What I love in Speed King is the control and very natural motion. Excellent pedal for heel down technique, durable, stable... very well engineered without a doubt.

how about the new model speed kings? i seen one at a drumshop here in australia (melbourne , Drumtek) and i was about to test it out and i needed to go. i plan on having a look again in a couple of days, but i am curious about if there on par with the old school sp?

Speed KIngs are popular, kind of like McDonalds Hamburgers are popular. No one could argue that they are common and relatively cheap. People are creatures of habit and when something fits their system , they tend to stick with it. Why change something that works ,right? --but those are the zealots, the converted. It's like talking to a Jehova's Witness at the door. What about the thousands upon thousands of people that tried them out and couldn't get rid of them fast enough. For some odd reason , there are always Speed Kings for sale.....hmmmmm.

I bought one new in 1967 ,I think it was ---still have it,---- it was used for about a year, when new and then I wisened up and realized, I had been sold on something. The advertising, the dealers, everyone promoted them . It might have had something to do with Beatlemania, I don't know but they were the thing.

Here are the upsides. nice footboard, double spring,light, ball bearings.

Debatable upsides . durable,smooth . There is no doubt that a lot of Speed Kings are around and have survived. Mine survived for 45 years but only because I occasionally like to use it , to remind myself how dumb a pedal it really is. They have a lot of metal on metal parts and unless you take pains to keep those contact points lubed, the contact areas become sloppy and clunky. They are durable, yes----kind of like a Massey Harris potato digger and they become about as smooth.

Downsides.. the footboard angle is steep . it isn't great as a flatfoot pedal.the grease hardens over the years and they get stiff and need to be rebuilt.the springs are internal and cannot be easily adjusted without taking the pedal off of the drum . the threads inside the columns, with which you adjust the springs are fine and prone to stripping, because they are in aluminum. as previously mentioned, they become clattery. the hoop clamp is crappy and doesn't grip well....they tend to destroy hoops.

Be very carefull buying an old one of these, it could be a junker----kind of like buying a Chevette with 200,000 miles on it. There are much better used pedals out there---maybe not in the numbers. One very similar one ,in design but far superior in almost all ways is the Sonor Champion but there are lots of others, Slingerland Tempo King and on and on. The most critical thing is the match of the pedal angle with your playing style.A pedal can be fantastic but if you are struggling with that , you have lost the battle----you really have to try them out for a bit.

First decent pedal was a speed king. Used one for about 10 years then switched to a fibes for 20 years, then to a Sonor for a couple years. have a Pearl on my studio kit. Recently went back to a WFL Speed King I got with a bunch of stuff in a Craigs List buy that I took apart and cleaned up nicely. I was changeing around pedals the other day experimenting and have come to the conclusion that different pedals work better on different size bass drums and tunings. Like my Fibes pedal seems to feel better on my 12"x22" Slingerland with the way it is tuned and so on. I think a lot of it has to do with how you set your pedals up. I can play on one pedal then stick another on there and think,"wow, this feels better and get used to it, then change and think,"wow, this one feels pretty good to , and get used to it , then change and go,,etc. if you know what I mean.

i've tried more pedals then I care to admit, when I tried a Speedking on my Ludwigs I haven't removed it since.

The only other one that comes close for me is a Ghost, followed by a Camco.

Why?

The intuitive feel, the response, the feedback and most obviously...the speed.

I realize we're all passionate about our hardware. However, when it comes to the venerable Speed King, it's just not for me. I currently have a refurbed Speed King with my new Downbeat kit, simply because I want to keep it all Ludwig. The action just isn't for the way I play. I have a slightly modified Slingerland Tempo King that I like much better. I've also had a Slingerland Super Speed (two-piece foot board version) that ran circles around the Speed King. The Super Speed mechanism is based on spring compression, just like the Speed King, but is easily adjusted from the top. However, I'm still seriously thinking about a Speed King from Drummechanix. I might change my mind after playing one of those! Anyway, just my :2Cents: on the topic!

I have a speed King pedal with WLF on it. Is that a rare one?

Jeff C

http://drummechanix.com/?product=speed-king-pedal-in-traditional-silver-finish

You can either send him yours and pay a little over $100 to have it restored (which I did) or just buy one directly from him for $149. Best thing I've bought in years.

Kicks (pun intended) bASS!

-Beau

I have 5 Speedkings, two new ones (yes, they are at least as good as the old ones), three oldies. There are instructions on this very website on how to refurbish old Speedkings. It is very easy to do so, and the result is a nicely working Speedking. So I don't agree with any need to be careful when buying old SKs. Just refurbish it, and you are good to go.

At least this has held true for me in three cases.

/Magnus

I like Speed Kings well enough. I tend to always have one in use. I have worn out about a half dozen over the years, so I feel qualified to state that their sturdiness is modest.

These days replacement parts, and repair wisdom are both much more available than for much of the Speed Kings history.

They are fast, but their action is different because of the compression springs. This particular feature is probably the one that determines whether you are a Speed King fan.

I also use a Caroline (wonderful), Yammie Direct Drive Flying Dragon (also wonderful), Capelle (more cool than great) and a Tama/Camco which is more to my liking than the Speed King--though no more sturdy.