March 29, 2009

Dual Drum Kick Pedals for Rock Band and Guitar Hero

Most of the time, pre-order bonuses for games are crap. But not in the case of Guitar Hero: Metallica — the pre-order bonus is a second drum pedal for the Guitar Hero: World Tour drum kit. I picked mine up today:

guitar-hero-dual-pedal

As you can see, it’s a simple splitter cable and second pedal, identical to the Guitar Hero: World Tour drum pedal. There doesn’t appear to be a retail option (yet), but there are a few sellers offering standalone Guitar Hero World Tour Bass Drum Pedals. I’m guessing if you add a Radio Shack mono male to 2 female splitter, you’re in business.

I haven’t yet experimented with the new Expert+ drum difficulty mode in GH:Metallica, yet, but I will. The game is great, by the way! Easily the best band-specific fake plastic rock game yet. I even like it better than Guitar Hero: World Tour, to be honest, and I’m not much of a Metallica fan! If the GH:Metallica track list appeals to you at all, I recommend picking up a copy.

On the Rock Band side of the fence, I was surprised to discover that Harmonix now has an officially blessed dual drum kick pedal solution too! It’s the Universal Rock Band Replacement Kick Pedal for $24.99.

rock-band-dual-pedal-box

As you can see it works on all platforms (PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii), and surprisingly for either the Rock Band or Rock Band 2 drums!

rock-band-dual-pedal-packaging-closeup

The GH:WT pedal works very differently than the Rock Band pedal. A simple splitter doesn’t cut it. You need a double bass pedal adapter box, powered by AAA batteries, for both pedals to work independently. Fortunately, this is included in the box with the pedal:

rock-band-pedal-adapter


The only place I could find the pedal for sale today is at GameStop, as the Universal Rock Band Drum Pedal.

I scanned in the instruction sheet, and upon closer inspection, it looks like this pedal works with either the Rock Band 1 or Rock Band 2 drums, surprisingly, and on all platforms! It’s almost universal. (click the image to see the full instruction sheet.)

rock-band-pedal-user-guide-small

Using dual pedals in Rock Band does have a few side effects. For one thing, you can no longer hold down the pedal to select the category menu. And since it’s a battery operated device, it can possibly go to sleep, or run out of juice entirely. I’m not sure how many songs in Rock Band 2 really justify dual bass drum pedals. There are a few, perhaps in the Thrash Pack or the Disturbed tracks.

Dual bass drum pedals is more logical in GH:Metallica, where they designed a whole new Expert+ drum difficulty level around it. Good thing for us fake plastic rock enthusiasts, the game supports either Rock Band or GH:WT drums — and we now have officially blessed dual-pedal hardware options on both sides of the fence!

Posted by Jeff Atwood
Filed under Fake Plastic Musical Instrument Mod, Guitar Hero, Rock Band
33 comments

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I’ve been looking for an official drum pedal for a while now, thanks a lot.

I was about to buy a complete new drum set just to replace my pedal, but I just ordered the gamestop one. The alternative would have been a 100$ (usually 70$ + 30$ shipping) custom pedal (which would have been better but still cost a lot more).

Michel
March 30, 2009 at 1:47 am

Some idiot manager at GameStop convinced me to pre-order it. I go to pick it up and he refuses to give me the pedal stating “We received an email that it doesn’t work with the Wii.”

No. He lied. After yelling at him, I went to another GS (in the same mall!), and talked to the manager. He gave me my pedal. And yes it works and I’m rockin’.

The issue is, I guess GH:M was supposed to release later on the Wii, so the pedal pre-order was only supposed to be when ordering on PS3 or XB360. Well it ended up releasing the same day and they’re trying to scam Wii owners. I know there’s more people out there with this issue. Just a tip. :)

Brad
March 30, 2009 at 6:47 am

not sure if the pedal is broken, or does the GH:M 2nd pedal NOT work with RB/RB2 drums?

nick
March 30, 2009 at 8:50 pm

GH:WT (and GH:M) and RB2 drums are *not* compatible.. at all. So the pedals for one cannot be used for the other.

