Tama Iron Cobra Setup tips and tricks. Getting the best out of it. Heel toe!

A 5 minute video showing all the things to make the pedal, faster, easier, smoother and better.
Any questions, put them in the comments!

[@HARDOSE87]

I just can't understand how people could dislike such a good video, there is just anything to dislike !!! they have to say thank you for the effort to share your knowledge about the stuff !!

[@rel62]

Thanks for these tips, man. Very useful. I've had my double Iron Cobra for six years, and I've never taken the time to figure out how to get both beaters to behave the same. I appreciate the time you put into sharing this info!

[@DoctorWa]

Thank you, THANK YOU! the video at 3:52 solves the dreaded pedal click problem I and soooo many people have posted about on other forums...with no answers! You are a gentleman and a scholar!

[@DoctorWa]

Other tips were good too....but cheers for the "hidden" Allen wrench sockets under the beater casing, one turn of the wrench and you saved me from buying new bearings to try to fix it lol!

[@BolsaDePiojo]

Best pedal advice ever. Thank you!

[@DrumSubscription]

Thanks for sharing with us, some good advise to try out. Looking forward to seeing how it works for me

[@Davis.Cahill]

great video, i like how chill you are. good job, thanks for the tips

[@DrawnUnderBand]

you covered everything perfectly great video,i need to now deal with my bearing and tension of the left, this helped alot

[@davexunit]

Thanks for putting this up! Great tips. I will be taking your advice when I buy my new cobras. My current ones are on their deathbed.

[@JoseMorales-jn5qw]

AHHH... exactly what I was looking for.. thanks for posting this.

[@kuduz12]

First of all, i need to say this is one of the best videos around that explains about adjusting the IC's.After watching this i bought right away Ardent Reel Butter Bearing Lube you can find it at amazon or your local walmart if you're lucky.Two things are really important other than lubrication , First thing is the tension of the pedals.As he said left one should be a little tighter not whole alot, just a bit.And the second is the beater shaft and how you shift it to the right. Thanks alot :)))

[@Willsy41]

Great vid dude.. I was losing faith in my IC's, but after watching this and some grease and cleaning we're back on full talking terms again!!

[@Danfromoverthere]

Great video man!

[@JohnKeyser]

Thanks for the tips! I picked one of these used, needing attention as you described.

[@rouelibre1]

All in all. You must understand that my intention was never to put you down or bash your video. It is not a useless 30 second video with fuzzy images and no spoken explanation. You put work into that and what you were saying made a lot of sense to me. It was more of a helping hand, if you want to see it that way. Regards and thanks,

[@heislegendd]

awesome really great tips! i got my used chrome iron cobra pedals to work like new!

[@AJslayer86]

dude. im gonna spend the next week studying this video. finally someone who has their beaters the best distance from the head. thank you for making the time to make this video. btw you sound like boromir from lotr. (sean bean)

[@brendangrimley9396]

thanks, going into record in 2 weeks now my pedal is in beast mode! grind time!

[@CesarPintaude]

Great video

[@retardedo4864]

Thanks! Cool video helped me alot!

[@OhYeaIRemeber]

thank you sooo much these tips help so much. (: appreciate it!

[@pelsmann]

Never seen that bass drum before.. Looks awesome

[@ricohorton]

nice video and tips.

[@reddieseled]

The tiny little bolt at the back of the beater head itself. Slacken it half a turn and roate the beater so that when it touches the head it is flat.

[@reddieseled]

@curtisthewignall I come from an Engineering background, dad was a mechanic, his dad was, his dad was a blacksmith. I love mechanics and stuff, and making things work better than expected. AMAZING how much difference the right lubricants make, thats why race teams make such a big deal about them. A lot of experimentation and common sense.

[@RemoteExplode]

Awesome. Cheers!

[@Barncore]

Couldn't help but chuckle when you said "master beater" but this is a really handy guide, just what i was searching for, thanks!!

[@reddieseled]

Apologies for lack of activity on here and my East Yorkshire accent. I will be making some new videos regarding tuning and other tips and tricks

[@nickrapp2319]

thanks man, well helped

[@arneolson7114]

bought used power glide dbl... not bad only way to get pedals to swing together is to adjust the black plastic piece to a quicker response on master. that far right end also has a gap that emits squeaks. Will try PTEF... those springs under the pedal for rebound on the 900 seem worn out on the slave as well. The previous owner probably switched them around. Yanking and stretching all that and adding some tape and some guiding foam seems to help the spring from bending sideways. I have the springs pushed back to the heel all the way...Took some time setting this up hope it can take what I am going to deliver we'll see

[@pedroibzz]

it has to be cause they don't have the Iron Cobra Double Bass Pedal.. I have Pearl Eliminator and that video gave me the right steps to keep my pedal clean and functional although it is not an Iron Cobra...so, that video is perfect, also for me thanks reddieseled

[@Wind0wed]

A man lubing up his cobra. Brilliant.

