So! Foot time people. What technique do you use? Are you anal about pedal settings? Do you have to have a certain kind of shoe? Do you even wear shoes?

I'll go first. I use heel up always and I use heel-toe for doubles. I really want to learn slide because you can't play heel-toe at slower tempos. I like my beater pretty far away from the head and more tighter than looser spring tension. I don't mind what shoes as long as I have shoes. I hate playing barefoot or in socks. My favorite shoes to play in are Chuck Taylor's, but that's pretty cliche'.

I use heel down, with some heel toe. Don't care at all about pedal settings. I wear what shoes I'm wearing when I go to practice/play. So, I play with no shoes sometimes.

There is a certain place I've got my pedals set to that I really like but generally I can get the hang of different settings pretty easily. I like the spring really taut and the beater fairly fair back from the skin. I mostly play heel up, and am a big fan of the heel-toe technique.

I can play with or without shoes but I prefer with, because if I'm playing a pub or something, going barefoot is kind of nasty.

I've been told my right foot is kind of a maniac.

I'm a heel up player and I use the slide technique for speed. My beater is around 45 degrees and the spring tension is
pretty high. I'm also one of those guys that rest the beater on the head. Pedal board height is somewhere above half.
I use a toe stop also because I'm playing the DW9000 with everyone's favorite spring placement. The only shoes I play in are
Converse or Converse look-a-likes.

Ive never worried or cared about my foot technique. I play heel up. Im able to do anything I need to do. Practice, practice.

Whatever works I guess

full heel down to full heel up depending on volume. I don't tend to keep my heels up in the air when resting.

edit: I don't wear shoes when playing.

I have the bad habit of heel-up on my left foot, and heel-down on my right foot. REALLY screws with my independence exercises . I have been playing heels-down, and it's how I like to play. I'll go heels-up for harder strokes or if I'm REALLY getting emotional in the playing. As for shoes, I wear Earth shoes. The recessed heel actually makes playing more comfy and easier.

Homki890

i'm with steve 100% here.

i've never been concerned with my foot technique. i've never had a problem getting the job done.

i have my beater slightly past the 45 degree mark... probably between 47-50 degrees. i hate when the beater is any closer than 45 degrees. i really just hate that feel. you just can't get that strong, powerful "punch" feel with it closer.

i have the tension on my pedals set medium/tight. i use to play with my pedals much tighter, but i noticed my legs were much more fatigued at the end of the night.

I should probably elaborate because my first reply was more of a nonchalant answer because I dont really think about it....never have.

To be perfectly honest, Ive never heard any talk about foot technique until I joined the forums a couple years or so ago. I have a couple of friends who play what I call "flat foot" which I guess is heel down. I would never be able to get the power I need playing the heel down way.

I have a heavy foot, but its a controlled one. My control is very subtle, but the dynamics can be not so subtle as a result. I dont even think about it. I practiced quick doubles and triplets long and hard many years ago and fortunately for me the muscle memory must be permanent I would only need a short period of time to get up to speed if anything I needed to play was beyond my current abilities - I think - ha ha!

My pedal is a DW 9000. I have none of the problems others have mentioned about them. It works fine for me and I like the smoothness, speed, weight and solid feel. My tension is fairly loose and I play the beaters pretty far back. I CAN NOT STAND the feel of a pedal with less than a 45....no ooomph!

Footwear to me is silly. I play in flip flops from April til October/November because thats what I mostly wear in my daily life. In the winter I wear sneakers or casual shoes. Pshwaa...Ive played in heavy hiking boots plenty of times. Its the feet folks, not the footwear, nor the pedal. Well, the pedal helps, but its the time and the practice that make your feet good.

regarding footwear, i have no problem playing in whatever i've got on, though i'm not a fan of playing in boots or anything that goes over my ankle.

i hate playing barefoot. i just can't stand it. i don't like the feel of my bare feel on the pedals and i'm even less of a fan of putting my bare feet on beer and spit soaked stages covered in bits of drumsticks and broken guitar strings.

i've went through a phase where i thought i "needed" special drum shoes. wasted a pretty penny on 'em too. the thing was, it didn't help my playing at all. it just created one more 'step' i had to go through before i could play my drums.

Drum shoes... LOL

I've played in everything from barefoot to Army boots...

I don't use drum shoes, drum gloves, grip tape, moon gel, tension watches. cymbal polish, drum polish... none of the accessories that drain the wallet and basically do zilch for my playing.

I play solid and durable pedals, sticks that break before my gear does, pretty standard heads and none of the BS.

Heel Toe? Swivel? Slide? Constant Release?

Like Steve, I never heard of these terms until the forums came along... I play heel down for really light jazz, and my heel comes up when I really need some more power.

I can play fast with any pedal, and I've played with broken pedals and made it through the gig. Lie is SO much easier when muscle memory does the work instead of thinking about it... and I got my mucle memory the same place Steve got his... the practice room!

I swear that if the younger generation of players spent as much time practicing as they do trying to find shortcuts to avoid practice, they might actually realize that it's NOT the gear that gets the job done... it's the dedication and practice.

</curmudgeon rant>

yeah, I'd never heard of Constant Release, but according to a few folks it's what I use.

I'm in the same camp as Mike & Steve. I really don't think about what "technique" I'm using. I figure out what sound or pattern I want from the kick and play it. Usually a combo of heel up and down. What ever I have to do to play the song. My pedal is adjusted the same as it's been for the last 15-20 years. Shoe's...whatever I'm wearing.

the first time I saw Terry Bozzio play at a clinic, he wore 22 hole Doc Martin boots! I don't think he could have played any faster if he was wearing Air Jordans, OJ's Bruno Magli's, or roller skates . . .

I find that adrenaline is a help to my bass drum technique. In the practice room certain things are hard to play, but on stage the notes just come flying out!!

I'm another one who doesn't really spend to much time thinking about which technique I'm using, but I think it would help a bit if I did. I'm still looking for a way to get two loud notes out with one movement. I generally use the "step-slide' technique, and it works for most tempos. But I would like to be more consistent at high tempos.

I'm a heel up player. I get more power and leverage from it.
Pedal settings, very anal. I adjust the spring tensions so much. I like the tension a medium hard.
I play in my shoes because I feel I have more power and weight behind my pedal strokes.

Heel-toe baby

I'm a Vrukpedal player. I use my entire foot all the time. No part of the foot is wasted.

Foot pedal is at standard height
Springs have almost zero tension...it's all about catching the rebound.
Soft soled shoes are a must.
I play the Pearl Eliminator pedal right now, and use the white cam ( most rounded cam ).

Aww, I dunno...there's a LOT of younger drummers out there who must be practicing their buns off...I certainly couldn't play some of the stuff I've seen some youngsters pull off when I was their age. There's a bunch of kids out there with SERIOUS technique, which I think more often than not will turn into serious musicianship as they mature.