Tama Iron Cobra HP900FTW

Traded in a Pearl Masters kit for a Tama Starclassic Performer EFX kit at Guitar Center (Colorado Springs.) The pedal came with the trade for an extra $78.00

SMOOOTH! like butter, but rock solid drum equipment. The use of oiles bearings in the pedals is brilliant. You can adjust this pedal any way you like with minimal difficulty or instruction. You can even adjust the angle of the beater head so that it hits flat every time. The foot pedal stays flat and does not move from side to side as you play. No squeeks or rattles to speak of. Who else offers a hard plastic case with their pedals! Reasonable price and Tama quality that cant be beat.

I was concerned at first about how the pedal springs are only held on to the beater rod by the spring tension on the bearings and not secured by any other means. They havn't popped off yet, but If they come off during a show I'll be scrambling around on the floor in the dark trying to fix it. Fortunately it only takes a second to slip the spring back on.

P.S. Don't let the pedals rub against any other metal hardware ie..(high-hat pedal)or else that nice black finish will rub away along with some of the foot pedal.


The quality and construction is second to none in its price range. It looks and feels solid. You don't have to tighten down set screws till your knuckles are blue in order to keep rods and beaters in place. These pedals won't help with your speed, nor will DW's for that matter. It's all practice and natural ability....sorry! But these pedals will help you on your way.

I have played drums off and on for over twenty years. These pedals keep drumming fun. I have owned pedals from the following major brands(Pearl,Yamaha, DW) and have found the quality to be higher and the price lower with Tama Iron Cobra pedals.
The quality of the meterials used, the ease of set-up and a pedals durability are all important to me and I have found them.
When you have to drop $200 to $400 for equipment it better not strip bolts, squeek, rattle or break otherwise.

Nuf Said.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

When I was searching the market for a double pedal I looked at a few different ones. I did some research on 3 different ones in particular. I looked at products from Pearl, Yamaha and DW. After pulling some great information on each from the net it was time to hit the stores and check 'em out in person. I was in the market for a high end pedal so cash wasnt a huge concern, although I had my limit. Drums are my profession so when it comes to top quality and durability you can't be too stiff with the cash. With gear you really do get what you pay for. While visiting a drum shop in Toronto i was checking out what DW had to offer. The 7000 series looked and felt great, plus it was built like a tank! It was also about $750. Umm. thanks, man, but my lotto numbers didn't come through this week. One of the staff members started telling me about Tama's Iron Cobras. This dude swore that they were well worth the money, and at about three bills less than the DW's I decided to give them a look. So I went home and checked out the site. "Cool lookin' pedals", I thought to myself. After visiting my boys at Long and McQuade I decided to place my order. I ended up paying $450 for them which was right in my price range!. Perfect.

I've been playing for about 16 years and i can say this without hesitation. This is the smoothest freekin' pedal on the market for the money, man! Everything about the construction is brilliant. PLUS it comes with the hard case! Bring that!

I can't honestly say that there's anything I don't like about this pedal. The only problem that I ran into was the small lugs. There are two on either end of the connecting shaft and, probably just due to over tightening, two of the lugs stripped. I can say, however, that one lug on each side still held up to my blazing singles. Soon enough the stripped lugs were replaced with longer, stronger ones. This was a small problem that, number one - didn't affect the operation of the pedal and number two - was fixed with about 50 cents worth of spare parts. So who's complaining? Not this dude.

This pedal is built like a tank. Straight up. I dont think i'll ever use another one. The quality and detail that was put into this unit to create it's whisper quiet action and 'finger touch' smooth operation deserves some kind of award from somebody. Make one up if you have to, even. I was particularly impressed by the continuous 'bounce back' you get from just tapping the left pedal (on the right hand model) with your finger. Tama uses ball bearings inside the joints, DEEP inside the joints. you can't see 'em, but they're in there. And you can tell. It passed the 'tap test' with flying colors. I tapped the right foot pedal firmly and just let it fly. That thing bounced 56 times before coming to a full stop, and you couldn't hear a thing. Get one, try it and see for yourself! Keep a small can of WD-40 in your harware bag just for regular maintenance and this pedal will last generations.

So if you havent guessed by now, I like this pedal and strongly recommend it to anyone in the market for a new double pedal, or a single for that matter. A single is available and just as smooth. You won't beat it for the money. I can gaurantee you that it will be one of the smoothest, quietest and most responsive pedals you've ever played on. (And they aint even paying me to say that!)

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com