What the Vruk!?!
© Sebastian Palmer / Drummer
© 2004 MB Media
© 2004 MB Media
June 2004 - Drummer
You may have seen Steve Smith demonstrating the rocking foot motion on his Drumset Technique DVD,
or you may not even be aware of the heel-up or heel-down debate. Some play up, some down, and there
are those who swing both ways. In addition to this, it has become a more widespread practice to let
the beater come back off the head, thereby achieving a more open bass drum sound. If you play 'into'
the head, without releasing the beater when it strikes, you get a chocked sound. The info with the
Vruk pedal quotes Jojo Mayer as describing this as 'The difference between BOOOOM and Boink'.
The Vruk pedal aims to develop further this principle of the rocking motion. On a normal pedal this technique is both the most energy efficient, and the least tense or stressful way (muscle-wise) of moving the beater on and off the bass drum batter head. The Vruk pedal's simple but clever design, like the Moeller technique for the hands, gives you two beats for each 'stroke', or limb movement: on one hit with the toe and one from the heel (this is a simplified description of how it works - think also 'heel/palm' conga style). This is, however, a tricky technique. And I mean tricky. So how does it actually perform?
The QuickTime files (there is also a Flash demo for those with Flash) on the demo CD offer a clear and quite impressive exposition of what well-trained feet can do with this device: double bass drum figures, rudiments, shuffles, and millions of beats. It certainly does seem to be a form of extreme sports drumming!
Having attached the plate to my pedal, which although not particularly fiddly, it took a bit of adjusting to get comfortable. Once this had been accomplished it was quite depressing comparing my spasmodic efforts with the smooth flow of beats on the demos. However, persistence and a calm Zen determination gradually began to pay off, and within half an hour or so I could maintain a fairly steady if rather slow trickle of beats. Getting even volume and spacing between the hits requires yet more patience.
As demonstrated on the disc, you can play shuffles, triplets, etc, add accents, and all sorts. 'Can I play my pedal as normal with the Vruk attached'? , you may well ask. Well, it does impinge on your normal foot style a bit; playing as before and then switching into Vruk mode won't be an instantaneous or smooth transition. The key is to be patient, and to very slowly get your foot and leg muscles conditioned. This is really a basic principle that holds true for all forms of drum practice.
The usefulness of this product depends on how much you want to extract in terms of quantity of beats from your bass drum. I can't see many jazzers queuing up for these. Rock/Prog players on the other hand might want one for each foot. It appeals to me as an interesting way to get double bass drum patterns going without forking out for a double pedal (or another bass drum, for that matter).
In conclusion: a great design idea, and worth persevering with. The fact that it's an add-on is great; you can put it on or remove as required, or have one on each pedal in a double pedal set-up. Just be aware, this is not for those of you who break out in a rash at the thought of disciplined practice.
The Vruk pedal aims to develop further this principle of the rocking motion. On a normal pedal this technique is both the most energy efficient, and the least tense or stressful way (muscle-wise) of moving the beater on and off the bass drum batter head. The Vruk pedal's simple but clever design, like the Moeller technique for the hands, gives you two beats for each 'stroke', or limb movement: on one hit with the toe and one from the heel (this is a simplified description of how it works - think also 'heel/palm' conga style). This is, however, a tricky technique. And I mean tricky. So how does it actually perform?
The QuickTime files (there is also a Flash demo for those with Flash) on the demo CD offer a clear and quite impressive exposition of what well-trained feet can do with this device: double bass drum figures, rudiments, shuffles, and millions of beats. It certainly does seem to be a form of extreme sports drumming!
Having attached the plate to my pedal, which although not particularly fiddly, it took a bit of adjusting to get comfortable. Once this had been accomplished it was quite depressing comparing my spasmodic efforts with the smooth flow of beats on the demos. However, persistence and a calm Zen determination gradually began to pay off, and within half an hour or so I could maintain a fairly steady if rather slow trickle of beats. Getting even volume and spacing between the hits requires yet more patience.
As demonstrated on the disc, you can play shuffles, triplets, etc, add accents, and all sorts. 'Can I play my pedal as normal with the Vruk attached'? , you may well ask. Well, it does impinge on your normal foot style a bit; playing as before and then switching into Vruk mode won't be an instantaneous or smooth transition. The key is to be patient, and to very slowly get your foot and leg muscles conditioned. This is really a basic principle that holds true for all forms of drum practice.
The usefulness of this product depends on how much you want to extract in terms of quantity of beats from your bass drum. I can't see many jazzers queuing up for these. Rock/Prog players on the other hand might want one for each foot. It appeals to me as an interesting way to get double bass drum patterns going without forking out for a double pedal (or another bass drum, for that matter).
In conclusion: a great design idea, and worth persevering with. The fact that it's an add-on is great; you can put it on or remove as required, or have one on each pedal in a double pedal set-up. Just be aware, this is not for those of you who break out in a rash at the thought of disciplined practice.
Links:
http://www.drummer-mag.com/
http://www.mbmedia.com/
Original article(C)2004 Sebastian Palmer, MB Media
http://www.mbmedia.com/
Original article(C)2004 Sebastian Palmer, MB Media