George Kollias: Demon XR - drumtalk [special]

[@johnpaulondrums]

Pedal talk aside, the rest of the interview was so valuable. Wonderful and honest conversation. Thank you for this!

[@drumtalkofficial]

thank you for having made it this far 🙂

[@bretdrummer]

Agreed. He's such a great musician. And the the fella hosting the interview is great at his work as well.

[@drunken-skunk]

@@drumtalkofficial BEST DRUMMER IN THE WORLD!!! INCREDIBLE LIVE!! MASTER GEORGE!!!😎😎☝️☝️☝️🤟🤟🤟

[@MONSTER3N3RGY474]

you have convinced me, Im buying this

[@The_Other_Ghost]

And Zildjian!

[@TonyLee-d3j]

After all these years they're still the best.

[@WarrenBey]

The price is bullshit. The price is not fair. It's twice the price of Axis Longboards. George played Axis for decades. It's not like he got faster or more technical after switching. But the new Nile album is currently being mixed right now. So we'll see ...

[@1fox3]

I kinda like the pedal but I really expected it would be cheaper, considering how many parts come from DemonDrives that did not need to be developed.

[@aboutthemetal8783]

If you use a chain or strap drive but you want to try a direct drive , try the PDP direct drive , it's not expensive , you can get single and double , and it's a good enough pedal to show you how a direct drive feels , I got one ( double pedal) changed the springs , also put the Tama cobra coil footboard springs under the footboards , put different beaters on , and lastly I changed the clutch bar for a natal one that I took of an old natal that I didn't get on with , it's now a very good direct drive , keep the nuts and bolts tight , maintain it well and it will go for years , with all the extras I put on them I think I spent 275.00 quid in total .

[@Heorgath1]

Loved this... And i am not even a drummer... Remembering george kollias moving out of greece and going to Nile was such huge news to all of us early teenage metalheads... And seeing him where he is now... Wow..

[@ChaosPootato]

Pearl are pushing hard on the promotion of the XRs, damn! I won't complain though more George is always nice, he seems like a cool cat

[@adnanrawashdeh3965]

Love the extensive interview and all the details it's filled with, appreciate guys it's always a pleasure to listen to George and I'd personally enjoy these talkings for hours and hours this has been really insightful and informative 👌

[@randallross420]

I just bought this pedal a week ago. I'm still getting used to it but it's the best money i've ever spent

[@marcDSK]

Pure beast of a drummer. This pedal is really beautiful, looks like a really simple technology but must be a pure pleasure to play and with work may push our own musical boundaries

[@rumripper]

Let’s be honest, George can play any pedal at any bpm he wants because of his ability that came with years of practice. This pedal is not going to teach discipline and dedication. Not hating. I’m a huge fan.

[@mene3337]

I see Kollias, i stop and watch. Whatever he says.

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

I bought new doubles 3 or 4 years back ( after 20 plus years 😂 ); I should've bought direct drive.

[@Pericles777]

I honestly feel like Direct drive is TOO direct lol

[@Pure_KodiakWILD_Power]

@@Pericles777 😂 I'd like to at least try them, and neither Sam Ash, nor Guitar Center, nor the locals I go to seem to ever have any in the drum department. Besides, I've been trying to get a grasp on fast double doubles forever ( not that I have the time to put in adequate practice to make progress in a timely manner ) and directs seem to offer an advantage in heel/toe.

[@Zazquatch1]

And why is the cause of calling it "Demon"? Couldn't Pearl come up with something more original?

[@Centerpieceofmind]

Silly thing to bitch about, wow

[@MusicFromMoscow]

Just treated myself to one. I love it and I'm having a blast learning to play around with it. I really dig the purity and minimal moving parts. I was a little worried coming from a DW 9000 chain drive, but this is something else! Couldn't be happier. From the moment I hit the drum the first time, that was it, I just knew this was gonna be it for me. @ Pearl - a very modest/minimalist mechanism to adjust the angle of the beater head surface that hits the drumhead would be super helpful. Because of the angle of the beater head, it is striking the drumhead using only top part first, and as such is prematurely wearing my drumhead out. It's barely been a few days and already I have a dent. I have installed the Remo Impact Patch, so hopefully, this will prevent any further denting. Doesn't change anything how much I love it! Cheers to you, George, and your Pearl colleagues, for putting this out there.

[@malteadotas4]

This interview is AMAZING. I love detailed stuff and this is so interesting, and George's the man. Thanks for this.

[@Erix77]

Nice looking pedal indeed! Would love to try it. Kollias is one of the absolute top drummers around.

[@shatteredstiks7392]

When I switched ho axis it's easy more complicated settings and way more different Allen wrench sizes. It's harder to play and it breaks. I like my iron cobras chain drives.

[@rhythmicbeast]

My fellow Greek God 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷

[@gemssofiasalvatori]

The best pedal ever!! It's incredibly light and smooth!!! I'm in love with that beater!! 🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@christianeasley767]

George---I love you --my brother!!!!! The heart and soul some of us old school drummers---it’s like we listened to STEVE and Pete for the very first time every time we get behind the kit!!!!! 38 years now and our enthusiasm will never ever falter or stop---we love it because that’s who we are and I love how you describe every little intricate detail about what it really takes to play this hard and this fast and to go for this long!!!!!😊❤

[@snailduck]

Always a genuine guy, regardless of him trying to promote a product.

[@drumtalkofficial]

he is actually really proud of his part in the development process. off camera he talked about it the same way, even in december on his tour with Nile.

