Making a Bass drum snappy

[LeeLovesSabian]

How in the world do you make them sound very snappy?

The pitch im going for is like on the Metallica cd: ...And Justice for All.
Pick any song off of that album, and you'll know what I mean.

I use a 22" bass drum, and I currently stuff a small blanket and a pillow inside of it for muffling, but I get a quiet thud.

Any tips?

[Kothlow]

Buy and EMAD, and use little or no "stuffing".

Or you can hire a sound engineers crew like Lars does :P

[trysthedrummer]

Use plastic beaters and buy those remo or evans slam pads for the kick batter.

[G-Con]

Go old school and duct tape quarter or silver dollar to the batter side of the head. That's how it was done way back when. Or like the other guys said, just get one of those bass drum pads, I know Danmar makes a metal one, and some hard beaters.

[LeeLovesSabian]

Quarter or silver dollars? How the does that work?

And I've never heard of plastic beaters, rubber, but not plastic.

Any other ideas?

[Ironcobra]

Buy an EMAD, not an EMAD2. Tune it just past wrinkled. Buy rubber beaters. Cut a 3-4" hole in the reso head.

Optional: a dense impact badge.

Oh, almost forgot, make sure your kick is virgin(mount your toms on a stand). I don't care what people say, a virgin kick has way more slap and oomph.

[805Drummer]

Buy an EMAD, not an EMAD2. Tune it just past wrinkled. Buy rubber beaters. Cut a 3-4" hole in the reso head.

Optional: a dense impact badge.

Oh, almost forgot, make sure your kick is virgin(mount your toms on a stand). I don't care what people say, a virgin kick has way more slap and oomph.

My kick meets all of those requirements: EMAD, JAW, dense impact, virgin. It's close to the sound I want (kind of like the snappy sound you want, with lots of punch), but not quite there. The plastic beaters will make the sound much better, and one would definitely need a reso with a hole, for less of a bouncy feel.

[TheArchitect]

My kick meets all of those requirements: EMAD, JAW, dense impact, virgin. It's close to the sound I want (kind of like the snappy sound you want, with lots of punch), but not quite there. The plastic beaters will make the sound much better, and one would definitely need a reso with a hole, for less of a bouncy feel.


After you do all of that heavily EQ the mids out of it. What you are hearing on the record is not what was happening in the room.

[mcbike]

http://www.danmarpercussion.com/topsellers/pdkp-210dk3.gif

get a danmar plastic beater, or a dw 2 way beater and use the plastic side. I used to use this kick sound in the 90's. the danmar kick pads seem to the do the trick.

I never had a problem with them harming a batter head. they seemed to last forever with those on them.

you can try the remo kevlar pad too but the danmar has a metal plate in it.

[LeeLovesSabian]

http://www.danmarpercussion.com/topsellers/pdkp-210dk3.gif

get a danmar plastic beater, or a dw 2 way beater and use the plastic side. I used to use this kick sound in the 90's. the danmar kick pads seem to the do the trick.

I never had a problem with them harming a batter head. they seemed to last forever with those on them.

you can try the remo kevlar pad too but the danmar has a metal plate in it.

I believe I saw one of those before.
It cost only $20.
Could something that small really work?

[metallica246810]

Lars said in an interview once that the silver dollar thing is what he did, but he also said it's really bad for your heads. Just thought I would give you a heads up there. My kicks sound pretty badass with a good amount of slap and I'm only using 22x18 Pearl Exports. I've found that tuning the drum higher than just past wrinkle on both heads works best. How much higher is up to you since we all have different drums. I just use a light sofa pillow for muffling and an emad 2 batter with the standard pearl resonant. Felt beaters and no port hole too. I think the emad 2 provides all you need with it's smaller foam ring to get a sufficient slap, and tuning higher with not a lot of muffling inside will give it some ballsy low end, which if you notice is also present in Lars' sound. Of course, like someone said before, his kicks' were certainly altered in the mastering process, but I like the sound he got from his kicks in ...And Justice and the following albums as well, and that's the kind of sound I aim for usually. This approach seems to work very well for my drums at the very least. Good luck getting it!

