# Speed cobra vs Trick



## Jacksonluvr636 (May 3, 2021)

I dont really consider myself a drummer but I've played off and on most of my life. Mostly off 

Been playing a lot more recently and need some pedals. Im using my friend's kit and he has what I believe to be the Eliminators cheap version. Theyre chain drive. Actually starting to get used to them but they're broken and anyway I need my own.

Was looking at Tama Speed Cobra Vs Trick Pv1 or whatever they are. Wanted opinions, anyone played both? Trick worth the extra coin?

I've never played the link drive pedals (non chain) but I'm guessing theyre easier to play and faster. The one thing that really caught my eye on the Trick pedals was what seems to be a very easy adjustment options.

Again I'm not a drummer, I barely know how to adjust pedals at all let alone the right way. I want something that I can set an even pressure on both pedals with no lag on the slave pedal.


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## CLockDrums (May 4, 2021)

I recently upgraded to a set of Trick Pro-1v's from a 15 year old set of Pearl Eliminator's (I still use those Elim's as now I can leave them set up in my bands practice space, and keep my Pro-1v's safe at home). 

Trick is absolutely worth the extra money (Dominators have the best quality to price ratio on the market imo) and as you said, how easy it is to adjust the pedal is one of the best things about the design.

That said, if you don't really think of yourself as a drummer, then I'd say it comes down to your budget. If you have the money to spend, I think Trick is the best overall pedal manufacturer out there and if you're looking into spending >$500 on a pedal, I'd absolutely go with them.

If you're concerned about money and want a nice pedal to play, the Speed Cobra 310 and the Iron Cobra 600 are both great value pedals that will last you a long, long time. You can even purchase a Trick drive shaft seperately to cut the secondary pedal lag, and it'll still come out to less than a set of Dominators.


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## Jacksonluvr636 (May 5, 2021)

CLockDrums said:


> I recently upgraded to a set of Trick Pro-1v's from a 15 year old set of Pearl Eliminator's (I still use those Elim's as now I can leave them set up in my bands practice space, and keep my Pro-1v's safe at home).
> 
> Trick is absolutely worth the extra money (Dominators have the best quality to price ratio on the market imo) and as you said, how easy it is to adjust the pedal is one of the best things about the design.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. I ended up ordered the Tama 910. Found a mint pair for $100 off. As I am not really a drummer I figured I would save a few dollars and see what the Tama were like.

Maybe down the road if I keep playing regularly I will get the Trick.


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## prlgmnr (May 6, 2021)

I've a pair of trick 1vs (though I don't have their actual beaters, just a pair of iron cobra beaters with it) and a set of Axis longboards and I think the Trick are better made and easier to adjust, but I prefer playing the Axis (maybe because you can set the spring tension higher? I dunno)


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## TedEH (May 6, 2021)

I always find that, being in a similar boat of not reaaaaally being a drummer most of the time, I always expect the pedal to be a big upgrade and past a certain point it only helps so much. I think as long as you have "good enough" pedals (not the cheapest thing you can find), you'll get more out of practice time than out of more money invested in the hardware. YMMV of course. I'm currently using DW-3000s.


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## CLockDrums (May 6, 2021)

TedEH said:


> I always find that, being in a similar boat of not reaaaaally being a drummer most of the time, I always expect the pedal to be a big upgrade and past a certain point it only helps so much. I think as long as you have "good enough" pedals (not the cheapest thing you can find), you'll get more out of practice time than out of more money invested in the hardware. YMMV of course. I'm currently using DW-3000s.



Yup, I played a set of Pearl Eliminator's for 15 years. They're still great pedals and I use them every week. The 1v's were a big upgrade for me, but that's because I can notice the fine differences between the two. Had I gotten the 1v's 10 years ago, it would not feel nearly as significant, and I'd possibly even think they were overrated.

Top end pedals are all fantastic, but the "mid-range" is still 'pro-quality' gear, just more restrictive in your potential set.

Like a stripped down vs pimped out Subaru WRX. They're both WRX's, performance wise. One has a sound system and custom interior while the other is a stripped down, 'factory basic' model.


