Iron Cobra Pedal Setup - Ryan's personal settings

Everything you've ever wanted to know (hopefully) about Ryan's pedal setup. I get asked about this stuff constantly, so here is the video. Also features some good information for setting up any double pedal.

[@saajingrey]

Great, that was everything I've ever wanted to know (hopefully) about Ryan's pedal setup. Now, to find out who Ryan is and I'll be all set.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Sage Grey believe it or not some people do know and ask me about this stuff. Although I'm not surprised that you don't know me because I'm honestly not that famous.

[@curtisvasseur9785]

Thanks for the tips on adjusting double pedals. I play a single iron cobra power glide 900 (previous version without the hollowed out cam) and I have a DW wood beater on it and it really makes a difference in sound. I also have a used speed cobra 910 double (current generation) I got from Guitar Center I’ll be trying out, but this video will help me in setup and what to look for. I’ll be checking the connecting rod hinges and if it has too much play I’ll return them since they’re used pedals.

[@keithstephens756]

Same size bolt and 2 nuts works great in place of those pins that hold the universals together. After you calibrate how tight you need it use the 2nd nut as a jam nut

[@thelizardkingdc]

Great summary. Helped me out!

[@DirtyJobsGuy1]

Great tip on the Velcro under the slave pedal!

[@Marauder623]

i personally like playing metal with the felt beaters, the iron cobra pedals are just beast though, i use the rolling glide

[@runnningonempty]

@axisT6 NO

[@dickdryfist]

I’m always puzzled by drummers using felt beaters when it’s not jazz or something similar. You aren’t using felt sticks, why would you use felt beaters??

[@itz_vortex7341]

Hey Ryan, thanks to your video I figured out my problem with my 200 bpm problem. My drive shaft is loose like your old one. I bought a used 2001-2 Iron cobra so it had a lotta play. Can I get a link to the shaft you bought as a replacement? Thanks alot for your great tutorial videos

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I don’t think you can buy it new anymore. My past one I bought like 7 years ago. Everyone tells me to get the Trick shaft next time.

[@jacobsylvester2368]

Where do you purchase those replacement pins? One of them just fell out and I cant find them anywhere. Thank you so much

[@kevinmomochi7699]

Thank you man I know this is an old video but I just recently bought some power glides to upgrade from a stock single pedal and I was having a lot of trouble with the beaters being to far away from each other and I didn't know you could move the slave side from the left to to the right 🧠🤯 you save me hours of trying to figure something else out.

[@masterwhil]

Thanks! I've been looking for a video like this! Would you recommend lowering the footboard as low as possible?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

no, i would not recommend lowering the footboard.

[@Steve-yu9ri]

I have been a single petal player for 40 years just recently I starting playing double kicks I know it’s takes a lot of building up my calf muscles on my left legs to get where my right leg is I used dw 5000 petals single for about 10 years and before that was slingerland single but now I have a iron cobra double kick petal doesn’t feel responsive enough I’ve tried every adjustment on the petals plus I sit low should I raise my seat and dangle my legs or sit low and buy a new petal

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

With any pedal, I never recommend sitting low. Your hips should be level with your knees at the absolute lowest. Any lower you’re hurting yourself.

[@vibes..585]

Is this Double kick pedal the best pedal for its price in the market ? + Have you used a Direct drive pedal before..whats it like in comparison to a double chain ? 🖖

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

It’s a pretty good deal for what you get. I have used direct drive. They’re “finicky” for lack of a better word. I’ve never tried the same pedal side by side with chain or direct drive so I cannot tell you for sure, but I don’t really like the ones I’ve tried.

[@vibes..585]

@RyanAlexanderBloo Thanks Ryan.. ...finicky ? I see a lot of drummers in Ireland where I'm from are using iron cobra...have you tried the speed cobra?....what's with all the snake vibes ?? 🐍 🙄

[@erraticboss168]

You could get the 3rd gen iron cobra drive shaft. I THINK they updated it

[@nuclearlightning]

Didn't even realise those were weights! Thought they were memory locks

[@mfnuggy]

I can’t figure how to raise the footboard on the slave pedal. Everything I try also affects the beater angle but I don’t want to change that. Can anyone help?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

If I recall correctly there’s a black screw on the top of the spring that corresponds to the slave side. Probably a hex head. It’s between the drum key screw that attaches the slave drive shaft and the slave beater. It’s visible in this video. Loosen that and you should be able to set the slave pedal height without touching the beater angle or position.

