Hansenfütz Fütz Pedals

Hansenfiitz
Fiitz Pedals
FOR PRACTICE, FOR PLAY
BY NORMAN
WEINBERG
I
t'S the American way: Find a need
and fill it! While the re are dozens of
p racti ce pad s de sign ed to give yo u r
hand s a wo rko ut , th ere was nothin g on
th e m ar ket for yo u r feet. Ente r H ansen ­
fu tz w ith the Putz ped al.
SPECS
Lightwe ight (but not flimsy or fragile), the
Furz is co nstr uc ted from a glass-filled nylon
m aterial , and irs foor plare and baseplate are
mol ded w ith structural ribs o n the und er­
side for additional sta bility an d strength .
Pedal height is adjust ed by moving a screw
on th e underside of th e baseplate to one of
th ree di fferent po sitions. Adju sting sprin g
ten sion is a little more co m plicated (you
have to first open th e pedal by remo ving
the safety- and height -adju stment screws)
but can be accompli shed in about two
minut es with a screwdri ver. Since this isn't
th e typ e of adjustm ent that you'll make
regul arly, take the tim e to get the pedal 's
feel whe re yo u like it. Th en put down tha t
screwd river because it's time to ...
PRACTICE
Th e F utz works as a very quiet practic e
ped al beca use of a si lence r pa d that ab ­
sor bs th e stro ke w he n th e footb oard
m akes co nt act w ith th e imp act towe r. It 's
so q uiet in fact th at yo u can pr acti ce
wh ile wa tch ing TV or listen ing to tun es
w itho u t disturbing th e folk s sitting near
you . And if you want a m ore satisfYing
thump when th e ped al m akes cont act
w ith th e pOSt, it's o n ly a five-secon d
fix to rem ove th e pad .
Is it a practice
kick pedal or a
percussion
performance pedal
or an electronic
trigger? How about
all three in one?
138
DRUM!
PLAY
Th e Furz is actu ally for much mor e th an
prac ticing. Att ach a trigg er to the base­
plat e, a nd yo u have a sma ll and in expen­
sive electroni c ped al. T he review model
came with th e m anu facturer-re comm end­
ed Pinrech RS-S tr igger. I tested rhe ho t­
rodded pedal wi th both a Yamaha elec­
tronic kir and a drumKAT. It work ed fine
for m e righ t out o f th e bo x, but dep end­
ing o n yo u r playi ng sty le, yo u m ay need
to adj ust the tri gger input sens itivity.
Two add -en s mak e the Fut z even
more versatil e. An op tional steel beat er
inserts into the toe of the pedal bo ard .
Use ir to stomp on a cowbell, tam ­
bo u rine, Jam Bloc k, o r any o ther
ban gable th at m ount s on th e low -pr ofil e
percu ssion stan d. Place th e pl aying­
ena b led ped al jus t abo u t anyw he re. Since
ther e are no cum berso me tripod legs get ­
tin g in the way, it w ill fit very clos e to
yo u r hi-hat an d easily under a con ga
stand or a floo r to m. Use d as an electro n­
ic ped al, a Furz can also sn ugg le right
nex t to yo ur aco ust ic bass dru m . H eck,
fo r extra-fancy foot patterns , put o ne o n
each side of your bass drum ped al!
pe
ca
APPLAUSE
For th e first inc ar nati on o f a n ew pr od­
UCt, th e Fur z fol ks have really th ou ght
their pedal thr ou gh. Th ere at e littl e
tou ches that ind icare t he designer s we nt
the extra mile to b ring this product to
ma rket. For exam ple, the silencer pad un ­
der the footb oard has a little qu arr er­
m oon shape CUt Out th at mak es rem oval
qui ck an d easy. Th e p lastic rod receiver
o n the toe plat e ho lds the steel beat er se­
Cut ely yet not so tightl y that it's a hassle
to work with. H eavy-duty Velcro strip s
on the under sid e of th e Furz and th e per­
cuss ion stand keep pedal creep in check.
In add itio n, th e co mpa ny's web site has
DETAILS
MODEL
PRICE
HansenfUtz Futz Pedal
$44 .95
Adjustable pedal angle
and spring tension , small footprint,
lightweight
FEATURES
OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES
& PRICES
Silencer pads (two pack, $4.95) ,
beater ($9 .95), Pintech RS-5 Drum
Trigger ($17), percuss ion stand
($24.95)
HansenfUtz, 273 Middle
Park Dr., Souderton, PA 18965. 800­
697 -5583. hansenfutz.com
CONTACT
www .drununag azine.com
regu larly, take th e tim e to get me pedal s
feel whe re you like it. Th en put down tha t
screwd river because it's time to ...
PRACTICE
d er the footb o ard has a n trl e qu arr er­
m oon shape CUt Out th at mak es rem oval
qui ck and easy. Th e p lastic rod receiver
o n the toe plat e ho lds th e steel beat er se­
CUtely yet not so tightl y that it's a hassle
,
,
I
plen ty of usefu l infor m ation , inclu din g in ­
str uc t io ns for m aking adju stm ent s to the
ped al as we ll as video clips o n how th e pedal
can be used in a variety of situatio ns.
I asked a colleae:ue , Rob in H orn, fro m
apar tm ent. Pracricin g with two wo u ld be
good for develop ing do ub le bass dru m tech­
niqu e." H e caut ioned , th ou gh, that "dru m­
mers need to h ave th e feel of a bea ter agains t
a su rface to d evelop cont ro l of their foot
VERDICT
You ca n't go wro ng with a Hi tz. A bargain
for all that it can d o , the pedal is a valuable
add it ion fo r dr um -set players, hand dr um­
m ers, and even multi ple-p ercussi o n ists play-
Man, there are captions
all over the place!
Attach a
trigger and
convert the little
fella into an
electronic pedal
plen ty of usefu l infor m ation , inclu din g in ­
str uc t io ns for m aking adju stm ent s to the
pedal as well as video clips o n how th e pedal
can be used in a variety of situa tio ns.
I asked a colleague , Rob in H orn, fro m
th e Un iversity of Arizona to also che ck OUt
th e Fu rz. He said th at he "believes that it is
a good ba sic p racti ce d evice, especially fo r
stu d ents w ho live in a do rm ito ry o r an
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apar tm ent. Practi cin g with two wo u ld be
good for dev eloping d ou ble bass dru m tech­
niqu e." H e caut ioned , th ou gh, that "d ru m­
mers need to h ave th e feel of a beater agains t
a sur face to d evelop cont ro l of their foot
techniq ue." So wh ile the pedal is a great too l
to pr actice the physical mov ements of bass
d rum tec h n iqu e, rem em ber th at not hin g re­
p laces p laying th e actu al instr u m ent.
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VERDICT
You ca n't go wro ng wit h a Puu , A barga in
for all that it can d o , the pedal is a valuable
ad d it ion for dru m -set players, hand dr um­
mer s, and even multiple-p ercussi o n ists play­
in g co nt em po rary cha m be r mus ic. Best of
all, I've seen t he str eet p rices for th e Fu rz
and its accessor ies qu ite a bit lower t han the
listed MSRP s. Sh h hh .
I