nicko mcbrian + double bass pedal?
 

i do remember nicko saying in an interview that he insists on keeping a single bassdrum pedal instead of going out and getting a double pedal for "where eagles dare"

Now...I was listening to "The Wicker Man" and I'm no drummer so i can't really judge, but is he doing that with one foot??

^^also is clive using double bass on the breakdown of "women in uniform"

Yes, its single bass on the wicker man.

I read somewhere that he used a double bass pedal on the DoD album.

Nicko McBrain is pretty anti-double pedal and proud of it, so I'm guessing that he's using one foot. If you think that's good, listen to "Ghost of the Navigator" :eek: :naughty:

^I don't like that album...haven't heard alot of it

about the single bass pedal...thats pretty ****ing awesome...i used to play drums i wouldnt get anywhere near that with one foot...i guess thats why i didnt play for maiden eh? :chug:

what part of the navigator...? the single foot doubles in the chorus?

The only song McBrain has ever used a double bass pedal is "face in the sand"
All the other Iron Maiden songs are single pedal stuff

every song he has ever done is single pedal except face in the sand, i assume he wanted to make an impression as face in the saned is the only song he has ever wrote

and its a good song too if i may say so myself

he said in an interview that he couldn't play the whole song with the single pedal without his leg falling off and he didn't wanted to cheat; that's why he played it with a double bass pedal.
I also read in the interview that he kind of "cheated" on some fills, does anybody know more about that?

^^that comment made no sense...if he didnt wanna cheat why would he play with a double pedal??

Im pretty sure that he's always been a 100% single bass man.

Well, playing with a double pedal is no cheating, is it? ;)
The producer suggested to play the track with the single pedal and cheat a little bit to record it; e.g. using loops and/or triggers.
Nicko meant that he doesn't want to cheat, either he can play it or not.
And in order to play it, he used a double pedal, i don't consider this cheating :)

ohhhhhhhhhh

coz in the interview i heard he said using a double bass pedal wasn't drummerlike and he considered it cheating...he was talking about "where eagles dare" its in the early years dvd

Yes he's quite against using a double bass pedal, and it shows when you hear his skill with the single pedal. Even listen to Powerslave (the song), his footwork is so clean.

[QUOTE=Dannyboy15]Yes, its single bass on the wicker man.

I read somewhere that he used a double bass pedal on the DoD album.[/QUOTE]

whoa

the only song he's EVER used double bass drum on is "face in the sand", which is pretty fast bass drumming for about four minutes solid. It's not that he can't play that speed, it;'s just he can't play that speed for that length of time. However, he didn't like, and has vowed he'll never use one again.

BTW, wicker man is hard as it's pretty **** fast, and it's powerful too, my drum teacher can do that speed for that length, but no-where near as powerful as Nicko.

Other great songs for nicko's amazing right foot:

Where Eagles Dare (his finest druming moment)
Out Of The Silent Planet (chorus > me :upset)
Fills in The Mercenary
The Evil That Men Do
No More Lies, to some extent.

no every bit of maiden is single pedal except face in the sand

i could be wrong but doesn't he use a double pedal in rock in rio? I'm sure he uses one in that, theres one bit i think it could be in dream of mirrors it looks like hes using one

nope, single. But he tends to open and close his hi-hats with his foot when playing on the ride or floor tom, or when filling.

I dont know too much Maiden but I could have sworn that I seen a concert or video on TV where he had two bass drums. Didn't his setup have 2 bass drums?

no, 1 bass drum, and he only uses a single pedal in rock in rio, hes very anti - double pedal

Hehehehehehe, for a while I was reallllllly into Maiden. Now I just thing they have some cracking songs and are a great live act, but i'm not as obssessed...but i'm still on the Maiden board and this topic comes up all the time, and we end up saying the same thing over and over.

But just to re-iterate what's been said (the true parts): Nicko never once used a double pedal until '04 when they recorded "Face in the Sand" on Dance of Death. And as many people have said in this thread, that was purely for stamina.

A common misconception with McBrain is that he does groups of three (or as people often incorrectly call them, "triplets") in songs like Sign of the Cross (see Rock in Rio) and Ghost of the Navigator. As somebody above said, it's just doubles with his foot.

The other thing you notice about him is that his sound is awfully consistant (especially on Rock in Rio), so if you know anything about sound technology you can probably tell that there is some heavy noise gate/compressor work here, whcih evens out the strokes. If you don't believe me, download this video from a video camera backstage during the Wickerman:

[url]http://www.ironmaiden.com/media/images/low/IID00000911.wmv[/url]

You can hear a noticeable dip in volume at the chorus when he does the 8th/16th notes (depending on whether you argue that the tempo marking changes for the chorus or remains constant). I quite like Nicko, he has a pretty unique style even if his chops aren't out of this world, and his foot skill is pretty above average.