[@97warlock]

I know this is an Old post , but I just got these pedals & havuing an issue ............ The RIGHT main pedal & Right beaters needs to move slightly to the Right on the shaft, I loosesed the square screw thing all the way but the beater still wont move left or right. .....I need it to go Right half inch that way my second beater sits equal & theyre both centered on the drum head.................like it is I have 1 beater centered Z& the 2nd pedal beater is to the left of the center about an inch. If I can slide the beater assymbly over a bit I';ll be all set, H9OW do u move the beater thing over to the right about an inch??

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I think you would need to remove the beater and the piece that holds it completely. So, loosen the screw as if you were going to change the angle of the beater. But keep going until that piece will slide off of the round part that it rotates on. That round part, attached to the actual hexagonal rotating axle portion of the pedal, is what you need to move. Once you’ve gotten the beater assembly totally off of it I believe there’s a set screw somewhere on it. If you then loosen that it should allow you to reposition it. I have never actually wanted to do this, so I’m not 100% sure it will work. But I have disassembled a cobra pretty far and I think this is the case.

[@97warlock]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom YEH iM just trying to center both my pedals on the kickdrum head, righht now one is centered & the left one sits about an inch or two to the left, just trying to gt them equal,thanx

[@k0mbutcha]

Very very good advice! Thanks man :-)

[@joesr5700]

Good stuff thank, good video helpful

[@punk_rock_music_teacher]

Thanks for the tips. My iron cobra is much easier to use now.

[@erickdrumfreak]

I had went threw so many convection bars that I finally went to the trick bar the works for Tamas and it’s lossless on the slave side, much more durable u joints.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Nice. I basically bought a second bass drum instead… not exactly the same thing as a better connection and there are a ton of downsides. But it looks cooler. So there’s that.

[@erickdrumfreak]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom man I think I’m headed the same direction , going back to two kicks . I’m a less drums I’m my own rodie type of guy but two kicks it’s going to happen lol

[@thekoz7452]

I'm buy the iron cobra 900 powerglide on Tuesday

[@ISOOxDrummer]

Yea man that connecting rod for sure get's loose at the joints after a while, i've had my pedals since 2010 and i can totally tell the slave pedal lags. Will be buying a replacement soon, just wish they weren't $130 lol. I also here it's good to have the slave pedal spring tension a 1/4 inch tighter than the main pedal so the betters hit and flow the same?! True?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I think it might be true that the spring needs to be slightly different to feel the same, not sure of a 1/4 inch is always the right amount. Go by the feel, not by a formula. I've been contemplating a better connecting rod... But the nicer ones are much more than the Tama replacement... These pedals are only 150-200 used so buying a connecting rod that costs as much or more is a hard decision to make.

[@ISOOxDrummer]

+Ryan Alexander Bloom I agree 100% about the connecting rod. I want to get the speed cobras so im not sure if i want to just leave these alone and sell them. The threading on the nuts and the holes for the nuts in the connecting rod are weak. I had to re-thread them twice already, and i don't like the fact that Tama used plastic fasteners for the spring tensions, the threading on mine stripped real quick. Easy fix though.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I think I said it in the video, but I'm on my third rod since 2001 or so. Never had any stripping issues with any of the parts, but the joints just get weak. These apparently last about 5 years, but the pedal itself lasts at least 15. Good connecting rods use ball bearings rather than simple hinges, hence the cost. Not sure how long they last in comparison.

[@ISOOxDrummer]

+Ryan Alexander Bloom Very true!! Thanks for this video man and all your other ones, very helpful!!

[@user-jw1ld8tn2l]

Thanks 👍

[@larrytate1657]

Have you tried the speed cobras? If so did you like them more or less than the iron cobras?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Larry Tate I haven't yet played a speed Cobra. I don't really know anybody with one and I'm not going to buy one just to mess with. Eventually I'll stumble across one in a music store but not yet.

