Never before has a bass drum pedal had such a strong impact on the history of drum kits
Do you know what Michael Jackson's BAD album has in common with Jimi Hendrix's drummer Mitch Mitchell? The Caroline, probably the most famous bass drum pedal in the history of drum kits! Invented by ASBA in 1965, reissued this year.
The Caroline pedal is closely linked to Daniel Humair, the great international jazz player who created the famous pedal named after his daughter in the 1960s that became a worldwide success.
In just a few months, it conquered the world of drums with its revolutionary innovations being sold under Ludwig's license in the USA and conquered the hearts of some of the greatest drummers.
The pedal sold in tens of thousands of copies and became the quick reference in terms of speed, precision, and comfort of play and settings.
An unprecedented success in the history of the drum kit
"I recorded every track on Michael Jackson's Bad album with this pedal!"
John JR Robinson
"We have to agree, that this is the best Bass Drum Pedal in the world!”
Manu Katché, Bagshow 2021
"I challenge you to find a bass drum pedal with a system as convenient and fast as this one."
Source Audiofanzine
“She nailed it with the tracks and exercises and above all: it doesn’t tire my foot! I will never leave it!”
Source Audiofanzine
What have we done to the Caroline and how is it better?
To make Caroline's heart beat again, it took more than a year of hard but exciting work.
- Revamped the original pedal designs with new specifications.
- The digitalization of an old model + reversed engineered in partnership with a university.
- With access to new state of the art technology and materials, we preserved the essence of the pedal while modernizing its mechanical characteristics: 3D Drawings, digital machining, premium materials, high precision ball bearing.
- Creation of multiple molds
- Sourced the materials used for all the parts
- Prototypes created
- Put through vigorous mechanical and musical testing
Reverse engineering
Some figures...
The time spent reviving the Caroline means
- 22 months of research and development
- 10 molds made for all the main parts of the pedal
- 439 emails sent
- 85 meetings
- 2 Prototypes
It’s the same one, just reborn
Legendary pedal, historic launch
For the launch, hundreds of test videos and demos shared on social networks around the world.
Official release December 2022
Your contacts
Guillaume Pornet
guillaume@asbadrums.com
T: +33 6 26 58 29 29
Damo Rabillon
damo@asbadrums.com
T: +33 7 81 42 18 76