I may ruffle some feathers here, but I've never been crazy about the Speed King. Yes, I've had quite a few of them, all of which were completely rebuilt to work like new. For me, and others, using one is an acquired "feel". For my money, I had a Slingerland Super Speed that was killer. Same principle as the Speed King, but with, IMHO, much better design. I had my metal shop friend fabricate a custom base plate for it. Fantastic feel! Still, I would certainly use a Speed King with a vintage Ludwig kit!

I just recently rebuilt one and Jstix is right about the action improving after removing the old dried grease and repacking with fresh. Makes a big difference.

I find it difficult to rocker sixteenth notes going heel to toe on the SK foot board. You have to slide your foot way up and twist it to get your heel on enough of the foot board beside the heel plate to play it with your heel.

But that said ... I play an SK on my Rogers Tower kit... I use a Yellow Jacket on my Slingerland Modern Solo Kit and a Slingerland AA on my Krupa Deluxe Ensemble.

Correct me if I'm wrong, (right,like I had to tell you guys that) but didn't Tama buy the Camco pedal rights instead of DW? I'm sure Tama marketed an exact copy of the Camco pedal but with Tama on the footboard. I even want to say (again correct me....) that Tama marketed the pedal as a "Camco" model for a while. Come on, somebody knows the whole story.

During a period in the 80s TAMA indeed owned the rights to the name, and I assume all patented material rights as well. They did build drums under the Camco name, using all of the proper style lugs and the pedals as well.

Great thread!

In my years of touring, especially on "fly-dates" I ALWAYS carry a Speed King. They are lightweight and can fit in my "other" pedal bag as a back-up. In addition, I have been on several rented fly-date kits and received the worst pedals ever, a Speed King comes quite handy in these moments. Again, due to the fact that the pedal can break down and fit into a drumstick bag means you can carry your pedal to open mic nights, jam sessions, or fly-dates.

Funny story. I'm touring Europe with Pat Travers and we did a show where the opening act was a legendary drum artists doing a clinic. Anyhow, this guy knows PT from forever ago and wants to sit in on "Boom, Boom". No problem!

He jumps behind my Ludwig's and notices a Speed King pedal. I ask the drummer "Will this pedal be o.k."?, he responds yeah man I own like 50 of em'....best pedal ever built. The drummer....Carmine Appice.

BTW...Speed Kings are great!

A note about the difference between a SpeedKing and some other similar pedals like that Slingerland pedal is that the SK can function as a hinged heel plate or as a fixed heel plate. I prefer the fixed plate setting because that fits with the "heel-down" technique I was taught to play when I was young. I had forgotten that little detail for years and then rediscovered it about a decade ago when I started getting involved with vintage drums. That detail allows my foot to sit entirely flat on the pedal -which makes the effective surface area for contact much greater and gives me more comfort.

I find that the style of music I play doesn't require me to play fast 16th notes, so I don't look for pedals to facilitate that type of technique. I like a pedal that responds very sensitively to shifting dynamics. I believe the direct solid linkage makes it easier to do that. And, my foot seems to prefer the accelerator-type cog of the SK.

Plus, it looks cool!

Been playing these things since 1965 always played SK's and they have never let me down and always been the best for me

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/Magwa/DSC02512Medium.jpg[/IMG]

Mike T...by any chance do you want to adopt a new son?? LoLoLoLo

Great setup! How do you have the hi-hat secured? (clamp to bass drum hoop?) I use an old WFL Speed King and love it - great design and better quality than the later ones