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## Ordacleaphobia (May 7, 2021)

Maybe it's just because I'm terrible at fine tuning my drum hardware to get it adjusted the way I'd like- but pedals were always a _huge_ struggle for me.
I was a DW guy for years and played the 8000s for a long time, but was never able to get an even feel from both pedals; and they still just felt...sloppy.
I swapped to an AXIS set, and the difference was night and day. However...I still wasn't able to get an even feel from the slave pedal. I rolled with it though, accepted that the problem was between the ears, and resolved to make the most of it.

...until I got tired of replacing driveshafts, because the AXIS ones seemed to wear out very quickly.
Then I caved and bought a set of Trick Dominators a few months ago, which was the first pedal set I've ever bought brand new (which was actually probably my problem with the others ) and it's been like a revelation. Both pedals feel completely even and the adjustments are super intuitive. My only complaint is that since I'm playing on a KD120 the clamp on the Doms doesn't _really_ 'clamp,' and will shift to the right as I play. More due to the design flaws of the KD120 than the Tricks, though. 

tl;dr- for anyone in the same situation, buy the Tricks. Pedals are super important and super sensitive and the one thing you don't want to scrimp on.


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## Jacksonluvr636 (May 8, 2021)

CLockDrums said:


> Yup, I played a set of Pearl Eliminator's for 15 years. They're still great pedals and I use them every week. The 1v's were a big upgrade for me, but that's because I can notice the fine differences between the two. Had I gotten the 1v's 10 years ago, it would not feel nearly as significant, and I'd possibly even think they were overrated.
> 
> Top end pedals are all fantastic, but the "mid-range" is still 'pro-quality' gear, just more restrictive in your potential set.
> 
> Like a stripped down vs pimped out Subaru WRX. They're both WRX's, performance wise. One has a sound system and custom interior while the other is a stripped down, 'factory basic' model.



Hmmm. Well unfortunately the seller (Alto Music) cancelled my order on the speed cobras saying they never had them in stock. So back to the drawing board.

Now considering Demon Drive....The set im using has the demon drive but only with chains. Not sure the model name. I like them but the clamp is broken so I need a new pair. The left pedal also slides all over and its horrible. 

But my thing is they're hard to adjust so while Trick are almost double the price maybe they're worth it idk.


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## Randy (May 8, 2021)

Jacksonluvr636 said:


> Hmmm. Well unfortunately the seller (Alto Music) cancelled my order on the speed cobras saying they never had them in stock. So back to the drawing board.
> 
> Now considering Demon Drive....The set im using has the demon drive but only with chains. Not sure the model name. I like them but the clamp is broken so I need a new pair. The left pedal also slides all over and its horrible.
> 
> But my thing is they're hard to adjust so while Trick are almost double the price maybe they're worth it idk.



Fwiw, I had a set of Eliminators, sold them off and got a pair of Axis Longboards which are on the chopping block right now.

The problem you have is that it's not just as easy as jumping between things and getting proportional results. You have change in significant design aspects (short board vs long board, chain vs direct drive), tier of quality and quality of manufacture from brand to brand. So changing brand AND style AND tier of quality is a huge amount of variables.

Fwiw, my Eliminators had a broken footboard and became sloppy overall. Pearl has some things I like and few models that check the boxes I'm after but I have had enough first hand experiences with breaking pedals from them along with the stories I've heard, I'm not spending big $$$ on Pearl at the moment.

My issue with the Longboards is a couple things, the main is that I got longboard pedals because drum purists said "hurr, you have to use your whole leg for kicks" and in 99% of the playthroughs I watch from the artist I'm actually looking to play like, they're using ankle strokes for most of their double kicks. The longboards are more useful if you're doing the whole alternating double strokes "heel toe" thing but they make heel down almost impossible because there is no heel plate/pivot.

I'm also not 100% on the direct drive thing. It's true there's some slop in chain drive but you can dial a certain amount of it out in your technique, I think there's very few performances and play styles where the slop on the chain really effects your top speed. 

The direct drive feels funky because you're seldom returning to complete zero, especially with that longboard because you're likely touching your pedal to some extent, so your beater is traveling inconsistent distances one stroke to the next and one foot to the other. I mean, you can work around it but it definitely doesnt have that satisfying "accelerating the beater into the head" 0 to 100 type thing like a chain drive. I won't say better or worse but different.

I really like the build quality of the Axis but think I want a short board and chain drive in a better quality pedal. 