[@JayZombie1216]

I bought a set of DW 2002 and i can't connect the the left because the left is laying flat and I cannot put the chain on.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

That sounds weird. If you email me a picture or link me to a video of the problem I can probably tell you how to fix it.

[@glenwolfe8437]

It's your set up, but the only thing I disagree with is the beaters being close together only on the iron cobra. The iron cobra has an offset hoop clamp that makes the pedal sit too far to the left on the kick drum so I had to move my beaters to the right. I have them hitting left and right of center respectively. I feel like the sound of each kick hit is the same this way. If one beater is centered and the other is way left of center it sounds odd to me. With sticks we play drums left and right of center right? Thats why this makes sense to me. But if Tama came out with a centered hoop clamp, I would buy it immediately. The offset hoop clamp is the only thing I don't like about the pedal.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Glen Wolfe the clamp placement isn’t ideal. At least it works though. Some pedals only accommodate hoops of certain thicknesses. There are several pearl pedals which absolutely won’t attach firmly to metal hoops because they’re too thin. They won’t clamp right enough. So, yeah offset makes no sense, but there’s worse designs out there too.

[@glenwolfe8437]

Ryan Alexander Bloom I see that. I also realize that they couldn't come out with a centered clamp anyway because the plate on the bottom isn't centered either. Oh well. Thanks for the video and the reply

[@SuperSLAMBear]

For your spring tension, where did you get the metal one that tighten up the spring? the original one is black plastic. I noticed your is silver.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Wu Jay this is the initial run of the second generation. They made them this way from '98 to maybe '04 or '05. They came with that metal nut and also with a more slender beater holding mechanism without the hexagonal cutout. These are stronger and slightly better than the next run from 2005-2011. They are currently on the second variant of the 3rd generation as far as I can tell so they're now made quite differently.

[@SuperSLAMBear]

I see. thank you! BTW, how much did you pay for the driveshaft? I looked it up online the original one and the Trick drive shaft both cost $130. However, you said that the trick one is more expensive?

[@vfam825]

thx for making video

[@drumgang9344]

Where are the cobra coils slot?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

A, they hadn’t been invented yet. B, they’re a gimmick so I would have taken them off if they had been invented.

[@itz_vortex7341]

hey ryan is it possible to take the heel rests off of these? thanks a bunch

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

It’s definitely possible but I suspect not a good idea. It looks like the hinge for the footboard is integrated into the heel piece. If you take it off the footboard would just flop around unattached. I’ve never tried, but I’m assuming you’d have to do some engineering/fabricating of a new hinge to playboy without the heel.

[@itz_vortex7341]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom yea problem is im very good at the heel toe technique and if that heel support is off i could get the full potential out of that technique

[@zero28ism]

hey, some guy in my country is selling his iron cobra half the price of a new one and it's a second generation perfect shape double pedal. Do you think I should buy it? because I really love these pedals and I'm a budget drummer.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Spoodermen Produktionz yeah that is the best in my opinion. If it's under the equivalent of $200 and in good shape it's worth it. I have 2 doubles an ~'00 and a '06 which are actually different construction in a few places... though technically both 2nd gen.

[@Micah__]

But don’t you find the spring tension on the slave side feels off compared to the main pedal when their tightened exactly the same?

[@Micah__]

Or is it just my pedals? Lol

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

KillerBoots yeah the slave side is always a little off no matter what I do. I think that’s pretty unavoidable. I worried about it for a while but you just have to resign yourself to it.

[@BeeBeeCJr]

Ryan Alexander Bloom I’ll be buying a trick drive shaft for this issue. It made my speed cobras feel exactly the same when I did that. I’m about to get some chrome cobras and buy a replacement shaft and I’ll get back to you if it’s worth it. I know you’ve been told this already but it really is a night and day difference in my experience at least with other pedals.

[@Clnt874]

Hey me one beater always creeps up and doesn't stay perfectly even with other beater when in a sitting position any ideas how to get both beaters exactly the same

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Sometimes that can be challenging because when you set it you have to have some tension on the pedal because you're touching it. When you take your hands off, suddenly its different. If you have it perfectly set and it seems to move, then you probably either aren't tightening the adjustment enough, maybe the screw is stripped, perhaps there is play in the slave arm that connects the pedals, or maybe some other piece of the pedal is slipping and causing the problem and you're not seeing it. I have no way of knowing which if any of this things is true from here. Hopefully thats helpful.

