clear bass drum heads for jazz? help!

[AveyTare]

i'm frustrated. i want to achieve warm, short sound out of my bass drum without using tons of pillows which makes the sound dull and, well, bad.

i'm playing mainly jazz and alt rock i want my bass drum to sound short, warm, a bit cutting <but not too much> and not too muddy. i don't know how to describe it actually.

actually i'm using Aquarian Texture Coated with Evans EQ-Pad on the batter and Evans EQ3 on the reso. i know i don't like heads with holes, but i don't think it's as necessary.

i'm quite sure i want to stick to Aquarian heads. i was thinking about Super Kick 1 with Regulator with no hole. what do you think? any ideas?

cheers

[Cymbalrider]

Go for a coated Superkick then and just something like a EQ1 coated on the res side (or whatever Aquarian has)

[AveyTare]

Go for a coated Superkick then and just something like a EQ1 coated on the res side (or whatever Aquarian has)

has anybody tried coated SK1 with Regulator?

has anybody tried coated SK1? :p

[Drummer Karl]

I like this way of achieving the sound I wanna have or the sound you described: Buying a one ply coated bass drum batter head, tune it to a medium or medium-high pitch (btw, what diameter is your bass drum?) and then muffling it with a felt strip...or two. Depends on how you`d like it.
Gives you a warm sound, and will be versatile. You can get a damn punchy sound out of a normal one play head, then again it can be very open without muffling.

Just what I thought about it...

Karl

[AveyTare]

I like this way of achieving the sound I wanna have or the sound you described: Buying a one ply coated bass drum batter head, tune it to a medium or medium-high pitch (btw, what diameter is your bass drum?) and then muffling it with a felt strip...or two. Depends on how you`d like it.
Gives you a warm sound, and will be versatile. You can get a damn punchy sound out of a normal one play head, then again it can be very open without muffling.

Just what I thought about it...

Karl

well, maybe an idea is good, but the effect, unfortunately, isn't.

i have 22/18 mapex pro m bass. as for my taste, FAR too big. i want 18/14 or 20/14.

[Drummer Karl]

well, maybe an idea is good, but the effect, unfortunately, isn't.

i have 22/18 mapex pro m bass. as for my taste, FAR too big. i want 18/14 or 20/14.

Hey, I`m exactly in the same situation. Have got a 22x18" and want a smaller like 18x14 or maybe 16x16.

Karl

[AveyTare]

Hey, I`m exactly in the same situation. Have got a 22x18" and want a smaller like 18x14 or maybe 16x16.

Karl

they sound sooo well...

does anybody use Aquarian Modern Vintage bass drum head with felt strip adhesed to the head? how is the felt strip "mounted"?

[goughy]

Maybe a bit OT, because I use a 20x14 and play a little jazz but mostly rock. I've tried to make mine sound as low and full as I can, with some decay and punch as well. But it has a great sound for dropping bombs with the sax player when I can, and I often feather the bass a lot during jazz on the quarters. I use a felt beater with no pads on the drum head.

I know you want to stick with aquarians, but with this size bass drum a shop recommended an evans eq4 batter head and it is fantastic. I never thought a bd this size could sound so low. I'd love to hear this head on a big drum. Also, I use this stuff called dacron (or cortelle) for dampening touching both heads. It's light and airy and dosen't seem to affect the tone of the shell, but takes away enough of the boing to make it controlled, but leaves me with nice sustain. You can get it from upholsterers and is usually in a roll about 150cm wide and like 30mtr long. I use about 2 pieces in the bottom of my bd. It's pretty cheap so you can get plenty and experiment.

[BertTheDrummer]

For aquarians I don't know, but I'd say probobly a Evans EQ1 on the batter with a EQ3 reso.

[AveyTare]

For aquarians I don't know, but I'd say probobly a Evans EQ1 on the batter with a EQ3 reso.

EQ3 reso? for jazz?

and i hate bass drum reso heads with holes.

[Cymbalrider]

I have a Mapex Pro M 22x18 and I currently have Powerstroke Fiberskyn Ambassdor heads on both sides. The drum is essentially dead with two powerstrokes on it but I think one or maybe both as just regular Fiberskyns would work very nicely. There is no fear of a plastic sound and felt and wood beaters sound nice with it. You do get a warm sound that you can make a open or a punchy as you like depending on how you tune them. Personally I'm not a fan of the size of my bass drum mainly because of it's 18" depth. It's a big bass but it doesn't sound like one. I'm looking into a kit with a 24 or 26 bass to get more of that swing era sound. Fiberskyn heads are fun to have but not if you want a sharp attack. I like them myself, although they are expensive.

