20" Kick Players! HELP!

[JRH7]

Just got a 20" Delite kick and I can't seem to get the right punch out of it. It has the stock powerstroke 3 on the batter and the Sonor remo on the front and no hole with nothing in the bass drum. I used my Drum Dial on it and set the lugs to the suggested settings for a 20" kick and it sounds like a crapy muted floor tom. I was thinking of putting on an EMAD 2 and putting a felt strip on the front head and still have nothing inside. I play mostly rock/fusion if that helps. I am a little worried because I just got this kit yesterday and do not like the sound of the bass drum. The toms sound great so I have no compliants about them. I must be doing somethin wrong because I know alot folks out there play Delites with 20" kicks and they sound great. I have 22" and 18" for my Designers and have no issue tuning them and they sound unreal. I NEED YOUR HELP, PLEASE!

J.

[hauk]

emad sounds like a good idea (either one or two ply, depending on your preferance) but with an emad i wouldnt use any other dampening (i.e. felt)
further than that, i'm going to have to let others help as i'm no tuning expert

[Deathmetalconga]

Try using thicker heads, like FIberskyns. That will focus the sound and kill a lot of the overtones that are clouding up the sound,

www.terrasonus.com

[harryconway]

I just sold my 20x14 Yamaha kick. I had Powerstroke3's clear batter and ebony reso. and wide open. Super tight and punchy sound but not muted at all. Expense can be a big part of tuning kick drums, unfortunately. How many heads do you wanna buy to find the "perfect combo"? If you decide to get an EMAD, Take the P3 that's your batter now and switch it to reso. See if that gets you in the ballpark.

[The Ploughman]

K. I have three twenties. All Rogers. 64-65-67. 5 ply maple shells with rings, wrapped kits, two original, one is a rewrap. Heads are:

14x20, 1964, Has Rogers Single Tom Mount and Telescoping Hex Rod Cymbal mount on BD. Reso: Fiberskyn3 with double thick Rogers decal, (one black overlaid on a red for the shadow effect) Pink Panther Decal, medium sized, about 25% of head area covered by both decals. No Hole. No additional muffling.BATTER: Aquarian Super Kick II. Excellent Whumph when kicked, great bass, slightly less in sound quality than the super kick I on the next drum.

14x20, 1965, Has Rogers Single Tom Mount and Telescoping Hex Rod cymbal mount on BD. Reso: Fiberskyn 3 with Rogers Logo Decal, and Vintage Shield with Initials Decal, No Hole, Batter: Aquarian Super Kick I. No additional muffling. Excellent WHUMPH when kicked. great bass, lots o balls. sound is firm, makes a definitive statement.

14x20 1967. Virgin Shell, rewrapped NO plugged holes. Standard Rogers Swivo Spurs and mounts. Reso: Super Kick II Reso head with 3 o'clock hole. Batter: Remo Powerstroke 3 Fiberskyn. No additional muffling. Bass has good whumpf, but with a more muffled sound. still lots of balls, nothing to be ashamed of. This reso head was on the 1964 drum and I moved it to this one. The 64 sounds better without it, and This one doesnt sound as good as either of the other two bds with it. So, Ive Got It. and eventually, I will change one or the other heads off. While the sound of this drum is pleasing, focused, and is quite good for a small bd, its not in the same caliber as the other two drums.

Hope this helps.

[Samf]

J,

I have a Sonor S Class Pro set with a 20" BD. I use the stock heads and have the batter tuned a little tighter with a felt strip on both front and back heads. The Reso head is tuned just to take the wrinkle out of the head.

The drum dial does not give good readings on bass drums or thin batter snare heads. Take it back down and do it by feel and sound.

IMHO you don't need to swap heads my 20" sounds like THUNDER..... Take your time and it will drop right in....

[Drummer Karl]

Hey, one thing you could do is to fill the bass drum A BIT for now. So, that the small pillow (or whatever you wanna take) touches both heads. Then loosen up both heads till they are just finger-tightened.
Then tune both heads up a bit and tune the Reso head even more up, so that the reso is a bit higher in pitch than the batter head and doesn`t make a "Krrg" sound anymore when denting it.

Just my idea...

Karl

[Fat Elvis]

On my DW 20" kick i tried a PS3 and i thought it was absolutely dead as well. I went running back to my superkick II -- and found the ideal set up is a superkick II matched with an Evans Ported Emad Resonant. No internal muffling.... thing sounds like a punchy cannon. The aquarian resonator is also a good resonant head.

[JRH7]

Thanks to all who have responded. I just bought a EMAD2 and should be getting next week. I figured an EMAD would make things simple. I like simple.

J.

[The Ploughman]

Seriously, the Super kick 1 with a fiberskyn3 Ambassador Rocks the house. That emad, I think is going to be like coating your batter head in cardboard and wetting it down.

[Disco Stu]

Seriously, the Super kick 1 with a fiberskyn3 Ambassador Rocks the house. That emad, I think is going to be like coating your batter head in cardboard and wetting it down.
I've got a Superkick I on my 20" with no further muffling and I love the sound. I don't think I'll ever use a different head on this drum. Highly recommended.

[Rick_Strong]

I use felt strips gives that low punch for me.

[drumminjohn]

Go with the EMADDDDDD

[Exident]

Hey,

great decision! Emad heads are really great. I´m playing a sonor 3005 bassdrum with emad head and the sound is just incredible!
But you really should get a evans reso bd head.

Lg
Tobi

[d.c.drummer]

I also would like to pull for emad. Tune them a little past finger tight and you will have the roundest punch youve ever heard. Aquarian superkicks are also nice though.

[max77]

Buy a EMAD for the batter ... Tune it a little higher and tune your reso low.

[radiofriendlyunitshifter]

the problem i had with my kick was that my heads were too detuned. i actually had to give them

about 2.5 full turns with the key, and wow... my kick came alive. it's never sounded better.