[QUOTE=GurS]nope, single. But he tends to open and close his hi-hats with his foot when playing on the ride or floor tom, or when filling.[/QUOTE]

Ah yes i believe ive heard that before. Thankyou, i stand corrected :smash: :chug:

He has great single pedal technique.

he may have used somein the verse to ghost of the navigator, in wicker man, it can easily be played with one pedal but on Dance of Death there are multiply number of songs with double bass, so he isnt so anti dub bass now, but who cares he is still rockin

[QUOTE=LikeClockwork77]he may have used somein the verse to ghost of the navigator, in wicker man, it can easily be played with one pedal but on Dance of Death there are multiply number of songs with double bass, so he isnt so anti dub bass now, but who cares he is still rockin[/QUOTE]


It annoys me when people talk out of their arse. Don't.

Better get used to it haha.

Haha, yes Nicko has always been a single-pedal man for as long as I could remember, not too sure about the minorities where he actually may have used them though. You can get a driver's view video of him playing Wicker Man at ironmaiden.com

[QUOTE=Double Bass Jim]Better get used to it haha.[/QUOTE]

I guess I better :lol:

[QUOTE=mprules]every song he has ever done is single pedal except face in the sand, i assume he wanted to make an impression as face in the saned is the only song he has ever wrote

and its a good song too if i may say so myself[/QUOTE]

He actually took a writing credit for New Frontier. He said it was really hard using a double bass pedal on Face In The Sand, but described it like trying to drum left handed after playing right handed for 20 years.

From What Ive Heard Hes Wicked On Just One Pedal And also i Love his drum set up

[QUOTE=Drummer-Ross-C]From What Ive Heard Hes Wicked On Just One Pedal And also i Love his drum set up[/QUOTE]
123.. I just rewatched Rock in Rio, and his single bass skill is just mad. And I love his kit, it sounded amazing on RiR, but when (if) I see Maiden live, I'd never be able to see him.. He's completely hidden by his kit.

hm, I dont want to brag or anything, but I can play Face in the Sand on single pedal. sure, it isnt as tight as Nicko playing single pedal on Wicker Man or Ghost of the Navigator, but my single bassing just isnt as good as his. I would think Nicko was able to play that on single pedal? hm, well anyway, he still is one of my favourite drummers, and my biggest influence in drumming.

the only song on which the speed really dazzles me is Dream of Mirrors. in the middle, faster part, he plays 16th doubles on the single pedal, and he takes it up to an insane (!) speed. that is about the only song on which the single bassing REALLY is too fast for me to be able to play it tight.

<The other thing you notice about him is that his sound is awfully consistant (especially on Rock in Rio), so if you know anything about sound technology you can probably tell that there is some heavy noise gate/compressor work here, whcih evens out the strokes.>
I noticed something like that before. I noticed that Nicko isnt able to play soft notes on his bass drum, his bass drum stays on the same volume during the entire Rock in Rio dvd.

here it is i knew i saw it someware and had to put this up to end this

Strangely, unlike most heavy metal drummers, McBrain has refused to use a double bass drum, since he considers it to be "too complicated", and "un-drummerish". Instead, he has developed an incredibly fast technique on the single bass drum, following Steve Harris' gallops with no problem whatsoever. The first (and last) song Nicko McBrain recorded using a double bass drum was "Face in the Sand," on the Dance of Death album, 2003.As Nicko could not grasp the technique of the double bass pedal the track ended up being pro tooled. One of his feet was going faster than the other. He subsequently announced publicly that it had been one of the hardest things he had ever had to play and that, for that reason, the number would not be included in the track list of the Dance of Death World Tour. On this album Nicko McBrain also contributed, for the first time in Iron Maiden history, to the songwriting, writing the bass line for the song "New Frontier."

here is the web site this i from here: [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicko_McBrain[/url]

i beleve thats a very reliable page i use it for home work all the time

Last time i heard, he used an elongated pedal, where there is a plate at the heel section you can press down to make a second beater move. But after reading what this forum says, it seems thats probably not true.

Nope he just uses a tightened DW 5000(tight as he can get it). To Zero99, rubbish if you'd seen him in clinic he played the double bass part from face in the sand perfectly. He just prefers to use one bass drum, like he prefers never to record or play with a metronome.

The part I don't like is where he doesn't use the DP for not using the DP. as if he has some award to win.

If it makes the song better, it makes the song better. And that's a **** excuse IMO to excuse a song from a tour ( Well I was using a double pedal so uhh ).

I almost fell off my chair when they got to the "Your time will come" bit in Wicker Man and I heard the footwork in that :eek:

Its great to learn that sorta footwork coz then you can use open and close hats as well(if you want)

"Dream of Mirrors" hasn't been mentioned yet. I think it's a fantastic demonstration of how good his right foot is.