[AveyTare]

I have a Mapex Pro M 22x18 and I currently have Powerstroke Fiberskyn Ambassdor heads on both sides. The drum is essentially dead with two powerstrokes on it but I think one or maybe both as just regular Fiberskyns would work very nicely. There is no fear of a plastic sound and felt and wood beaters sound nice with it. You do get a warm sound that you can make a open or a punchy as you like depending on how you tune them. Personally I'm not a fan of the size of my bass drum mainly because of it's 18" depth. It's a big bass but it doesn't sound like one. I'm looking into a kit with a 24 or 26 bass to get more of that swing era sound. Fiberskyn heads are fun to have but not if you want a sharp attack. I like them myself, although they are expensive.

fiberskyns look and sound great, but... they're Remo. i'm simply afraid about Remo's quality.

[Drummer Karl]

fiberskyns look and sound great, but... they're Remo. i'm simply afraid about Remo's quality.

Don`t be afraid of Remo`s quality, it`s alright. The other day in a drum shop I was told that Evans heads are "soft" so they are worn-out very quickly. Plausible because I experienced that when I put off my Coated Evans G1. They didn`t look very flat...in comparison to Remo`s Ambassador.

I think every brand has its advantages and disadvantages. I don`t fear that their Fyberskins could be bad quality. Good choice in my opinion...

Just my cent. ;-)

Karl

[onemat]

I have Aquarian Super Kick II Clear Batter on my Luddy 20 x14 with a white Aquarian Resonater. The thump is very deep for a twenty will no ring. If I want the a little ring I'd go to Super Kick ! and maybe a standard front head.
Matt

[AveyTare]

Don`t be afraid of Remo`s quality, it`s alright. The other day in a drum shop I was told that Evans heads are "soft" so they are worn-out very quickly. Plausible because I experienced that when I put off my Coated Evans G1. They didn`t look very flat...in comparison to Remo`s Ambassador.

I think every brand has its advantages and disadvantages. I don`t fear that their Fyberskins could be bad quality. Good choice in my opinion...

Just my cent. ;-)

Karl

thanks.

where do you find Aquarian in comparision with Remo?

[Drummer Karl]

thanks.

where do you find Aquarian in comparision with Remo?

Sorry, I can just compare Remo with Evans...never had Aquarians till now. Maybe once I played on some but I can`t make up an opinion from that.
Though I`m absoloutly curious about their coated one-ply head or the Modern Vintage.

Can you tell me something about those?

Karl

[Chonson]

I have Aquarian Super Kick II Clear Batter on my Luddy 20 x14 with a white Aquarian Resonater. The thump is very deep for a twenty will no ring. If I want the a little ring I'd go to Super Kick ! and maybe a standard front head.
Matt

I have the SuperKick 1 / white resonant head on an 18 (7.5x18!) and it's surprisingly deep. Zero muffling, no holes, tuned a little higher on the resonant than most people would go for -- it ends up having a really surprising tone. Great combo for sure.

As to the vs. Remo question... I switched to Aquarian a short while back and I'm absolutely blown away. I've preemptively re-headed everything to Aquarian. Love 'em. Is there going to be the occasional run of bad heads? Sure, happens with everyone. I remember a run of Remos in the mid-90s that pulled out like crazy... the store I worked at must have gotten a large chunk of it and I had three heads just completely fail within a week. (Including putting a stick through the center of a CS!) Aquarian occasionally apparently has issues with the texture coating being spotty occasionally... but the overall head-to-head consistency seems much greater to me at this point.

As always, your mileage may vary.

[AveyTare]

Sorry, I can just compare Remo with Evans...never had Aquarians till now. Maybe once I played on some but I can`t make up an opinion from that.
Though I`m absoloutly curious about their coated one-ply head or the Modern Vintage.

Can you tell me something about those?

Karl

i use it only for the bass drum. i was rather disappointed, but few days ago i sat in front of my bass drum and was tuning it for an hour or so.

as for now, i'm really happy. the tone is great, it's warm and nice. only a small pillow inside.

[Rickk]

AveyTare,
Maybe this will help?

Rick

http://www.aquariandrumheads.com/drumhead_tips/default.asp