FWIW, Gene Hoglan used to use cheap POS Camco pedals for pretty much prolly anything you've heard him on, and he more recently uses Pearl Demon Eliminators, prolly similar to what you have. The mistake a lotta guys make is thinking more features means more options which makes things better but TBH, unless you're utilizing those features, it's a metal thing you stomp on several thousand times which means more stuff to break. The Axis is really well built but after months of wailing on it, I had some slop and took me a couple hours to find where the slack was which I was able to tighten and fix but it was another "thing" I wasn't even using but still a link on the chain to break.

Currently leaning toward DWs myself, would go 9000 but I want a single chain so looks like a 5000. Tamas are on the shortlist IMO the IC and SC are both better built than the Pearls but again, no single chain (per my preference) unless you get a shitty Tama 200 series. If I decide to compromise on dual chain, I might go SC 910 l, IC 900 or DW 9000.

Anyway sorry for the stream of consciousness, just happen to be going through a similar decision right now. Hopefully there's something useful in there for you.


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## Ordacleaphobia (May 8, 2021)

Randy said:


> The direct drive feels funky because you're seldom returning to complete zero, especially with that longboard because you're likely touching your pedal to some extent, so your beater is traveling inconsistent distances one stroke to the next and one foot to the other. I mean, you can work around it but it definitely doesnt have that satisfying "accelerating the beater into the head" 0 to 100 type thing like a chain drive. I won't say better or worse but different.
> 
> Currently leaning toward DWs myself, would go 9000 but I want a single chain so looks like a 5000. Tamas are on the shortlist IMO the IC and SC are both better built than the Pearls but again, no single chain (per my preference) unless you get a shitty Tama 200 series. If I decide to compromise on dual chain, I might go SC 910 l, IC 900 or DW 9000.
> 
> Anyway sorry for the stream of consciousness, just happen to be going through a similar decision right now. Hopefully there's something useful in there for you.



Ahh man, that sucks the AXIS didn't work out for you. They're good pedals, but yeah....I had me issues with mine too.
FWIW during my stint in the DW camp I actually liked the original 5000s I had more than the 8000s I wound up with. The 5000 is an icon for a reason, I guess. Though I have heard _great_ things about the SCs so either way I think you're probably looking at solid hardware.

As a parallel on the direct drive thing, a lot of that depends on _your_ specific technique, too. I tend to be a 'bury the beater' style player- and we can argue whether or not that's good form (it probably isn't), but for someone like me, direct drive feels _much_ much smoother. It all comes down to whatever your own style is.




Jacksonluvr636 said:


> Hmmm. Well unfortunately the seller (Alto Music) cancelled my order on the speed cobras saying they never had them in stock. So back to the drawing board.
> 
> Now considering Demon Drive....The set im using has the demon drive but only with chains. Not sure the model name. I like them but the clamp is broken so I need a new pair. The left pedal also slides all over and its horrible.
> 
> But my thing is they're hard to adjust so while Trick are almost double the price maybe they're worth it idk.



If you're looking at the Tricks, I'd definitely consider the Dominators over the Pro-1V. The 1V is their halo product- it's overbuilt and overengineered because it's a flex. I bet it's an absolutely incredible pedal, but all of the aspects that make it great are present on the Dominators; and it isn't exactly like those are cheaply built pedals either. They're still I think around $650, but compared to the eye watering price on the 1V, that's a steal. 

They'll still probably be a good bit more expensive than most of what you're looking at, so the cost aspect is definitely worth considering. I play drums primarily, so this was going to be a purchase I'd use every single day. Can't tell you what's gunna be best for you, but the Tricks definitely brought an end to my pedal quest.


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## Randy (May 8, 2021)

Ordacleaphobia said:


> As a parallel on the direct drive thing, a lot of that depends on _your_ specific technique, too. I tend to be a 'bury the beater' style player- and we can argue whether or not that's good form (it probably isn't), but for someone like me, direct drive feels _much_ much smoother. It all comes down to whatever your own style is.



Ah, very true I should have qualified than statement better.

Yeah, it varies a lot depending on your style, I think of it less about burying the beater and more about if you anticipate your timing before, at the surface of or through the drum head.

Anecdotally for myself, when I was doing double strokes on my regular pedal, it felt more like "kicking" the pedal on stroke one, and stepping on it on stroke two. So my timing felt more like step *hit comes a millisecond later*, hit. On the longboard (I think as a function of both the pedal and the direct drive), even doubles/triples feel like I'm stepping 'through' the head, so the timing actually feels more "correct".