[@GrimacesGameNuggets]

@TaintedConnor The springs on either side of the master pedal (left one is the slave, right is the master) control tension. Down the bottom of that spring you'll see two rotating nuts separated by a bit of metal. To tighten the spring, screw the top one a little so it goes up the spring, then push the whole threaded part of the spring down. After doing that, tighten the bottom nut up until it hits the separating block.

[@deolse]

favorited! because im getting the tomorow :DDD

[@rrothberg]

Killer video. I did most of the adjustments except lubricant and my pedals are FAR better than they were, however I have one issue, something on the slave pedal is creating friction someplace. If I disconnect the "rod" from the left pedal, then by hand move the beaters to the bass drum and release, both beaters swing back and forth many times as in this video here, but if I then connect the pedal and do the same, the slave beater only moves two or three times then halts.

[@97Grimsta]

I've been having a problem where one beater is too low and lower then other one ( Thanks to my brilliant band mates ) the low keeps hitting my foot and really hurts and I've trying to figure it out for hours. Thanks you really helped.

[@CHADDYBIGGUMS]

sick video man. im working on mine now. should there be any side to side play in the shaft of the left pedal. i think the bearings are trash

[@JamieDrumz]

Still a brilliant video

[@cuetip1212]

thank you for this!!

[@reddieseled]

@alvintkh i use PTFE oil for just about everything. You can even clean pedals with it as the dirt sticks to the oil once on a rag. Another trick I do as dirt tends not to stick to PTFE.

[@samuelbalavoine5031]

Thank you !

[@neillbegay]

How did you move the beaters closer together? Should make a vid for that. The other tips helped a lot by the way

[@MidniteTofu]

hey nice video man, just wandering whether the iron cobra is better or the dw5000 ??? cheers !

[@louiebarletta42]

great tips thanks a lot, and dude how did you make that practice pad that is sick please get back to me!

[@reddieseled]

@Bakanelli I got this one in 2003 I believe. Its the older one with all metal parts.

[@biswajitborah8067]

Pls suggest, should one remove the springs from the clamp after having finished playing. Asking if it makes the springs more durable. Thanks!

[@mydixiewrecked315]

the pads upon my beater heads are pretty well worn-do you think there is anyway I could get some replacement felts for the beaters on said pedal, or am I just urinating into on coming wind....?

[@s4lroachclip]

I liked the video. Straight to it, no hype, simple and quick. No mucking about. @1:19 where do you find that what you are talking about? Is silicone spray ok?

[@reddieseled]

Silicone spray is fine! Any mineral or bike oil will do the same thing. Just avoid spraying wd40 into any bearings

[@reddieseled]

@MrHooklineandsinner well it should do! check to see if all the screws are slack??

[@jshads88]

cheers for the inof. will give this a go. left pedal is lacking ze power i need =p

[@metalking21]

nice vid, how tight are your springs approximately

[@reddieseled]

@VanDahh felt! make sure you don't use the felt beaters with fabric beater patches as it eats them up to a fine white dust.

[@reddieseled]

@HARDOSE87 thanks man, it's pretty intuitive stuff. I'm a total gear / engineering geek, and think of drum hardware as machinery.. It is!

[@neillbegay]

Oh ok, I finally got it now. Shit is easy haha. Was sending sos signals for a bit. This shit sounds way better. Thanks yo

[@metalking21]

nice vid, how tight are your springs approxamitly

[@Mtldrm22]

@reddieseled Thanks for the reply man. Also, my slave beater doesn't swing nearly as much as the master beater and I have the spring tension set to almost max. I just sprayed some lithium grease in the bearing on the slave pedal and it helped a little bit. Also, when tighten the para-clamp onto the bass drum hoop the whole pedal rises off the a ground a little bit, is this normal?

[@reddieseled]

@jbold5 ha, sorry I get that a lot! Yes, just spin the axle round fast really. You can do it by hand or with something like a flex-link and a cordless drill. If you want a good way of doing it cheap, cut about 2 feet of rag or soft string and rap it round the axle once.. then pull the cloth too and through.. it will get looser and looser.

