Ardent Meridian… incoherent rambletastic techno-babble …

I wrote recently about the Ion "Drum Rocker" I had purchased, partially in response to a broken Rock Band drum pedal, and the excellent experience I had, and am having, with it.

However, as there are options to repair or replace the original pedal, and it was the "only" thing "wrong" with my original drums, I spent some time looking at those options with the intent of fixing the pedal, and giving the old drums to a friend.

That’s my broken pedal above, snapped clean off at the hinge.  A little research research pointed to two primary options for getting my broken Rock Band drum pedal fixed, and several more for a complete – and more expensive – replacement:

• The first was to go through the official warranty/repair process, which is probably the route most people would go.  However, assuming a simple swap of the broken pedal for a new one, this is just going to lead to the same problem occurring again somewhere down the road.
• The second was a third-party solution, either replacing or repairing the existing pedal.  The options I found for this looked like they would result in both a more solid and durable end-result, and a better looking one as well.

I opted to repair my existing pedal, partly because that option was slightly cheaper, and partly because the premium replacement pedals look like they might even be upgrades to the "Drum Rocker" pedal!

The brief research I had done showed a clear preference for, and recommendation of, the "Pedal Metal" repair/reinforcement products.  There are several offerings here, all of which can be used to repair or reinforce (prior to breakage) your regular Rock Band drum pedal.  Beyond stylistic differences (billet vs. diamond-plate) the primary choice comes down to whether you need/want to fix a pedal and its hinge, or just the pedal itself.

This was an easy choice for me, since my pedal had snapped at the hinge, and I preferred the "billet" style pedal to the diamond plate one.

You can order direct from the "Pedal Metal" site, but I chose to order via amazon.com.  Shipping was prompt, even given the holiday weekend, and a neat little package containing all that was necessary to affect the repair arrived just a couple or three days after ordering.

Said package contains the two aluminium (I’m English, sue me …) pedal/heel-rest pieces, the poly-carbonate hinge material, nine self-tapping screws and comprehensive printed (color) installation instructions.

The hinge element of this kit is interesting.  Instead of the original metal rod, a flexible poly-carbonate sheet is fixed between the heel plate and the main pedal.  While it seems a little odd at first, the material is very strong; and should you manage to break it, replacement pieces are offered for $2.

Deflection on the poly-carbonate sheet is minimal however, and having seen how much effort is required to snap, say, a CD-R (do not try it without safety glasses and sturdy gloves – when it finally snaps it will explode sending sharp poly-carbonate shards at high-speeds in all directions) – and this "hinge" is made of the same kind of material.

Installation was very quick and simple, required nothing more than a Phillips screwdriver, and only took about ten minutes. 

The end result is more than worth the time and effort, both in terms of looks, and the amazing difference in the feel of the pedal – both under your foot (in play) and in terms of solidity.

In my opinion, this is how the original pedal should have been built.  I can easily recommend this as a great option to recover from, or prevent a future, broken pedal.