Jeff Atwood
March 31, 2009 at 1:07 am

I’m surprised to hear that Rock Band sells the single pedals. I borrowed a friends Rock Band pedal and added it to my drum kit via a couple of cables and adapters. Problem was that when you had your foot resting on one pedal it wouldn’t recieve the a signal from the other – so you had to keep alternating your feet to get the effect and make sure you didn’t block the signal. That said, I was doing this on the Rock Band 1 instruments and game – so maybe this has changed for the sequel or been patched?

Kyle
March 31, 2009 at 6:09 am

> Problem was that when you had your foot resting on one pedal it wouldn’t recieve the a signal from the other – so you had to keep alternating your feet to get the effect and make sure you didn’t block the signal

Hi Kyle,

Very true! This is what the adapter, pictured above, fixes! It’s included with the standalone pedal..

Jeff Atwood
March 31, 2009 at 1:13 pm

Does this mean that if i bought the extra rb pedal i cant use it with world tour drums?

Argenys
March 31, 2009 at 4:19 pm

RB Pedals work with RB Drums.

GH:WT Pedals work with GH:WT Drums.

That’s it..

Jeff Atwood
March 31, 2009 at 7:10 pm

i have purchased GH:Metallica and i have to say i am blown away by it all, im a fan of there music and who they are. I recently went to game stop and purchased the “Universal Bass Pedal (RockBAnd)” and sad to say i does not support my Guitar Hero Drum set for my Wii, i tried new batteries, different channels even used a Guitar hero original drum pdeal, still no luck. So GH Pedals w/splitter is what is needed

dave horbach
April 2, 2009 at 2:27 pm

anyone know where to get Gh pedals w/splitter? also check this website out for kick-ass skins for guitars and drums for all platforms …WWW.WRAPTORSKINZ.COM

dave horbach
April 2, 2009 at 2:29 pm

Lets Clarify. I just purchased the universal rock band pedal, hooked it all up and turned on Guitar Hero Metallica. I just played Fuel using the new pedal on expert plus and the first time through I 4 starred the song using the double bass. It kicks total ass. So, the rock band 2 drums are fully compatible with Guitar Hero Metallica and with the extra pedal its even better. The little adapter for the Rock Band 2 kit is awesome as it controls the circuit allowing both pedals to be depressed at the same time. For 25 bucks this is a steal as other solutions on the Internet are costing around 70 bucks.

Faust
April 3, 2009 at 4:33 pm

where can I get one of these things NOT online and in Canada?

Bob Dole
April 4, 2009 at 8:27 pm

You can buy an extra GH:WT pedal with splitter from the official Red Octane store now:

http://www.redoctane.com/Browse-by-Title/Guitar-Hero-Metallica/Guitar-Hero-World-Tour-Drum-Controller-Kick-Pedal-w-Splitter

Jeff Atwood
April 4, 2009 at 10:46 pm

“GH:WT (and GH:M) and RB2 drums are *not* compatible.. at all. So the pedals for one cannot be used for the other.

Jeff Atwood
March 31, 2009 at 1:07 am”

—-Not True, i play GH:M everyday with my Full rock band setup…its just an issue with a peddle.

Buddy Denman
April 10, 2009 at 10:10 am

So could you use the RB pedal as a hi-hat if you plugged it into the yellow port? I have a friend who’s a drummer, and he’s been dying for GH or RB to incorporate a hi-hat pedal.

Kevin
April 11, 2009 at 8:52 pm

The GH:WT pedal is a joke!
Is there an upgraded version available to purchase, like Rockband pedals that have been reinforced?

MB
April 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Hi, this sounds awesome, but I gotte know for sure, I’ve got a busted World Tour drumset, I’m gonna buy a new pretty soon, so I could do as mentioned: “add a Radio Shack mono male to 2 female splitter”, like this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8V234-WHT-APL-Headphone-Splitter/dp/B0000UV2AW/ref=pd_sim_vg_1
Would that do the job, and then of course a second pedal?
Thanks.

Allan
April 20, 2009 at 11:49 pm

Oh yeah and most importantly, will it work in GH World Tour also?

Allan
April 20, 2009 at 11:51 pm

I can confirm that the above works flawlessly:
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F8V234-WHT-APL-Headphone-Splitter/dp/B0000UV2AW/ref=pd_sim_vg_1
Or likewise.
Together with 2 kick pedals, and your rocking out. This is ONLY for the Guitar Hero Drumset!
I must warn anyone who havent tried dual kick pedals, its harder than you might think, so dont expect everything to be easier, more like harder, at least untill you get control of the dual kicks ;).

