bass drum head SHOWDOWN!!!

[fatedrummer]

hey peoples,

I am going down to Sam Ash today and was wondering what kind of bass drum head I should get. I play a mix of rock, jazz, blues, funk, and christian. I'm thinking I want a dampened bass drum head like the Aquarian SK 2, or the remo one, or the evans emad.

what should it be,

happy 4th,

fatedrummer

[fatedrummer]

hey its me, same person, I wanted to mention I play a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage 2006 edition. I use the stock heads and am looking for a new head

[Mapex589]

Fate, I have been a believer in the EMAD for a while now. While they are not for everybody, I personally love the fat dampened punch I get from it but the is the sound I like. I think the EMAD is easy to tune as well so I am up and running with the quickness. I play a lot of hard rock and heavy metal but I study a lot of funk with my instructor and it sounds great for that too. I hope my review helps a little.

[Ironcobra]

im not trying to be a biased towards a specific brand, but i swear to you that this EMAD is outstanding and i doubt there is anything on the market that can produce such a warm deep bass, i went from a cheap cheap PANK to i nice low THOOOMP just by replacing this head, my bass drum sounds like a higher end birch or maple kit(unfortunatly i cant say the same for the toms or snare) anyways heres the one \/\/\/

http://www.opengroup.com/daddario/prodimages/BD__EMAD.jpg

if you end up buying it, make sure you put the thicker muffling ring on (btw this is a batter)

[gretsch223]

I really like the coated emad. If you don't want coated...Go for a clear emad or SK2

[hurders]

There is something available to match the EMAD and thats the Aquarian Superkick. I had to choose between the EMAD and Superkick a few months ago and plumped for a SK I after reading a few comments that the EMAD is a bit more clicky. The SK I required very little tuning, prob about 5-10mins on my Pearl Session Custom and sounds superb, a lovely classic deep thump with plenty of volume. I really don't think you can go wrong with either the EMAD or Superkick.

[RUSTE]

Ive just put clear aquarian superkick 2's on my bassdrum with the matching regulater reso heads. They sound great but i used to use clear emads. Think i might prefer the emads but prefer ther regulater bassdrum to the emad bassdrum reso.... You get so much more low end from these heads though.. So for me its a bit of both. Thing is im thinking of playing with triggers on bassdrums in the future & i dont think you can get them on the emads due to the ring being on the outside. Please correct me if im wrong!?

[mainedrummer]

I have a set of Rogers Powertones with 2 - 24" basses. I've had the kit since '71 and the basses have had single ply clear, coated, pinstripes, another 2 ply filled with something (I can't remember what now) and numerous others. Most the time the reso head has been the original Rogers head cutout so much it was basically a single head drum with a blanket muffler. Last summer I went to a set of Aquarian SKII on one of the basses. The reso has the small cutout, no muffling and I think the drum sound the best ever. From behind the kit the bass has a punch and out front the notes can almost be felt (I use Ludwig Speedkings with felt beaters). The first time I played with those heads it was the first time I can remember the rest of the band members looking back at me and commenting that they really liked the bass's sound.

I have another kit with a 22" bass and SKII mounted on both sides. It doesn't have the same punch as the 24". So the size of the bass drum might very well make a difference on how different heads will sound.

[Mendozart]

SKII with a PS3 ebony reso, 4" hole. 18"x24" keller shell DW. AWESOME! I've used everything and I always come back to the Superkicks.

[Rickk]

I love the Emad, Both batter and reso side. but Have not tried the SK II, so can't compare.

[PureRockFury]

I can get a PS3 to do all of the mentioned above and some. It's easily the best bass drum head available today.

[drumbandit]

I really like the SK1 and regulator (with reso hole) combination. I would definitely recommend that pair oh heads.

Tom

[konaboy]

I have a set of Rogers Powertones with 2 - 24" basses. I've had the kit since '71 and the basses have had single ply clear, coated, pinstripes, another 2 ply filled with something (I can't remember what now) and numerous others. Most the time the reso head has been the original Rogers head cutout so much it was basically a single head drum with a blanket muffler. Last summer I went to a set of Aquarian SKII on one of the basses. The reso has the small cutout, no muffling and I think the drum sound the best ever. From behind the kit the bass has a punch and out front the notes can almost be felt (I use Ludwig Speedkings with felt beaters). The first time I played with those heads it was the first time I can remember the rest of the band members looking back at me and commenting that they really liked the bass's sound.

I have another kit with a 22" bass and SKII mounted on both sides. It doesn't have the same punch as the 24". So the size of the bass drum might very well make a difference on how different heads will sound.

I think your problem on your 22 is you have an SKII on both sides it's sucking all the sound out of your drum. That's way too much damping between the felt strips and essentially 4 plies of drum head. You need to use a reso head like the regulator and you'll get a nice punchy deep sound.


As far as Fatedrummer, I've tried the emad and it's o.k. but I really prefer the SK1. The emad has a little bit of a click that I'm not real fond of. The SKII is a little too dead, but that's just my personal taste, the SK1 just seems to give me the right amount of punch and tone. I also use the regulator ported reso. This is on a 22" yamaha bass.

[drumbuddy105133]

I have heard a clear emad on a yamaha stage custom advantage. It sounds great with a lot of punch. I would recommend it

[masonni]

Superkicks baby!!!!
I tried and EMAD when they first came out, and the plastic strip that holds the foam ring in place fell off before the head wore out.... not cool!
Superkicks all the way and nothing else!