[@Mtldrm22]

@reddieseled I find if I don' tighten the springs almost all the way then I don't get enough rebound. Also, I have my beaters angled about 5 inches from the bass drum. Do you think it's better to have them farther away and the springs looser to play faster?

[@reddieseled]

@pharcydebug A dab of light grease or even abit of chaptick will work fine. If its really pissing you off, just sand the inside of the spring lightly then pass a piece of string with oil on it a couple of times through the spring adjuster hole, a bit like flossing, then re-oil assemble and play!

[@jccdenton]

Nice vid. Would gun oil be a bad idea?

[@lDDD587]

I have a few questions....can you adjust both drum beaters on the double pedal?, also can you adjust the foot boards separate from one another like the single pedals can?

[@neillbegay]

Yeah you say that but do you take the black cap off then slide it right?

[@Barncore]

Also, any specific suggestions for brands of PTFE spray?

[@dipschmidt1]

so does a higher footboard angle help when you do heel toe or the swivel technique? i have the same pedals, just with the cobra coil :p

[@12SoccerdudE21]

Hey, could you make a video, or just tell me how you made your home made bass drum practice pad. I bought one but it wobbles a lot, which doesn't give it a "real" feel of an actual bass drum head. It's like playing a super lose head. Anyways, yours doesn't seem to wobble. I'm pretty handy with wood, what I would most like to know is what you used for the part that the beater hits?

[@reddieseled]

@aPaultoRemember69 Depends. id say avoid it, and look for thin teflon or PTFE spray.

[@reddieseled]

@dipschmidt1 I've never really tried. A higher pedal board to me makes everything a lot easier as you get more leverage and chance for the pedal to recover into the original position. Not only that, but when you plat john bonham style triplets, you can just use a few inches of beater angle as the pedal is already tensioned up, so you get a quick rebound. My opinion anyway.

[@reddieseled]

@joeyjuniorjunior Nearly all bearings out there are sealed. However. they can and do dry out from time to time. Thin oil is a quick fix. The bearings in a pedal can have thin oil as there is no real load on them. If you get fed up or mess up the bearing, just buy some more ABEC rated ones from a store. Nearly every town has one. $10 tops.

[@joshuachan56]

It's actually common. It's gotta do with the smoothness of the pedal & how the rod is made. I have a Speed Cobra and the slave lags a little compared to the main pedal. The ONLY pedal that has no lag on the slave pedal are the Axis pedals. Not sure about the Pearl Demon Drives though, they could be close to zero lag too.

[@jaskajr]

Hey man I bought this pedal but I frickin hate it no matter what I do I can't seem to make it. Feel good so what works for u spring tension wise or foot board height and how do u get it back to factory settings ?

[@jacobavonda7210]

Do you know anything about why my secondary pedal is hitting the bottom of the frame?

[@reddieseled]

@winnnny123 Thats right, dont! I only have the magic pen for the springs, its like a felt tip pen that applys the smallest amount. Dont get it anywhere near the bearings

[@reddieseled]

@iwimp1994 yeah I like the the DW's, but they feel a bit cumbersome from being overly engineered, not that its a bad thing..

[@ericmsandoval]

@ reddieseled I have a question......How much of a difference is there between the Power glide and the Rolling glide?? I have a Power glide but I'm thinking of getting a Rolling glide due to the kind of music I play.

[@reddieseled]

@heckawesomefunnydude wd40 is oil with some surfactants added in for cleaning. it's a temporary fix. I like using chapstick with lithium grease and or PTFE. Lithium grease is great for hinges, metal on metal, chains etc. Use PTFE bearing loob IF NEEDED. most of the time, its fine without.

[@lilquentint2447]

The video is great, but my left pedal feels still a little bit heavier... I have the spring tension on max on both sides, I just can’t get it equal (speed of the beaters when I do the trick in the first clip). Does anybody have a solution for that? Thx :)

[@reddieseled]

@Mtldrm22 Don't tighten the srpings too much, about halfway is more than enough to play 16ths at 200bpm. PTFE spray is better than thick grease for the bearings. Also, make sure you work it in. The paraclamp is probably going wonky as you need to make sure its grabbing the hoop slightly to the right so that when you tighten it, it pulls it level. Youll see. Make sure you're bass drum is alngled back, with about 1" of clearence off the ground at the front. You'll get better sound too. Nick

[@reddieseled]

@Mtldrm22 There wwasn't a space on mine. I don't think the cams on the IC junior can be moved. Infact I don't think any other pedal can. It's not hugely important, but it helps in getting both the beaters feeling the same.

