DW MFG MDD2 Double Bass Drum Pedal, Direct Drive, Anodized Cobalt

• Two cut-out footboards, machined from solid aluminum
• Contoured heel plate that follows the curve of the heel
• Reduced mass on the part your foot works hardest
• Cobalt anodizing on both halves
• Direct drive on each of the two pedals
• Deluxe soft case, carried as a backpack

A pedal footboard is not a static part: your foot throws it, brakes it and throws it again, constantly. Any useless mass is paid for twice, on the way down and on the way back, and the drummer pays with their ankle.

A footboard machined from a solid block would be massive. The cut-outs remove material from the areas that carry no load, where the calculation shows the plate does no work. What remains is a rigid, lighter structure — something a stamped plate cannot offer, since it has no thickness to remove.

The contoured heel plate follows the shape of the heel instead of meeting it with a flat plate. On a pedal played heel down, it is the support point for the whole leg for two hours.

A flat plate concentrates the pressure on an edge and ends up making your foot go numb. A contoured profile spreads the load and lets the heel find its own place, without the drummer having to think about it between songs. On a double pedal, that goes twice: both heels work together and tire together.

A double pedal takes up the whole width of the floor, right in front of the front row. Two identical footboards side by side make a symmetrical object, and a bold colour makes them read as a single instrument rather than two accessories.

Anodizing is not paint: the colour is part of the metal's oxide layer. It therefore holds up where a lacquer would go first — the edges your shoe sole brushes with every stroke.

• Fast playing, where the mass of the footboards shows up in your ankles
• Long sets played heel down
• Blue setups, matched to the rest of the machined line
• Drummers coming from a heavy, tiring double pedal
• Lit stages, where the kit is part of the look

Double pedals with machined or lightened footboards from other manufacturers:

Is a cut-out footboard more fragile?

The openings are made where the plate carries no load. The useful stiffness is kept; only the useless mass goes away.

Does your foot slip on a footboard with holes in it?

On the contrary, the edges of the cut-outs create gripping edges. Drummers who play barefoot or in socks notice it first.

Does the Cobalt finish change anything about how it plays?

No. Anodizing changes the look and the surface durability, not the mechanism or the mass.

Can I play this pedal heel up?

Yes. The contoured heel plate is most noticeable heel down, but it does not get in the way of other techniques at all.