Inventor's Notes

I've always had trouble with multiple beats using a conventional drum pedal. I know the patterns I want to play, but I've never been able to master the timing and momentum control required at very high speeds.

Then came the wonderful sounds and triggering options available with electronic drums; yet the same pedal (or a derivative) somehow was the only option. It turns out that the design for this pedal dates back to 1909 (look up US Patent Number 922706) and the geometry has remained virtually unchanged since then. Lots of mass, moving at a high rate of speed was required to play a conventional bass drum, which a cantilevered beater provides. Unfortunately, all of this mass moving at speed doesn't change direction very well. And since electronic drums trigger with extremely light force, why throw a beater at all?

So I started from scratch.

I didn't care what it looked like.
I didn't care what I was used to playing.
I was willing to learn something new.
I didn't mind playing with my shoe off.
It just had to:

• be played with one foot (I'll keep my high-hat, thank you)
• precisely and immediately respond to my inputs (good or bad)
• play with complete control, fast or slow
• be really, really fast

And why waste the upstroke? It's a built-in second pedal!
After lots of experimenting and tweaking (two years and I'm on full revision number 10), the TwinSteele was born.

There are lots of drummers out there that do amazing things with conventional pedals. I wish I was that good. But no matter who I watch, I still wonder, "why not double your speed"?

I hope you enjoy your TwinSteele pedal as much as I do mine. Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing.

Mark Steele

What I play...