[@DerekTJ]

Is it possible to make a Tama IC off-set double-pedalwith spare parts? You know like the Sonor one, and the Off-Set Co. one? I had the Off-Set one nicked, but thought it to be rattley.

[@andreiradumouse90]

do i have to oil the bearings that have grease??I mean the bearings from tghe back of the footboard

[@reddieseled]

I use PTFE spray, or teflon spray. It's basically the same thing as WD40, but its based on various plastics as apposed to oil and petrolium products which can get messy in an indoor environment. If you want a really quick fix, just wipe a dab, I mean a DAB on vascaline on the spring hooks. WD40 has its uses, like cleaning up rusty parts and repelling water.

[@notchristiant]

DW40 is not a good lubricrant for drum pedals right? I've heard it like eats it away or something

[@joeyjuniorjunior]

@reddieseled arent bearing sealed now? and what bearing lube do you recommend?

[@Braskasfinalaeon37]

I have a PDP double pedal and I wanna know how to make them smooth like The Iron Cobras.

[@BlueCrewSlackers]

If you want ultimate speed change the bearings in both pedals for bones Swiss skate bearings, no joke they're AWESOME

[@CaseyJust]

BlueCrewSlackers thanks for the tip. Is 8mm the correct size that will fit an Iron Cobra 900?

[@mateodelcastillo7186]

BlueCrewSlackers most def.

[@Strangeadio]

@Mp5Drummer i was asking maybe are the shoes... maybe the double bass pedal

[@VanDahh]

any suggestions to get a slappy sound like the john blackwell dvd preview video? John Blackwell: Master Series Video Preview! that video

[@Drumjitsu8]

Can you please tell me how you made your bass drum pad?

[@joshuachan56]

It's the drive shaft (the connection rod). The drive shaft affects the performance and the feel of the slave pedal. What pedals are you using btw? Again, if you want your slave pedal to be equal to the main pedal, get the Axis Universal Drive Shaft. That will solve your problem.

[@Christiandres43]

does the pedal make a BIG difference?

[@Bakanelli]

I have the same pedal and I need to know in which year it was manufactored. If you know please replay me. Thanks

[@Villex93]

I just bought iron cobras 1 hour ago and I have an e-drumkit. I had the dw 4000's and they didn't have any problems but my cobra master pedal vibrates when I hit. Also the master pedal makes different noice. Does anyone know what's the problem. Anyway these are awesome pedals.

[@reddieseled]

@ericmsandoval Hm, I dont personally own a powerglide, just the rolling glide, but Ive played the powerglides and similar pedals at gigs. To me they always have a light feel at the top, which can be annoying as you arent used to it. Its all horses for courses, but a rolling glide is pretty 'neutral' feeling all round. I'd stick with your powerglides.

[@Sea-Weathered-Seijin]

how about petroleum jelly for lubricant? it's the only lubricant i have right now

[@Strangeadio]

some good shoes for double bass pedal?

[@TaintedConnor]

how do you up the tension on your pedal??? please respond

[@pharcydebug]

hey guys, i have a power glide ic, and when i play the slave pedal spring creaks which is really annoying! when i take the spring off and put it back on it stops then comes back. also when i play it sometimes one of the pedals will just fly foreward and i have to re-adjust the footboard. any help?

[@RobertMurraydrums]

how did you make your practice pad?

[@Mp5Drummer]

@yoshiskato If you're thinking different shoes will make you faster, then I'm afraid you're looking in the wrong place. Technique is everything! My trusty vans are all I wear at gigs and they seem fine... People with really light direct-drive pedals sometimes like heavy boots, but it's pointless with a pedal like an Iron Cobra.

[@reddieseled]

@DRUMMER1926 slacken off the black llan screw that hold the left beater on the cam. slide it along to the right a few MM's

[@rouelibre1]

@trashpixie I played in bands from 1970 to 1980 and gave it another go, later-on, in my early 50's. But in the early years, the Ludwig SpeedKing was the thing to have. There was nothing else to come close to it. I guess that a well lubed and maintained SpeedKing would have been quiet too. But who cared, then??? This is it. Myself, had I been on the same set as Page and Jones, I would never have cared about a disturbing noise from my drum-set. "Nobody will ever hear that..." :O))