Hey guys, this is an interesting thread..... However.... I hate to interject, but Marco is not doing the heel-toe in this video. Its NEARLY impossible to tell what a drummer is doing with his feet from in front of the kit.... but, if you look at his left leg when he is doing his double bass, it is moving in a single-stroke fashion. You can count the single strokes while watching. Heel toe strokes wouldn't look much different than when he's doing his alternate foot technique during the blasts.... The leg movement is very similar. A close friend of mine does the heel-toe, and its a totally different look than single strokes... Each leg moves just like your hands would during double strokes... the legs would move in half-time. THis is clearly single stroke rolls on the feet. One of the posters on here said they noticed that the guy isn't moving his legs much... that's the key to fast single stroke rolls on the feet. Just like a fast single stroke roll with the hands is either wrists or fingers, or a combination of both, the fast single stroke rolls on the feet is with ankle movement, not leg movement... with practice, you develop just as much volume with an ankle stroke as you do with a full leg stroke.... Volume isn't power, its how quickly the beater hits the head. Another point I want to make is this... it doesn't matter how tight or loose your springs are, because the beater, if striking the head properly will rebound very quickly. The trick is to hit the head, then get your foot out of the way so the beater doesn't stay on the head... sounds simple, but you'd be surprised how few drummers realize that... Speed is never about the downstroke. Its about the upstroke. tight springs in actuality slow you down... because they make you waste energy on the spring, instead of getting that energy to the beater and head... its basic physics. The most "correct" spring adjustment on a bass pedal is one that is comfortable to play, but is not sloppy...in other words, tight enough to pull the beater back on its own quickly, but not so tight that its hard to press down. Springs are simply there to pull the pedal back up... you don't want them too loose though, because like I said, you don't want them sloppy either. but a drummer can adjust to any condition... Weak feet are because of not enough practice with them and have nothing to do with spring tension. You don't have springs on your sticks, and weak hands are a result of not enough practice. the trick to speed drumming is simple... 1, don't play "through" the drumhead like a golf stroke... play "to" the drumhead. as soon as the stick or beater has made contact, get out of the way of it, let the rebound do its work, and come back for the next stroke... 2, relax. Tense muscles are slow muscles.... 3. don't worry about volume.... as you develop the technique, the volume will come naturally, and you will be relaxed and comfortable.... 4... dynamics control... if you're doing really fast double bass, its obviously not going to be as loud as one forceful stroke, so when you're doing beats, don't kick the shit out of the pedal.... make your single beats somewhere around the same volume as your fastest rolls.... there is where the consistency comes in. And once you've gotten dynamic control, you can always pull out a heavy hit for a strong accent if it serves the song.... Drumming is not a sport, it is a skill. its about consistency, control, relaxation, speed, and being able to play slow when needed. The heel-toe technique is a great technique to learn, but you can play just as fast in most cases with single stroke rolls... The single stroke roll takes just as much time to master as the heel-toe, so I advise people to learn both so they have both in their toolbox..... And telling people to tighten their springs as tight as they will go is atrocious.... sorry, that is just bad technique.... some people like springs that tight, and that's ok for them.... but most people like a more comfortable pedal... you don't want to waste energy, and having super-tight springs is wasteful, and it fosters improper foot technique. Don't believe me? loosen your springs to where they're comfortable, but not too loose to be sloppy, play the pedals for 3 months and tell me you don't see serious gains..... But you gotta practice. Alot. You'll find that you can play MUCH LONGER with comfortable pedals without fatigue, and go MUCH faster, once you get the technique down.