Zay’z – [ Den 'O' Slack ]

Mega Pedal (top), Standard Pedal (bottom)

Howdy ho, all… it’s been a quick minute since I’ve written a review, on just about anything. And I think it’s about that time again.

So as I’ve been blogging a lot lately about the wondrous mountain of time-sink that is Rock Band : Special Edition for the Xbox360.

Since we had purchased this bundle of awesome back on the 2nd (of March) I had yet to bang on the drums. Not that I wasn’t all about killing them… it’s just been a quick minute since I’ve played drums (yes real drums) and I had heard about the dreaded snap-neck-pedal issue.

Which just last Sunday a good friend that actually introduced me to Rock Band had that very thing occur.

So because of that the Bunny and I were looking for some hot pedal action replacement. (Not too diligently though mind you.)

After having watched a few of this guys videos on the old YouTube network… and noting his recommendation for the Mega Pedal, I thought that I’d look into that.

After a brief look I decided to pick one of the complete replacements up.

The original billet replacement pedal for the Rockband XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 video game. CNC Machined from a solid block of 6061-T6 aircraft grade billet aluminum. This pedal will fit the version 1 or version 2 pedal base. This heavier pedal allows you to achieve higher scores and it will never break !! Supplied with stainless hardware and installation instructions. – $29.99

I ordered the piece on Tuesday and had it delivered by Friday via USPS. It came wrapped in minimal packing and was pretty easy to open up.

New Mega Pedal fresh out the mailer.

This thing is a solid piece and really well fashioned out of a single piece of aluminum. The contents of the mailer included four small screws and the pedal itself all wrapped in plastic and a small black and white print out of the installation instructions. It looked like the setup would be pretty simple.

Six “easy” steps.

Well I got stuck on step one (of course), so I did some web searching and found very little information on removing the hinge pin of the games included drum pedal. But it turns out there are some others that have had issues with removing the pin.

It turns out don’t disparage… you just have to beat the shit out of it. I used a hammer and screw driver, I’d recommend using a rubber mallet and some other device for poking that sucker out though. Unless of course you don’t value your hands, I’m just saying.

[NOTE: Some users mention that the amount of force they need to use to remove and replace the pin is minimal, others (like myself) find that it takes a right pimp slap to get the damn thing in line. Of course that could be my girly arms.]

Tools of the Trade

After some relentless beating I was finally able to budge the pin slightly.

You lil’ Metal Bastard!

Once I saw that the pin was starting to push out slightly it was only a matter of heavy pounding before that sucker would squirt out.

Damn You!

So after more pounding than Jenna ever took the pin finally came free and I was able to push it out… the only problem was that the existing pedal snapped back in my face like a damn rat trap.

Snap Yo! That Hurt

So now that the I had my finger tips grazed and nearly removed I needed to pull apart the pedal from it’s base. Which was as simple as pushing down and forward on the pedal itself.

It’s Like A Puzzle (sorta)

Once you have the it removed you next need to remove some of the pieces that are held into the bottom via screws and some small amount of adhesive, as well as a small magnet that resides inside the pedal.

Rubberish Stopper Thingy

Magnets Are Fun! 

Steps three and four require you to transfer the pieces you just removed onto the new Mega Pedal and screw them in with the four included metal screws.

Screws… yeah.

Welcome To Your New Home

With step five you need to insert and position the pedal to line back up with the rear pin section. This alignment isn’t that tricky but might require you to place the pin in first and verify the placement. (But trust me it’s really easy.)

Again With The Springy Stuff

Once you have the pedal in place and the pin reinserted you will need to bang on it a bit to get it back into place.

BANG IT!!!

[NOTE: Some users mention that the amount of force they need to use to remove and replace the pin is minimal, others (like myself) find that it takes a right pimp slap to get the damn thing in line. Of course that could be my girly arms.]

One you have your pad and base reassembled be sure to check the action on it prior to connecting it to your controller drum set. You may find a strange alignment or some other funkiness that might need to be adjusted.

Once you’re satisfied with the pedal action then just reconnect your newly pimped out gaming foot goodness test it out in game. I found that this greatly improved my drumming scores.

Oh Now That’s Sexy!!!

Because the weight of the pedal gives a better spring action which actually should help you non-drummers from having shin-splints… but will not automatically give you the ability to separate your legs from your arms. ;-)]

Overall I’m really happy with the pedal it’s made of great quality material so I no longer have to worry about our pedal snapping in the middle of a frantic Band World Tour stint.

The only real “issue” I had was the pedals size at the base (in the back where the pin connects to the base), because it isn’t exactly the same size as the previous pedal there is now this annoying click that happens. The pedal can also slide which can cause problems for you if you’re wearing a sock or something else that has no grip to it.

Check out what that looks and sounds like here.

That’s just a minor annoyance really… so if you’re worried about it you can find a way to “fix” it otherwise it’s just something to note.

Summary:

+’s:

• Good quality material.
• Won’t break (probably ever, or unless you’re a machine of some type).
• Lifetime warranty.
• Fast shipping.
• Good Price ($34.95 with standard flat rate shipping).
• Fairly quick and painless installation.

-’s:

• Clicky noise from not being precisely the same size as base pedal opening.
• Because previously listed issue, pedal also can slide from side to side.

Mega Pedal WebSite [http://www.area51moto.com/mega/product_info.php?cPath=13&products_id=10]