[@nicholsondavid5256]

if I tightened the spring of the pedal and I'll adjust the the beater nearer to the drum will it matter with the speed??

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Nicholson Toppo tightening the spring can help you play faster by making it easier to rebound the beater between each stroke. Moving the beater closer will NOT help. That will simply cause you to play more quietly and with poor technique.

[@nicholsondavid5256]

Ryan Alexander Bloom thank you so much for the advice...😊..in future can you show some lessons of swivel techniques...??

[@bennycorona6544]

is the connecting rod the same for all tama pedals? i have a 900 but found a connecting rod for the 600 do you think that would work?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

yeah I think they will all work together on some level. nothing really special between the models.

[@razadrum]

Where are the cobra coils? Do you notice a difference without them?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

The stupid cobra coil wasn't added to the Iron Cobra line until probably 8 or 10 years after these pedals were produced. There is no coil. The way I see it, the coil is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. They made the Iron Cobra very durable and when nobody was buying a second one, they had to think of a feature to add to get existing customers to buy again. They made it too good for their own good. Since the Cobra is a chain drive pedal, the coil serves no identifiable purpose. Pushing up on the footboard from below will just put slack into the chain which is the worst possible thing you can do if you are trying to have a smooth stroke.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Ok, maybe not the worst thing you can do... but not helpful in any way.

[@MrE1981]

Replace the driveshaft with a Trick version!

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Poop Dawg I've considered that. They're prohibitively expensive. You can buy like 4 of the regular ones at the same price...so like 20 years worth.

[@MrE1981]

$130 on ebay, I ordered one from/to South Africa for my DW 9000s. There is no comparison in quality (I've owned Pearl, Tama, Gibraltar), there is zero latency or play. They haven't degraded in the slightest either. So, consider that.

[@drummerboii9047]

where did u get the weights on your beaters? ive got a iron cobra too but o havent got these weights

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I have two of these pedals and they came on both when I got them. You can buy more online, just google them. I think they're like $12 or something like that. It's really weird that you don't have them.

[@JoseMorales-jn5qw]

yeah mine came with them too. Funny thing Ryan..I had them on for years, my buddy Jason from ATR (we share a practice space) was looking at my pedals the other day and he went like.."oh you got the weights on, no one on the road uses them, you want to go fast, take them off" so off they went. I know its personal preference but something to think about.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Hmm. That is funny. Maybe nobody that he knows uses them, but they're a bigger help than you'd think and they don't slow you down as much as you would assume either. The extra weight actually serves to keep the pedals in motion longer, like a pendulum. It actually reduces the amount of energy you have to put in to the system to get a lot of speed and power at a very steady and even pace. Light pedals require more control to play and the speed benefit is not amazing. Speed is mostly the player, but stamina and evenness can be enhanced with a heavier beater. Of course, there is a limit. A 5 pound beater would be useless.

[@JoseMorales-jn5qw]

Ryan Alexander Bloom interesting that makes sense.... So you have them all the way up? I used to have them kind of in the middle but I only felt a slight difference since I took them off. Maybe I will try them all the way up. I have been making a lot of adjustments to my pedals in the last few weeks after having conversations with him and looking at his set up. I was asked to sit in for one gig in a slipknot tribute next month., I'm fast on the doubles but this stuff is a little faster than I am used to playing in punk bands.....I lowered the beaters and changed the angle to make them a little closer to the head, and tightening the springs.. things like that. He uses a smaller 20 inch bass drum because he says the response is better....... I just pick his brain a lot every time we hang out. I used to have these plastic block beaters but I went back to the Iron Cobras standard ones and that improved my speed

[@lancelottheknight7126]

hey Ryan, I guess we have the same pedal but why does yours not have a coil spring? Is that the first gen iron cobra?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Max Sy this is the second generation which was '98-'10. This one is '00 I think. The stupid coil wasn't introduced until '11 with the third generation. The coil is a gimmick. Doesn't do anything useful in any way because a chain can only exert force when pulled. When pushed it just creates slack, exactly what you don't want. I recommend just removing the coil.

