1946: Making the Case for Double Bass Drums
1946 was a year to remember. Freddie Mercury was born, Tupperware hit store shelves for the first time, and Gretsch Drums commissioned a drum kit that was unheard of — two bass drums. Taking up the entire band stand — Louie Bellson’s double bass drum kit was trend setting.
Bellson Breaks the Norm
Bellson hit the jazz scene running with his new double bass kit. Playing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra and other big band acts, the double bass drum made his solos sizzle. Going into the 50’s and 60’s, gigging drummers on the New York scene looked for smaller kits that could fit easily into a taxi. The double kick drum didn’t make the cut and got phased out during the smokey jazz club, bebop era.
British Invasion
During the 60’s, British rock legends like Eric Clapton brought incredible tone and technical skill to the emerging rock scene. The drummers that backed these greats were looking for ways to stand out, and the double kick set up re-emerged.
Cream drummer Ginger Baker used a double bass set up. Keith Moon also used a similar set up. Complex rhythmic variation along with a consistent backbone allowed lead guitarists to be more experimental with their playing, without making the back beat boring.
Evolution
The double kick pedal had been around for a while before the double kick kit. More musicians started using double kick pedals to supplement two actual bass drums. In mainstream music, drum legends like Neil Peart, the aforementioned Keith Moon, and Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward were all using double kick in their songs. Black Sabbath is worth mentioning because so many metal bands of the 80’s and 90’s took inspiration from their style.
A New Era
With Metal taking off as a genre in the 80’s, double bass became a huge rhythmic staple and after years of use, became much more common. Hard-hitting, fast-tempo songs from Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer were a perfect fit for double bass pedals. Today, the double bass pedal is used by more modern bands like August Burns Red, and Slipknot. Anywhere you find harder hitting, up-tempo music, you’ll probably find a player using double kick. In genres that use drum machines (hip-hop or electronic music) you’ll not only hear double kicks, but other instruments will be played in a way that no human pull off.
From jazz, to the British invasion, to modern speed metal, a double bass setup is something many modern drummers love to utilize. Some drummers might prefer a more traditional set up, and others might not have the coordination to pull it off, but when Louie Bellson sketched up the double bass drum kit, he was really onto something. What do you think? Who are some of your favorite double kick artists? Let us know in the comments and follow us for more music news!
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