quick question

[moe.ron]

i've had some problems with my bass drum lately. i want a nice boom that you feel in your chest and i had a SKII with the regulator for awhile and it just seemed like it had no volume. so i switched to a PS3 with the regulator and it still seems to be without any boom from behind the kit. i'm thinking about putting the stock yamaha head back on the front and throw a pillow in, my question is what is the best way to put a pillow in the drum to get a nice defined boom you can feel?

[Jeremy]

The best kick sound i ever got was a coated Powerstroke 3 in front of the stock yamaha head with a hole in it, and a pillow turned so that one corner touched each head. tune the batter high enough to get bounce and the reso as low as possible, and it's got deep boom like no tomorrow. the pillow was really soft too. i had a stiffer pillow in it before and it didn't sound nearly as good.

[rendezvous_drummer]

Well I play the EMAD on my Yamaha Stage Custom and I get an KICK ASS boom that will make the girls in the audience feel things that nothing else will....I love it!.

As for your situation, put the pillow on the drum so that it's only touching the resonant head slightly. I used a little blanket and it worked wonders when I still had my stock batter on there.

[moe.ron]

doesn't the emad have more muffling than the superkick II?

[wolfmoon]

Did you ever try the Suoer Kick 1? I tried the SK 2 and had the same problem. The difference between the 2 is like night and day.

[KCMcC]

If you want a boom, and not a thud, and you really mean that, and really chose the right word in "boom." Then you need to get rid of the pillow completely, switch to something like a superkick I, a powerstroke III, or whatever Evans single ply, but very slightly dampened head is, and an intact - no holes! - resonant head.

Tune the batter head up to where there is no slap from the beater, just the big loud soud of the head vibrating (and DON'T BURY THE BEATER). Tune the resonant head to where the volume and resonance are maximized (trial and error!)

That's how you get BOOM.

Based on what you are proposing as far as putting a pillow in etc, I think you probably picked the wrong word.

If you want thud, a big deep primal thud that you can feel as much as you can hear, a pillow and a microphone are probably the way to go.

[rendezvous_drummer]

Well with my EMAD, I get a boom. Kinda surprised because I have the larger of the two muffling rings on there, but I tuned the batter and resonant high.

[my sacred music]

aww dang i was gunna recommend the super kick II :oD

the schools drum set is a yamaha yd series with both stock heads on it and its got a pillow in there and its the nicest sounding bass ive heard! aside from mine. i just got a skII and really like it. :op

[moe.ron]

If you want a boom, and not a thud, and you really mean that, and really chose the right word in "boom." Then you need to get rid of the pillow completely, switch to something like a superkick I, a powerstroke III, or whatever Evans single ply, but very slightly dampened head is, and an intact - no holes! - resonant head.

Tune the batter head up to where there is no slap from the beater, just the big loud soud of the head vibrating (and DON'T BURY THE BEATER). Tune the resonant head to where the volume and resonance are maximized (trial and error!)

That's how you get BOOM.

Based on what you are proposing as far as putting a pillow in etc, I think you probably picked the wrong word.

If you want thud, a big deep primal thud that you can feel as much as you can hear, a pillow and a microphone are probably the way to go.


i've tried putting the stock unported resonant head with a powerstroke 3 and i didn't like the feel. i'm thinking a plain boom isn't what i'm looking for...maybe more of a thud with a good amount of resonance so its pronounced but still very deep and with the ps3 and regulator(bought for recording purposes) i feel like there's no resonance

[SLEEPY BRiGHT EYEZ]

Hmmm... I have PSIII on both batter and reso sides of my kick (unported) and I think it gives out a great low end punch/boom, with just the right amount of sustain. It's definitely not a thud- nor is it a 'circus' drum. I had the reso a third higher than the batter, but now I think they are both about the same pitch. When I lightly tap the batter with my ear near the reso, it puts out the sweetest tone. I also don't bury the beater when I play, for what it's worth. If it matters, I'm currently using a hard felt beater. Helps with the boom. My other option is a custom walnut beater, which is great for volume and attack, but cuts away some of the boom.

I imagine it's the muffler ring in the Regulator that's killing the resonance for you. It's like a sponge frisbee. Try something other than the Reg and your stock head with that PSIII and see what you think. Maybe even a PSIII reso like I am currently using. If the dual PSIII isn't enough sustain, try a single ply clear reso. If that's not thuddy enough, maybe try the PSIII/single ply clear combo with a small pillow barely touching the batter.

From what you describe, I'd imagine the SKII/Reg combo would be perfect. I heard that recently and thought it was a nice low thud with a tad of resonance. It actually made the kick sound bigger than it really was. I think you're going to have a hard time getting a good thud with a lot of resonance. They are kind of opposites, right?

[KCMcC]

Thud and resonance don't go together all that well.

Maybe an Emad with an unported unmuffled resonant head?
What kind of beater are you using?

I think that Trial and error is the thing here, problem is that's expensive with bass drum heads! Maybe name a few "examples" of the kind of sound you are looking for and someone might have a better suggestion based on that. None of uses any of these words "punchy" "thud" "boom" "warm" etc in quite the same way, so it's always hard to tell what someone else is looking for. Then you still have to figure out how to get it.

[moe.ron]

well when i say thud i mean i want it defined i don't want the overly boomy bonham sound. i wish i had a recording, i saw gym class heroes friday and matt's kick is only 18" but it sounded huge and when he hit it i could feel it in my chest.

[moe.ron]

thanks for the help guys. i got the sound i wanted, a nice fat, deep, thumping sound. i put the old stock yammie head on with a normal sized soft pillow just touching the batter head, sounds 10 times better