Allan
April 23, 2009 at 1:37 pm

Actually, the GH:WT pedal WILL work with RB drums BUT, since it is a PIEZO kick sensor, you really have to jam your foot down to register a kick. I actually built the circuit to use two pedals for RB2 and I asked a gamestop employee for a used pedal, they gave me the pre-order GH:WT pedal and at first I thought it wouldn’t work for RB, but after slamming the pedal down it did register. I think the piezo sensor is just not sensitive enough or the signal it produces is not strong enough to register in my circuit. I will be using the pedal as a base to make my own RB2 pedal with a magnetic reed switch instead of the piezo.

Decepticon
April 24, 2009 at 7:37 am

okay, some one just reply within the week, but can you use rb2 drums WITH the splitter and the 2 basses? thanks

Nick
May 6, 2009 at 1:56 pm

I have RB1 drums. I want to get 2 Nyko Metal Pedals. Is there splitter i can use that will work with these?

Evan
May 7, 2009 at 1:16 pm

Okay. I’ve Got GH:WT drums and pedal that doesn’t work anymore. I’m thinking of picking another WT drum pedal but will it work for RB2 as well? I have RB2 but am not able to play it since my pedal is busted.

Dylan
June 2, 2009 at 5:15 pm

does anyone know if there is anywhere I can get just the adapter for this? I have two bass pedals off of a mono splitter that work fine but i want the ability to press one down and have the other register a hit still, so I don’t need the pedal, just the adapter

if not – any links to get this fairly cheap. I’m in the uk so ideally uk links but if shipping is cheap from overseas then cool

just looked on ebay and although the pedal/adapter was $25, the shipping to the uk was $240 HAHAA

Alex
July 2, 2009 at 5:45 am

yea don’t beleave them you can only use rock band drum pedals for rock band not guitar hero my drum pedal just broke on guitar hero and my friends brought over there rock band pedal and it didn’t work and now i have to buy a new one

K
December 22, 2009 at 5:53 pm

Ok I have the GH drum set and the kick pedal wires have come lose. I went to gamestop and they sold me the univeral pedal for RB & RB2 which had the adapter. I can’t get it to work with my drum set. They said it would. what am i doing wrong?

SallyJ
December 29, 2009 at 7:25 am

does anyone knows if you can take the rock revolution drum pedal for the double bass pedal on the guitar hero world tour drum.thank in advance

mathew
February 8, 2010 at 11:21 am

Why does the rock band pedal splitter needs 2AAA batteries. Even I can make a splitter without any batteries. I just let 2 kick pedals get power from the drum set.

Will
February 16, 2010 at 8:46 pm

lol ok people. as far as peddals go….
1. rock band peddals only work with rock band drum sets.
2. Guitar hero peddals only work with guitar hero drum sets.
3. guitar hero drum sets only need the 2 female to 1 male splitter as they are programmed for double bass.
4. Rock Band REQUIRES THE ADAPTER for full double bass experience.
as far as compatibility goes…..
5. rock band drum set works with Guiatr Hero games. it will change gem setup to 4***(RB2 cymbal extensions will not work for 5th orange gem)
6. Guitar hero drum set works with Rock band. colors line up accordingly and the orange cymbal is rendered useless for the game.

so if it says rock band on the box and you have guitar hero product…dont buy it.

daryl
May 2, 2010 at 7:48 pm

oh btw that is for the xbox 360…may not be true for playstation and Wii

daryl
May 2, 2010 at 7:51 pm

Where i can get same look pedal like that first picture there?

Tino
June 10, 2010 at 5:15 am

Above comments seem a little off – like more of a guess than actually tested.
I have the RB drum kit, I broke the pedal the first few days and fixed it myself. A friend lent me his GH kick pedal and it worked fine so I went and bought the GHWT pedal and ive been using it on my RB kit for months.

John Spartan
January 7, 2011 at 8:35 am

What about Rock Revolution ? LOL I’m not joking!

Dave
March 24, 2012 at 8:39 pm

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