[Chonson]

http://www.microphonereviews.com/images/content/product/shure-beta-91/large/Shure%20Beta%2091.jpg

The Shure Beta 91 is good for mixing with a Shure Beta 52/AKG D112 to get this sound. The 52/112 will pick up the low end roundness; roll off everything over say 500Hz on it; the 91 will give you click. Compress and blend to taste. You can get there without very few extreme bass drum altering measures

[wolfmoon]

For what you want to hear, you should use a "clear single ply head" That could be anything from an Ambassador to a Powerstroke or any head from any of the major companies that's single ply. Same goes for the front head, ported or unported but I used an unported head because it will resonate a bit which will give more volume. A 2 ply head will have a very thick feel and become very dead if you use this method I'm talking about.

You need to have something in the drum. I have found that a foam rubber cushion works best say... for your drum size the cushion would need to be 3 inches high by 16 1/4 wide. I'm assuming your drum is 22x16 ?? The cushion has to touch both heads BUT it can't super packed in there. What I mean is that the heads should be able to put on without the cushion putting a lot of pressure on the heads.

You can get foam rubber from any upholstery supply store or even some place that sells matress pads. If you can get ahold of a "medium" couch cushion, that would be great. You will have to cut it to size. Don't even bother with a sper thick one, it will be way overkill. You can also use a blanket or basic pillow but I had the best results with foam rubber. So... after you get the head combo of your choice, both front and back head should be tuned loose just above the wrinkle stage.. Use the Danmar pad and PLASTIC DW beater as mentioned above and there you go. This will be fine for playing in your house but if you play in a band, your gonna have to mic that drum or it will get lost in all the noise.

Keep in mind what you hear on the records is heavily "processed or triggered" You can't get that exact sound acousticly but this will get you in the neighborhood with a sound that will blend into "that sound" when you play along with it. I remember seeing White Lion back in the 80's. The bass drum had a very tight snap to it. During the set change, I could see that he had foam rubber strips I'm guessing 4x4 in size glued around the inside edge of the head 3/4 of the way around the heads, front and back. He had a single ply silver dot Ludwig head on the batter and Ludwig reso on the front with a 4 inch hole. Yes, he played Ludwig :) This all may sound like a lot of work but it really isn't and it does in fact work. People have pulled away from this type of sound over time myself included but there are times when I like to hear it in place of the wide open boom. It all depends on the music style. Sometimes it taste good, sometimes it doesn't. I suppose it would taste good for your music type I mean... Metallica wouldn't sound right with a wide open booming bass drum.

[LeeLovesSabian]

Things to do:

Buy plastic beater
Put foam in the bass drum
Mic it up live.

Sound right?

[wolfmoon]

And the Danmar click pad..

[LeeLovesSabian]

And the Danmar click pad..

I almost forgot.
But I did forget what the hell that is. lol

[trysthedrummer]

If you get one of those pads it will give you more attack. You can buy the beaters from most makes separately which have felt one side and plastic/wood on the other. (or 4 sides like some).

You might want to practice a bit first as you get a much different feel. You really need a hole in the bass drum reso too if your after a controlled punch.

[LeeLovesSabian]

If you get one of those pads it will give you more attack. You can buy the beaters from most makes separately which have felt one side and plastic/wood on the other. (or 4 sides like some).

You might want to practice a bit first as you get a much different feel. You really need a hole in the bass drum reso too if your after a controlled punch.

Can I cut the hole at home?
Or do I need to buy one?

[wolfmoon]

Can I cut the hole at home?
Or do I need to buy one?

You can but I wouldn't unless you know what you are doing. I have destroyed many heads when I was a kid trying to do this. You can get an Aquarian Regulator or a head from Evans already ported. Most stores usually stock one or the other.

