang pedal about 8 minutes into vid.
[ame]https://youtu.be/BH-jVncTJbg[/ame]
Granto, Yes, one of these days I will be shamed into starting a thread about old pedals. For all the Ludwig pedal fans I can really recommend Steve Zemanek's (SAZ) new book on Ludwig pedals from 1909 to 1969. I am not sure if he has posted about it on this forum, but it is a great book and a real labor of love. Here are some more photos from the "what were they thinking" category. By the way, the Ma Rainey photo is one of the best views of that pedal (and drum set) since the drummer has his left foot on the pedal. I wonder if he played with his left foot and moved the snare drum or actually played this way. Nice throne too.
Thank you! I still have a few left. I'll have a podcast the beginning of April on Drum History for you to find out more about it. In the meantime you can always email me at [email]sazemanek1@hotmail.com[/email]. SAZ
