DW MFG MCD Single Bass Drum Pedal, Chain Drive

• Sprocketless cam, moved by a gear-shifter style lever
• Machined in the USA from aircraft-grade aluminum
• Perforated solid aluminum footboard and contoured heel
• Vertical spring adjustment, known as V.E.R.T.
• Control beater with adjustable mass and impact
• Soft leatherette case with reinforced handle, included

On most chain pedals, changing the cam curve means loosening, sliding a part, tightening, trying again. It takes long enough that people stop doing it: the drummer keeps the factory setting and adapts to it.

The MCD removes that friction. Its cam does not ride on a toothed sprocket, and a gear-shifter style lever moves it from one geometry to the other: DW calls them Accelerator and Turbo. No tool is needed, nothing gets lost, and you do it with your foot on the board.

That detail changes how you look for your setting. Trying costs nothing, so you try — and you end up playing on a curve you actually chose.

A chain works in tension. Between footboard and beater there remains a tiny amount of give, from the links as they tighten. That flexibility cushions the very start of the stroke and makes the beater's return a little more forgiving.

Many heel-down players feel more at home with it: the chain forgives an imprecise attack where a rigid link passes it on as is. On the other hand, anyone looking for the most immediate contact possible between foot and head will lean toward direct drive.

A cast pedal comes out of a mould and is then reworked where needed. A machined pedal starts from a block of aluminum from which a cutter removes material down to size. The second method costs far more in machine time and wasted material.

What you get in return is tighter tolerances at the joints, so less unwanted movement when the tempo climbs and the foot presses hard. That is the whole reason for the MFG line, and you feel it most in soft dynamics, where a few tenths of a millimetre of play becomes audible.

• Drummers still looking for their ideal cam curve
• Heel-down playing, where the chain's give helps
• Studio work, changing settings between takes
• Demanding stages, where the mechanism has to stay quiet
• Replacing an entry-level pedal that has grown imprecise

Other manufacturers' high-end single pedals, and how each handles cam adjustment:

How is it different from the MDD direct drive?

The drive. Here, a chain connects the footboard to the beater and leaves a very slight give; the MDD uses a rigid link that passes on the motion with no perceptible delay.

Do I need tools to change the cam setting?

No. That is exactly what the lever avoids: the setting changes by hand, with no key and no disassembly.

Does it come with a case?

Yes. DW ships it in a soft leatherette case with reinforced zippers, a handle and an accessory pocket.

Can I turn it into a double pedal later?

No. The double version is a separate product, built around a different casting; it is not a single pedal with a second half added.