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So I broke my Rockband bass drum pedal in the middle of the night. Replacement parts are at least 5 days away if I order something online, plus people want money for things like that. Fortunately, I have duct tape and knives, so I should be able to fix anything, right?
Here's my attempt at a replacement Rock Band bass drum pedal. Note, it helps if you have an actual bass pedal, as those are otherwise hard to make from tape and poster-board. Not impossible, mind you...just difficult.
My goal here was a speedy repair. Total time from snapped pedal to playing again on this frankensteinian contraption was under 10 minutes. Actually took me longer to post the Instructable.
The new pedal is much more responsive, less fatiguing, and surprisingly more sturdy. Of course, I started with a really nice chain-driven bit from my closet of neglected hobbies...if you don't have a bass pedal, this suddenly becomes a significantly more expensive operation.
I'd prefer a more durable material than the poster board, but at 1AM, you work with what you've got.
Here's my attempt at a replacement Rock Band bass drum pedal. Note, it helps if you have an actual bass pedal, as those are otherwise hard to make from tape and poster-board. Not impossible, mind you...just difficult.
My goal here was a speedy repair. Total time from snapped pedal to playing again on this frankensteinian contraption was under 10 minutes. Actually took me longer to post the Instructable.
The new pedal is much more responsive, less fatiguing, and surprisingly more sturdy. Of course, I started with a really nice chain-driven bit from my closet of neglected hobbies...if you don't have a bass pedal, this suddenly becomes a significantly more expensive operation.
I'd prefer a more durable material than the poster board, but at 1AM, you work with what you've got.
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Signing UpStep 1Tear apart the old bits...
First, find your motivation.
In my case, the pedal snapped on my LAST SONG of the solo tour under the "Hard" difficulty. Song is Run to the Hills, by the way. And it is truly a pain.
That's besides the point.
So the bass drum pedal snaps. That's where we were.
I checked Amazon for replacements, and the options weren't great...None of them could be delivered within an hour. So I grabbed a box cutter, a screw driver, a needle-nose pliers, a piece of project board (that stuff with the foam in the middle) that I'd previously covered in neon pink poster board when using it as a background for my "iPod ad" halloween costume, and the bass drum pedal off of my acoustic drum set.
Something was still missing.
Duct tape. How could one possibly complete ANY repair project without it?
Found that (the clear variety), and went to work.
There was no visible mechanical switch on the bass pedal, but when you push down on it, at some point, you hear the faint "click" of a magnetic switch.
Forgive my photography, I didn't realize I was going to instructabilize my work until after I'd already completed it, so most of my shots are "after" views.
Here's the bass pedal after taking out any screws I could find. Note on the bottom, you have to tear out the little foam curves to get to the screws. That's where I used the needlenose pliers...There are four screws total, holding in the top plastic plate, under which the magnetic switch lives.
On the pedal itself (snapped off in my photo), there's an orange plastic bit, held on by another four screws. Take those off to get a neodymium magnet suitable for your next step.
In my case, the pedal snapped on my LAST SONG of the solo tour under the "Hard" difficulty. Song is Run to the Hills, by the way. And it is truly a pain.
That's besides the point.
So the bass drum pedal snaps. That's where we were.
I checked Amazon for replacements, and the options weren't great...None of them could be delivered within an hour. So I grabbed a box cutter, a screw driver, a needle-nose pliers, a piece of project board (that stuff with the foam in the middle) that I'd previously covered in neon pink poster board when using it as a background for my "iPod ad" halloween costume, and the bass drum pedal off of my acoustic drum set.
Something was still missing.
Duct tape. How could one possibly complete ANY repair project without it?
Found that (the clear variety), and went to work.
There was no visible mechanical switch on the bass pedal, but when you push down on it, at some point, you hear the faint "click" of a magnetic switch.
Forgive my photography, I didn't realize I was going to instructabilize my work until after I'd already completed it, so most of my shots are "after" views.
Here's the bass pedal after taking out any screws I could find. Note on the bottom, you have to tear out the little foam curves to get to the screws. That's where I used the needlenose pliers...There are four screws total, holding in the top plastic plate, under which the magnetic switch lives.
On the pedal itself (snapped off in my photo), there's an orange plastic bit, held on by another four screws. Take those off to get a neodymium magnet suitable for your next step.
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Dec 9, 2010. 7:07 PMMrSander
says:
Same thing happened to me, TWICE :D. So my first reppair was addingsome corded tubes on the back (after some skilled plastic shaving) and two ziplocks as tensors with a metal plate (scrap aero-steel from my uni´s workshop) and worked over 1 1/2 years. Then the tip broke so i used a shelf stand, sawed it and more ziplocks xD. works well i may post it in case u dont have a real drumkit :D
Reply
Oct 11, 2009. 12:58 AMJava999
says:
Dude I had the same problem last night and tried something wicked similar out of desperation! Looks like the way you're doing it is working though =P I decided to use something a little different after playing around with this for a while.
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1
Aug 25, 2008. 1:03 PMtrackzero (author)
says:
A quick update...While fiddling with the placement of the sensor in the foam board, I broke the wire off of the switch. Since I was going to have to re-solder it anyway, I tried something I'd been wanting to experiment with...Took a magnetic sensor like the ones used in home security systems (see image) and just directly attached the wires from the bass pedal cable to the security sensor. Worked like a charm.
Reply
23
Aug 22, 2008. 2:24 PMFlumpkins
says:
5/5 and fave! Really awesome! What difficulty do you play on?
Reply
23
Aug 22, 2008. 8:19 PMFlumpkins
says:
Sorry, I didn't actually read it. Just a heads up in case you move onto expert, Run to the Hills on Expert is a pain the the nuts. It hurts your arms like crazy. And If you bought any songs, Blinded By Fear is the hardest song yet. I had just beat it today on expert. Which now means I can play ANY song on expert! So... do I deserve a cookie?
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