[@TwisterDethNemesis]

Great interview

[@jacko222333]

stay tuned drummers, the next pedal will be called Satan’s Extra Evil XXX. You know you’re gonna need that one.

[@ivanbajovic3476]

Yeah. When I heard first time for Czarcie Kopyto (transl: Devil's hoof) pedals, I asked myself "What's next from hell?" 😄

[@TonyLee-d3j]

Underrated comment!

[@williamboyle8918]

Hardly showed the damn pedal ! Lol. Fail

[@anthonytipton761]

I can't wait to own my own pair..

[@nigelsayah2827]

Only thing its missing is his name on the pedal!

[@johnknight9150]

31:08 Ahhhhhh, I love you, George! ^_^

[@bishjb]

Like his passion

[@jcdrums2798]

excellent! merci pour ce bon moment

[@spirothegamer]

32:21 On getting old and classic "Their first albums were the best" quote. I am like that also, and started questioning the real reason behind the statement. And I considered the possibility of me getting old and tired, and no new music sounds exciting any more because of my saturation, the music being great. But then, I listened to the latest Flotsam and Jetsam albums. To me , they are the BEST of their career. Same thing with latest Overkill. So UNFORTUNATELY it's sad, but true. It's the bands that run out of fuel, not our thirst and excitement for music.

[@georgephetas4210]

Ah finally! THE pedal we were all waiting for, since years from Pearl. And, at least on Earth, George is the most legitimate competent person for the design. Same, I wasn't happy with any pedal on the market. So, it is a dream coming true. And George is such a nice person. And provides interesting informative material. Obviously Greek Gods are legend, even in drumming...

[@t3hgir]

hmm, these pedals look quite good. I miss my Yamaha direct drive pedals from 2009...

[@johnrajswami5938]

In the name geroge I'm gonna bye this demon bcoz he is the drummer i learn so many things like sweivl tech. N all love from india 🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@dcmastermindfirst9418]

At this point you may aswell just go Trick or Axis or whatever.

[@Wolfiecolada]

WolfieColada!

[@jamsteak2229]

Everything about this was pure gold!

[@FullpowerStudio]

Drumnetics > Pearl [insert pedal model here].

[@andypike1234]

Funny to see Georege playing jazz

[@exodus616]

mega gutes video phillip!

[@drumtalkofficial]

Dankeschön! Hoffe, es geht Dir gut! Schön, dass es bei Deiner Band wieder vorangeht

[@Yuuki-PUREI]

So many insight in here 📖🥁🎶

[@enkidufy]

This is the video I needed! :D

[@drummerkaspars]

Killer interview!

[@crazyclownstudioaudio3122]

yeahhhh!

[@ex0148]

I see many people complain about the XR bashing it on forums and comments sections for various reasons including the price. Ask yourself, how much money did it take to develop this pedal over 2 years? How many wages had to be paid? Demo models created and flown around the world, people flown around the world to demo/test? Marketing? Then the actual cost to machine all those precision engineered parts? Then a lifetime warranty? And people want to complain that something cost less than $1000, an item that will last them an entire drumming carer? The passion George clearly shows in this great interview is not just marketing hype you cant fake what he showed here, some great questions from the interviewer I loved this video it seemed very sincere and honest. I just don't get the negative comments all over, I cannot see the Demon XR not being a great investment that brings a lifetime of happy playing.

[@darrelljohnston5214]

Best looking AXIS copy yet!!!

[@Lasers459]

naw, bro... they copied the trick pro 1v. every pedal company copies almost the entire design; or what they can from the design bc of patents. it's really upseting that all these drum companies have been making pedals for so long and it took a racecar fabricator to make the best pedal the world has seen. Then every other company steals what they can get away with.

[@LessOfMyselfToKill_187]

I'm a Pearl drummer as well and been saving up to buy a pair of ACD Limited pedals. I have the all Carbon fiber Axis pedals, Trick pedals, and the demon drive pedals. After playing my friends ACD pedals I needed them! The great thing about those pedals you can switch from a double pedals to singles, multiple settings, the conversions are unlimited! I like my springs really tight very similar to George's set up. Now I'm gonna just wait on the ACD limited and grab these guys and would really love my kit to be entirely Pearl. I really wonder how easy they are to set up and play heel toe. The boards look long enough. All my pedals are set to my comfort. Things I love about each one of my pedals is they have a lot you can add like heel risers. I really need to check these out and see what they are all about!

[@steevodrums4749]

Love this drummer ...top of his game ..speed beyond belief ...

[@welderdude1]

Interesting review of the pedal. I think I'll try one out soon. George is a great drummer/musician and a decent human. 🤘🤘

[@dickhertz4514]

Looks like a TRICK Ripoff

[@hugorezende199]

that are many ripoffs out there, copies of instambul claspstack, copies of sabian ozone cymbals, copies of sabian portnoy stacks, copies of zildjian zilbell, copies of zildjian hybrid, copies of ludwig supraphonic, copies of drive pedals from axis and so on.

[@Bemenhorst]

Then go buy a trick pedal instead. Not every product has to be something completely new. If this pedal brings enough improvements, it’s totally ok if it takes inspiration from somewhere else

[@suckslip]

Not trick, but axis to me. He referenced wanting a pedal with less settings. And trick has a million settings.

[@welderdude1]

The Pro 1V Bigfoot pedals use compression springs. I prefer my Axis Longboards.

[@rubberduckman]

It's like the axis and demon drives had a baby 🍼