[LeeLovesSabian]

You can but I wouldn't unless you know what you are doing. I have destroyed many heads when I was a kid trying to do this. You can get an Aquarian Regulator or a head from Evans already ported. Most stores usually stock one or the other.

Okay, but does it make a big enough difference to spend the money on?

[wolfmoon]

There is a difference. What do you have now? A full front head? Will you be using a mic?

[LeeLovesSabian]

There is a difference. What do you have now? A full front head? Will you be using a mic?

Yes., if your talking about no holes.
And no, I don't use mics.

[trysthedrummer]

If you've got some sense cutting a hole in the bass drum is a piece of cake, - but I recomenned buying one of thise HOLZ (like this for example: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HOLZ-BASS-DRUM-OS-6-CHROME_W0QQitemZ260318914206QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ Musical_Instruments_Drums_Percussions_MJ?hash=item 260318914206&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50)

...to finish the job off. All you do is draw around the hole and then cut out with a penknife/stanley knife.

It does make a difference because with no hole you get a much boomier sound than letting it breathe by cutting a 6" hole in it if that's what you're after!

[LeeLovesSabian]

If you've got some sense cutting a hole in the bass drum is a piece of cake, - but I recomenned buying one of thise HOLZ (like this for example: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HOLZ-BASS-DRUM-OS-6-CHROME_W0QQitemZ260318914206QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ Musical_Instruments_Drums_Percussions_MJ?hash=item 260318914206&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50)

...to finish the job off. All you do is draw around the hole and then cut out with a penknife/stanley knife.

It seems like a drum-head wouldn't be able to handle that.

[trysthedrummer]

What do you mean?

202020

[LeeLovesSabian]

What do you mean?

202020


Wouldn't it just start to tear after playing it?

[TheArchitect]

If you've got some sense cutting a hole in the bass drum is a piece of cake, - but I recomenned buying one of thise HOLZ (like this for example: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HOLZ-BASS-DRUM-OS-6-CHROME_W0QQitemZ260318914206QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ Musical_Instruments_Drums_Percussions_MJ?hash=item 260318914206&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50)

...to finish the job off. All you do is draw around the hole and then cut out with a penknife/stanley knife.

It does make a difference because with no hole you get a much boomier sound than letting it breathe by cutting a 6" hole in it if that's what you're after!

Actually you put the back part of the HOLZ on the head first. then cut out the inside and then snap the front side into place.

The plastic ring protects the hole from tearing.

[trysthedrummer]

Yes I know, I didn't state which hole you should draw around first.

[Kothlow]

Dont know if this helps, but I do it to all my bass drum reso heads with ease.

Clean your head of dirt/debris, lay it down on a cutting board at the position you want the hole. Turn the stove burner on high (be careful, wear an oven mitt) and place a can of the diameter you want on the burner, heating the edge up. When it is heated, your simply burning a hole in your head with the edge of the can. The peice then punches right out.

I then clean it up with my fingernail, .. its durable, because it leaves a very clean, rounded hole with the edges cauterized, adding strength.

I cant take credit for this, a drummer from another band once told me this. But it works!

[drumhammerer]

well, it would help to have 24" bass drums, too. That's what Lars used on that album. And, I agree with the clear ambassador. I just recently put one of those on my 24" kick, and it really gets that clicky, higher pitched, and articulate sound. The pre-muffled heads sound better because they get better low end and a punchier sound, but I hear my kick much better now because of the more distinct attack from the unmuffled heads. I was even able to put a pillow in my kick (which I haven't been able to do for years), and this sucker was still loud. Honestly, it's not the best kick sound, but it's nice not having to slam my kick to have it heard over heavy guitars. Plastic beaters and a Remo falam slam impact pad are also the way to go to get that clicky sound with volume. BTW, what batter head do you have on there right now?

[mattyg@@]

the only way you're gonna get that sound is with good mics and loads of EQ, compression, processing etc. you won't get that sound acoustically in a practice room