Don't like 'em. Played them on and off since 1964. They don't stay attached to the hoop. They push forward and dig into the bass head. They are a fairly forward seated pedal. The footboard is a bit too narrow. I've had several fall apart at gigs. They just don't have it for me. I still have a few Ghost pedals that have always felt a bit better to my foot. But, I don't use those much either.

Now, get off my lawn!

I bought one brand new in 1967 I think ,because it was so heavily touted as the one and only.It was the " speed KING" In those days there were far fewer choices. I had been playing a Trixon TF2, which is a double spring , aluminum footboard pedal too but with a lift at the heel and a leather strap.The Trixon has an unusual egg shaped beater and I also got wooed into believing that a beater had to look like a muffin to be correct.I was 17! I played the speed king for about a year but every time I went back to the Trixon my foot and ankle were more relaxed and there was an improved smoothness. After a while I started looking at the speed king from a design point of view and realized it had some severe flaws, not the least of which is the inane metal clasp that couples the footboard. After not much use ,unlubricated the, pins and bushings( if you can call them that) wear and cause slop,the clasp spring can break and I've even seen the entire bridge break. Even on mine, which I still have , and was kept lubricated there is a bit of slop in the metal to metal components. Those designers weren't the brightest---I've seen more precise fixings on a buggy harness and the angle of the footboard is extreme to boot and can be uncomfortable.

Leather strap , or synthetic strap pedals all the way.Trixon,Sonor Phonic, Slingerland Tempo King , Caroline and others. There is nothing to wear and the straps don't stretch--- the connection is frictionless. If the strap breaks( that takes about 20 years usually), it can be replaced in about 20 minutes.

Speed Kings are annoying to adjust and sometimes the threads inside the aluminum column are crappy, which just about euchs the pedal.

I've had to fix a few of them. They are an o.k. pedal, reasonably durable but in an imprecise rustbuckety sort of way---kind of like a Chevy II, when you really need to be driving a Chevelle.

I wonder if the direct drive pedals are similar ex pearl demon drive.

Good to hear the likes and dislikes ! I have to say for gigging I would prefer my iron cobras . But I do respect the speed king which is why I posted in the first place to get some insite on the pedal

Member Bfulton sells refurbished speed kings on here from time to time. I gather it is a hobby for him. Perhaps he would be a good place to start for either refurbing yours, trading yours+ for a refurb , tips, whatever. I'm not his agent...LOL. I just remember him posting several good looking refurbished pedals on here and it fit your question.

toodles

drumhack Guitar Dude ManCooked Egg:Snow Flake:x-mas2Jump For Joy

i picked up a couple seized speed kings a while back. after a little research online i discovered how easy these things are to resurrect. just wrap the pedal post with a cloth directly below the bering cap, then stike it with a hammer

( hit it with the wood handle directly below the working head) after a couple blows the cap should come off and you can get at the bearings. then you can remove the spring screws, screws, once all the guts are out give everything a good cleaning. then rebuild and repack with lithium grease. speed kings are super uncomplicated internally on a scale of 1 to 10 i would give the difficulty a 2 or 3.

after this the pedal still showed its age but was super smooth. excellent design!

I have about a half dozen Speed King's laying about, resting I guess. I used 'em for years, then picked up a real 'Camco' pedal at a yard sale over thirty years ago. I still use it sometimes. I've never been able to just get married to any one type. I used a Ghost for years, still have it, the pre Ludwig one... I bought it new, it replaced the Speed King, then the Camco. Now I use a DW 7000 most of the time. I have a couple of them and like them. I've never been a huge fan of DW drums, (yeah, you can flame me, it's okay) but I sure do like their hardware.

I give a full voiced "meh" to the Speed King.

I have one on a vintage MIJ set just to have that vintage vibe. I don't hate it, but it certainly is it's own monster.

What I do like: The fact that it comes apart in two seperate pieces (very easy to transport), looks cool and just screams "classic", that it works smoothly (when cleaned and re-lubed-if older) and is certainly durable.

What I don't like: Very limited adjustability (spring tension and beater height and that's it!-it's hard to get a light feel on the SK), the "too far forward" design that someone else mentioned (I can only clamp it about halfway deep on the hoop; otherwise the linkage hits the head), and the "non-springy" feel. On most other pedals, assuming a middle of the road spring tension, when you take your foot off of it quickly, the pedal moves back and forth several times on it's own (even moreso on a chain and sprocket design, like DW or Camco). With the Speed King, you take your foot off, and it returns abruptly to its normal position and that's that, with no "springy" movements. Every Speed King I have ever seen or played does exactly that, no matter how it's adjusted.

I don't hate it, and I don't love it. As far as other direct drive pedals, I really like to use them. I play mostly heel down, and direct drive pedals are especially good for that. However, I own all sorts of pedals, chain drive, strap drive, direct drive and the SK. They are all functional and useable, and honestly I don't have a true preference. I can use pretty much anything. I've always believed that "its the player, not the pedal!".

[IMG]http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu224/FTG3/SpeedKing8.jpg[/IMG]

If you look closely at the castings, the one on the left has longer hoop indexing "fingers" than the one on the right.

I THINK it was in the mid/late 70's when Ludwig made that change (not sure of that though). Many feel that the later production SK's were not of the same quality as the older "long fingered" models, due to the production equipment was worn out and tolerances got sloppy.

I had heard the index arms were shortened to allow mounting on bass drums with wider hoops.

Some have remarked that they didn't like SK pedals because the beater went past vertical before striking the batter head. Seems to me, that could be the case if you mount a "long indexed (old)" SK on a wide BD hoop.

Conversely, some have complained about the beater cam assembly rubbing against the batter head. Could be "short indexed (newer)" SK on a narrow BD hoop.

I learned just a short time ago that Ludwig actually offered an accessory to move the pedal back from the batter head to increase clearance. (Always wondered why those holes were there on the "short" index arms.) Not known if it is still available however. See below:

[IMG]http://i650.photobucket.com/albums/uu224/FTG3/hoops20spacers20001.jpg[/IMG]

I've never had any issues with the Speed King pedal. I've been using the very same one I bought new in 1965 (long index). And I do have a rather heavy bass foot.

oh my god! I actually have these on my pedal!! I thought they were a home grown mod.