Which foot to choose, on a belt or on a chain?

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Most people who are not drummers do not even realize the slightest awareness of how important a component of the drums is the kick drum. Finding the right one that will suit our preferences and requirements may turn out to be a real problem.

The market is very wide and offers us literally dozens of various models, ranging from low-budget ones aimed mainly at beginner drummers and ending with the most technologically advanced ones, costing up to several thousand zlotys, which only very experienced drummers with a wealthy wallet decide on. Most of the feet for beginners are very similar not only in terms of price, but also the quality of workmanship, the possibility of settings and the precision of operation. To match the best one, we should test at least a few different models and let me tell you that it’s not worth saving on this part of the drums. The metal stand, whether it will be one or the other, does not matter that much, because we do not have direct contact with it, but with the cymbal that is played with a stick. It is different with the foot and we have direct contact with it, and the comfort of our playing depends on its quality and precision.

Of course, even the best kick will not play by itself and will not replace many hours of exercises perfecting our technique. Blaming poor quality equipment or physical indisposition is a poor excuse. You just have to practice regularly and with great care.

For several years, apart from chain feet, strap feet have become very popular. Most of the leading manufacturers offer models that can be on a chain or on a belt. This usually applies to more expensive models, although more and more often it is also possible in cheaper ones. And as with most of this kind of gear, we also have a lot of discrepancy between drummers. There are those who praise the strapfoot a lot, appreciating its greater precision and speed, but there are some who have a negative opinion of this technology and prefer chain feet. Certainly it is also due to the fact that the vast majority of chainsaw feet were in circulation and all those who have been playing chain feet for years need time to get used to the work of the strap feet. These are individual predispositions and some people need this time less, others a little more, and some people find it difficult to switch at all.

The basis for choosing our new rate should be full control over it. Above all, we must be able to control its operation. There cannot be such a situation that it starts to behave in some uncontrolled way and, for example, to play some additional unplanned hit resulting from the momentum force. The second criterion is the adjustment to the playing technique we use because we can, for example, play with the heel or with the toes. The type of music performed should also be taken into account, because there are feet that will work great quickly but at the expense of articulation, and there are feet that may not be such expressors, but will be more precise in terms of articulation. We should also remember that in addition to the mechanism itself, the size, weight, shape and material of the beater are of great importance. We can install a hammer in the foot that suits us best and we are not condemned to the one from the manufacturer. There are even companies that manufacture only beaters, so we will surely find the right one for ourselves. So the choice is really huge and let’s not insist on one model that we like visually or just because some well-known drummer plays on it. The basis of our choice should be primarily the comfort and precision of our playing.

One of the leading manufacturers, which are worth paying attention to, offering the same models to choose from, both in the belt version and in the chain version are: Pearl with its legendary Eliminator and Demon series, Tama with the iconic Iron Cobra series, Yamaha with a very wide series FP. These alloys have very good mechanisms and offer a wide range of regulation, especially in the case of Perl. On the other hand, replacing the belt with a chain or vice versa also does not cause much trouble and takes only a few minutes. It is also worth remembering about such percussion equipment giants as DW, Ludwig, Prime Minister and Sonor.