A lot of guys kinda say it as chain drive covering up sloppy technique better, direct drive you get out what you put in and I can kinda see that.


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## CLockDrums (May 9, 2021)

Jacksonluvr636 said:


> Hmmm. Well unfortunately the seller (Alto Music) cancelled my order on the speed cobras saying they never had them in stock. So back to the drawing board.
> 
> Now considering Demon Drive....The set im using has the demon drive but only with chains. Not sure the model name. I like them but the clamp is broken so I need a new pair. The left pedal also slides all over and its horrible.
> 
> But my thing is they're hard to adjust so while Trick are almost double the price maybe they're worth it idk.



If you're looking at Demon Drives which are $700+, just go with a pair of Trick Dominators. It's worth the potential 3+ month backorder imo.

Demon Drives are nice pedals but the things it offers over Trick, that being the shortboard to longboard conversion, is A.) a novelty B.) barely impactful in comparison to other adjustments.

People make such a stink about longboard vs shortboard and I don't get it. I feel essentially no difference switching between the two. Things like spring tension, beater angle + height, footboard angle (this is huge, ergonomically actually) have a way bigger effect, and the Dominators outdo Demon Drives in all of these categories.


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## Floppystrings (Jun 19, 2021)

With Axis longboards it does make a difference because of where the pivot point is located.

I think the Trick (bigfoot?) version has the pivot location at the very back, which doesn't make any sense. With Axis the location matters because it makes the pedal behave differently, like holding a drum slightly closer to the tip.

I have a pair of Axis shortboards currently and it doesn't allow for things like a one foot triplet like I could do on the longboards. I also play heels down sometimes and that isn't possible with shorter pedals at all.


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## nightlight (Jun 25, 2021)

I started playing drums with a Pearl Eliminator double set. While they were well built and you could go fast with them, one thing that irked me is that you could not set the footboard height independently of the beater position. So you wanted the beater further back, the footboard would also rise with it. Consequently, I sold them. 

The next pedal I bought was a Trick Dominator. They're very well built and you can certainly play fast with them. I even bought the laser triggers to go with them, but this is where my love affair with the pedal ended. I found that the laser trigger does eliminate false hits on the bass drum, but they also reject a lot of strokes that were legit in a very erratic fashion. 

Sold the Dominators, bought a pair of Mapex Falcons. These are the pedals I would recommend to the OP. They're expensive, but not too expensive, and they are sort of in between long and short boards. You also have the option of replacing the chains with a direct drive linkage sold my Mapex. I honestly loved these pedals, but they wouldn't secure to my e-drum kit's hoop clamp, which meant they were floating half off the ground. It was quite gut wrenching, getting a pedal and then finding they won't attach to your existing hardware. Couldn't sell the e-kit, so sold the pedals. But they were really good, excellent build quality and very fast. 

After I sold those pedals, I did tonnes of research and thought, "Gee, maybe the Trick Pro-1V Bigfoots are what I need," so I bought a paid. Used them for about three years, they are really good pedals, but... I'm not completely sold on the compression spring technology. It honestly felt that the closer I was moving the beater to the head, the more tension I was getting and the slower it moved towards the end of the stroke. That is possibly because I like a lot of spring tension, having a bit of a lead foot. Also, the laser triggers continued to have the same issue with inconsistent hits. What's more, I did a comparison of the time a signal was sent by the laser trigger and the time taken by the e-drum bass kick to send a signal. The laser trigger was consistently slower to send a signal to my computer in comparison to the drumhead. What's more, the latency was inconsistent - sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. This made for an erratic drumming performance as well, so I swore off Trick after that and sold them. 

Currently on drum kick #5, and this is the one I love best. It's a pair of Czarcie Kopyto pedals, and I bought the pedaltrigger.com triggers for it. This is a really solid and well-built pedal. Lost the picture, but when I put it side by side with the Pro-1Vs, it dwarfed them. Really huge and very solid. I love the action on it, it's a direct drive, but the power you get out of it is immense. It also has a tonne of adjustments, which allowed me to set them up the way I like them. The manufacturing quality is better than the Tricks, in my opinion, very well made. And my triggering issues have also disappeared. Can thoroughly recommend these ones as well.


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