Vruk Concord

Designed and Manufactured by Vruk Corporation

www.vrukpedal.com

Vruk -- The Technique for Masters

• Vruk B. Vruk

You might want to check out Vruk's personal video and while you are at it, take note of the following:

1. The casualness of the leg/ankle movement -- this guy ain't working at all!
2. The position of Vruk's foot, ~way down~ the pedal board

Most of us, using the heel-toe method (or "Ballistic Method," as it has come to be called), move the foot ~way forward~ (if you move the foot down the pedal board, the pedal dynamics are profoundly changed and you lose definition and control), but the Vruk pedal takes advantage of the physics of the pedal, giving you even better control and sound definition than you have ever had, before!

What Vruk has done is to apply "economy of motion" to the BD pedal.  In other words, Vruk has enabled the recovery of the expended energy in order to optimize the response (remember Newton's 1st law?).  As soon as the heel stroke has been made, the beater comes off the BD head and is already prepared for the toe stroke--even before YOU are ready, no matter how fast you play.

Consider Tim Waterson...

• Tim Waterson

Tim "Silver Feet" Waterson  is acclaimed to be one of "The World's Fastest Drummers" and to accomplish that, he uses the Vruk pedal accessory.  In a recent "Battle of the Feet" competition, Tim maintained his #1 standing, with 1,030 single strokes, compared to his closest competitor, who did 1,011 singles (that's almost 30 strokes faster--at that speed, a profound difference).  But, get this, NOBODY could even compare to Tim's 1,407 double-pedal stokes (their scores are not even listed!!).

Here's what Tim Waterson says about the Vruk:

"With Vruk my strokes are even, and my beater instantly springs out of the drum.  This is a great tool whatever technique you play.

Watch the Waterson WFD-2003 video clip

During the WFD Championship at NAMM 2003, Tim made the single kick Vruk world record by playing 650 strokes in one minute.  Now, that may not sound like a lot to you, but consider this: 650 SPM reduces to 10.83 Strokes Per Second!  That's faster than a hummingbird making love on a hot summer evening, and it is way faster than many drummers can play a single-stroke roll.  But, Tim did it with his feet...um, pardon me, FOOT!

• "RB"

Here's my take on the Vruk.

Folks, the Vruk Pedal is one fantastic bass drum pedal accessory.  No matter what pedal you play, however fast or slow you may think it to be, the Vruk pedal will enhance your speed.  And, it does this in a natural way, not at all like the so-called 'ballistic' method. Ballistic is fast--most of us have used the technique, even though we didn't know what to call it until somebody hung a name on it and started selling it to suckers who were enamored with the idea--but it was not musical and was scarcely adaptable to anything other than an occasional BD flourish during a solo.  What Ballistic lacks, Vruk provides!  If you learn the Vruk technique properly, you will never go back to a regular pedal, sans Vruk again--and you will curse the day you dropped good money on the so-called Ballistic program, something you could have learned on your own, if you had been observant and committed to practice.

Even the fantastic Axis Longboard Pedal--perhaps the world's best engineered production pedal*--is made even better and faster with the Vruk.  No matter what pedal you use, with the Vruk pedal you will be playing multiple strokes in places you never thought it would be possible! I heartily recommend Vruk Corporation and the Vruk pedal.

We have all purchased products and accessories that, over time, proved to be disappointments.  For my own part, I've been studying what makes a good bass drum pedal, for many years.  I've played a LOT of pedals during those years and have my own personal favorites (like you, no doubt). Interestingly, for straight-ahead Jazz, I still to prefer my old Slingerland TempoKing™ pedal (the one with the infuriatingly undependable leather drive strap) as being one of the smoothest, quietest pedals ever produced.

Other than the Axis LongBoard Pedal (mentioned earlier), here are my impressions concerning some of the pedals I have used with the Vruk:

1. I could not believe what the Vruk pedal did for my old Slingerland TempoKing™ pedal. There's just something about the old TempoKing™ that I dearly love (I have at least three of them, one of which is just plain worn out from use).
2. My old Ludwig SpeedKing pedal, the noisest pedal ever made--but one of the fastest, native pedals ever produced--is no louder or squeakier than before, but the Vruk can sure make beautifully defined 16ths with it.
3. The newer Slingerland TempoKing™ (with chain drive) is a very nice, intermediate level pedal, but it is far and away, better and faster with the Vruk (the chain drive is a distinct upgrade from the old leather drive on the original TempoKing™, but the quietness of the leather is really nice). 
4. The Tama/Camco pedal is a great and historically well-received pedal, but the Vruk makes it even better, with very positive stroke and rebound that the Vruk controls beautifully.
5. The DW 5000 series pedals are famous for their smoothness and power; if that's what you play, put a Vruk on it and see if you don't agree that it is much better and faster and more flexible.

In short, if you use any of the newer, faster pedals, you'll see even more benefit.  The Vruk is one investment in your drumming that you will not regret!