[@lancelottheknight7126]

Ryan Alexander Bloom really? how sure are you? have you used the coil spring?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Max Sy pretty sure. The logic is sound. The coil pushes the footboard in the opposite direction of the way the chain works. Slack in the chain is detrimental. The only thing that can happen by pushing up is creating slack. You cannot actually reverse the beater direction from the bottom of a chain. The reason you might want a coil like that, which would actually work on direct drive, is to help the rebound, but you physically can't from that location. So even if it feels different with the coil, it isn't providing any mechanical advantage and you may actually have to fight against it to keep the chain taught and free of slack.

[@itz_vortex7341]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom ive been searching around trying to see if the third gen has anything different besides the coil. is there anything different from the one u have and 3rd gen?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

@@itz_vortex7341 they’ve updated the beater design, though you can always put on whatever style you want after the fact, and the cam shape looks to have been changed to be slightly more angular on the power glide version. I don’t own one so I haven’t been able to really check out every possible part in detail. I’ve just seen them and played them at the drum shop a few times.

[@itz_vortex7341]

Hey Ryan. When playing double bass I tend to have a problem where my left foot will lift and loose all consistency. Do you think it’s a good idea to lift the left pedal board’s height? Or is that a bad idea?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I try to keep everything consistent between feet, as much as is possible. I would actually like two single pedals that were set to the precise same settings... but that’s not super convenient in many places.

[@itz_vortex7341]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom ahh thanks. Btw are u still in touch with your metal band?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Depends on which one you’re referring to.

[@itz_vortex7341]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom the one with the female lead singer.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Oh Bloodstrike, yeah we actually talked about maybe recording a new song soon, but our guitarist’s computer died (that we used to record both albums) and so he needs to get his recording setup figured out. Also he hadn’t played guitar in like 3 years... so it might take a minute to get anything going.

[@pendekarnkri7878]

Nothing spring for power glide???

[@DrummerByron69]

How do you make them into 2 separate pedals?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

You can’t really do that easily. I’m sure with a little bit of Frankensteining or machining of custom parts anything is possible but that’s not a normal feature.

[@theneverendingjourney7197]

Can you reverse a right to a lefty

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

the never ending journey I’m going to say a very conditional yes, sort of. If you have one built between like 2005 and 2010 (generation 2.1) and you buy a lefty slave pedal on eBay or something, I think you could make it work. But not right out of the box and not with anything older. I’m not sure about the current 3rd generation ones. Maybe?

[@Rottingcorpseful]

iron cobra powerglide or pearl redline ???

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

It's not a secret that I dislike pearl pedals. Pretty much all of them.

[@larrytate1657]

On the new version of the iron cobra I'm yet to see any thing but a great review yet.. they made some improvements for speed supposedly that buyers are agreeing so far on. The new silicone beaters appear to be well liked too. If that helps. when you decide let me know what you went for and how you liked them as I'm considering the new ic's too

[@larrytate1657]

I think the new Dw 9000 xf with the extended footboard might be amazing. The regular model I wish was a tad longer as it'd help both in feel and in weight imo. I feel like the 9000 becomes better with a touch more weight added to footboard and I'm thinking the inch longer xf boards may do just that. But they're a pretty penny.

[@ben1ben]

3:31 but howwww???

[@pichoff1423]

i have those but my beaters arnt even so im so confused

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

+pichoff the beaters are easily adjustable. At 2:10 I'm sort of pointing with my right hand to the silver piece that attaches the beaters to the rotating axle-like part of the pedal. right there you can see a screw at the very bottom, closer to the camera. You adjust it from the back, and its just poking through the front here. This adjustment will allow you to change the angle of each beater independently of the footboards or the other beater.You can pretty easily even them out.

[@matenorth]

You sound like Corey Taylor

[@itz_vortex7341]

i thought this comment was dumb, but ur kinda right he does.

[@OrochiTheGamer]

ha.. grabs your carpet...

[@seansethi196]

Yeah, the slave pedal slide is the worst on this pedal. The spikes do not work.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

+Sean Sethi velcro saves he day.