Millenium PD-669 Stage Double Bass Pedal

TL:DR: Cheap, easy to setup, reliable and comes with a transport bag. Best double bass pedal that you can buy on a budget.! (just have a screwdriver handy in case a screw gets loose)

I bought this pedal in July of 2015, during that summer I started getting serious with my metal drumming and got interested in double bass techniques. I remember going crazy about those double bass parts in Metallica's "One". So I decided to order this pedal as a starting point. From there till now this has been the pedal that has stuck with me from my garage playing days to me joining a band, playing my first couple of gigs and recording my first EP. Is it perfect? No. But is it one a good entry point for aspiring double bass players? Hell yes!!!

Pros
-Ease of use: I remember the day I got it in the mail, I was a matter of minutes until the pedal was all setup in my beginners electronic drumkit. You just need to attach the rod that connects the main pedal to the slave pedal, place the beaters at your desired height (but not too low, which ill discuss in the cons section), adjust the tension and you're good to go!

-Stability: This a solid and stable pedal, you have 2 spikes and a full metal base in each of the pedals that assure that they won't go anywhere.

-Versatility: You can adjust the pedals the way you like it, for example: a few months ago I started playing in a rehearsal room with my band and the room's drumkit had the smallest hi-hat stand and the legs wouldn't allow me to place the double pedal under them, so I had to extend the slave pedal so that it was left of the hi-hat stand. I was pretty amazed at how much it would stretch. Another cool thing, is that you can attach a beater to the slave pedal and use it on a kit with 2 bass drums (it also has a clamp to attach to the second bass drum)

-Durability: The fact that I own this pedal for 3.5 years and I use it on a regular basis for long amounts of time and with serious abuse is a statement to the durability of this beast. I used it on 2 electronic kits with rubber pads and now on my acoustic kit. When I take it with me to my gigs and rehearsals I just disconnect the rod and throw it inside a gym bag and of it goes! I thought about upgrading my pedal, but since I'm always short on money for drumming, whenever I buy something for my kit I don't see the need to buy a new pedal because this one simply works how it's supposed to.

-Price: It's cheap!!!! And also comes with a transport bag!!! However I can't review the bag because I never used it. When I got this pedal I never had to take it out of my kit, so my mom used it as a bag for storing clothing and eventually lost it... You could've come in handy now a days.

Cons
-Loose screws: When you buy this pedal you'll find screws in your drum rug from time to time. Nothing that a screw drive won't fix, but it's a bit annoying after a while. Mine is already missing a support screw under the slave pedal, so if it isn't aligned (which it should be in order to have an ergonomic drum kit) the pedal can wobble a bit during playing. So have a screwdriver always handy.

-A bit squeaky: With time, and as the lubrication starts to wear off, the pedal can start squeaking a bit. Just apply some lubricant and that problem will be gone.

-The second beater holder has a bit of a design flaw: The second beater holder is held in place by a metal curve piece that can get in the way of the beater rod if it is placed too low. The only solution I see is to cut the beaters metal rod or to just place the beater at a higher position. If you're playing in a 22" bass drum it won't be a big problem, big in a 20" you'll need to place the beater above the center of the head to avoid this trouble (which will affect the sounds of the bass drum).

-Quality: It's a cheap product, so the finish sometimes isn't the best. After 3.5 years the black ink in the pedals has a faded a bit and one of the heads of the drum lugs that adjusts the beater horizontally has broken off (however, nothing that really affects the use of the pedal). Also, for some reason the beaters don't really line up when they are at a resting position, don't really know why, but it's something I can live with. Asides from some minor corrosion there's really nothing more that's wrong with it.

Conclusion: If you want a cheap, reliable and easy to use double bass pedal that will be at your side through your evolution as a drummer you should look no further and order this right now!

This pedal is not bad for its price I guess but I had issues with it from the very beginning. I will list
- the connector did not want to connect to the right pedal - either the hole is too small or the bolt too big
- on the left side its the opposite - the connector slips out every 5 min of playing(mind you I am no Tomas Haake and just starting with double bass so it was not that intense) so i keep having to attach it back, no matter how i tighten the bolts its still not enough
- after i assembled it once and played, it broke after 2 minutes - main pedal had some loose bolts at chain / beater holder side and I spent 1 hr trying to put it back together(that screw is awkward to get to)
Overall I suppose its okay pedal if you starting, but if you aren't(especially if you are doing the gigs) look elsewhere as it might fail you at most awkward moment

These pedals are good for someone who wants to learn double-pedal drumming - but only for learning the basics. I've had these for a number of years (with an old model, it goes without saying) and I feel like on this side of its age, it's definitely worth investing in something better like Iron Cobras.

You can't really complain about how much you pay for vs. Your playing experience with these. However it must be said that you do not get much with these pedals other than just two pedals.

The board of these pedals seem to be quite nice, although not as smooth as other pedals out there, it does the job fine. You're unable to angle the beaters properly so you have to just work with the spring tension instead.

The spring tension system itself is not really the best I have to admit, there's a lot of wrestling and fighting with it to get it to the tension you'd like.

The alan screws themselves are pretty cheap and do rust quickly, I had one break on me, but Thomann had it replaced for me which was nice.

Overall, not too shabby, but also not something to shout home about. Good to pick up as a starting point, but better to save your money and not buy twice.

I bought these pedals to replace the single kick pedal included with the e-drums I purchased (also from Thomann). As a beginner, I wanted something that didn't cost too much but also wouldn't impede my learning through lack of quality or functionality. These pedals proved to be of more than acceptable quality and I've yet to outgrow them as my learning and skills have progressed.

The pedals have proved to be incredibly strong and adjustable and have functioned perfectly, without fault even when subjected to quite vigorous use.

Whilst I'm sure that these pedals aren't as quick as some of the more specialist and expensive sets, they've certainly surpassed the expectations I had of them. I play thrash metal and whilst I've got a long way to go before I'm remotely close to matching The Hoglan, I do play quite quickly and these pedals have never left me wanting.

Highly recommended for beginners to intermediate players.