Dumb question... Bass Beater contact with drum

[konaboy]

The bass beater should contact the head at pretty much 90* right? Just changed out my DW 2 way beater on my 9000 pedal and noticed the felt was worn towards the top 1/3 rather than the middle. I can honestly say this isn't something I've ever thought about in my 25+ years of playing, hook the pedal up, adjust tension and beater height and go. Looks like a little adjustment in the bass drum spurs to change the angle of the drum is in order

[Les Ismore]

The bass beater should contact the head at pretty much 90* right?

... and the beater should hit dead-center of the head also.

Says who? Its a bunch of crap. The beater hitting flat might not sound as good to you as your current 1/3 action.

Some bass drums/heads/tensions sound the same weather the beater is dead-center or off center. You need to experiment.

I can tell you not to spend $ trying to figure this out, b/c I already have.

[konaboy]

... and the beater should hit dead-center of the head also.

Says who? Its a bunch of crap. The beater hitting flat might not sound as good to you as your current 1/3 action.

Some bass drums/heads/tensions sound the same weather the beater is dead-center or off center. You need to experiment.

I can tell you not to spend $ trying to figure this out, b/c I already have.

I guess I was looking at it more from the pedal travel. The pedal has to travel farther to hit the head causing more effort and work??

[Jonesy]

and I think that if the beater hits the head with the top 1/3, it will put more stress on the head because there's more force concentrated in one area.

[konaboy]

and I think that if the beater hits the head with the top 1/3, it will put more stress on the head because there's more force concentrated in one area.

Don't know that it puts anymore stress on the head, if you look at beaters from Axis and Tama they are way more concentrated on the point of impact

I'm thinking it might create more work as the player since the pedal has to travel farther and that it might also affect how the beater rebounds off the head

[GRUNTERSDAD]

I know that the Taye beaters come with a swivel head that allows for it to be adjusted to hit the head flat. I have also read that the beater should be just above or just below dead center to keep from choking the drum.

Check this page and you will see a variety of adjustable pedal beaters.

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/drum-percussion-accessories-parts/drum-pedals/drum-pedal-parts

[Les Ismore]

I guess I was looking at it more from the pedal travel. The pedal has to travel farther to hit the head causing more effort and work??

So you can't adjust beater angle to hit flat?

How wide is the bass drum hoop. One of the best adjustments on the Trick pedal is their forward/back hoop clamp.

It all depends on you playing style if it ends up as more work. The pedal at rest and the pedal with your foot on it ready to fire may show different beater angle positions. It has a lot to do with if you balance on your feet, or your stool (feet floating) also.

Like I said above, your 1/3 action might prove louder, more powerful than a full face attack.

[konaboy]

So you can't adjust beater angle to hit flat?

How wide is the bass drum hoop. One of the best adjustments on the Trick pedal is their forward/back hoop clamp.

It all depends on you playing style if it ends up as more work. The pedal at rest and the pedal with your foot on it ready to fire may show different beater angle positions. It has a lot to do with if you balance on your feet, or your stool (feet floating) also.

Like I said above, your 1/3 action might prove louder, more powerful than a full face attack.

I'm actually working on the way the bass drum sits so the beater will hit more at a 90* when played. I'm raising the legs up more to bring the head into the beater more. I'm not so concerned about it at rest as I am when my foot is in full motion striking the head. I can't adjust the hoop clamp back any farther than it is. The rim is an early '80's yamaha bass.


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/konaboy0915/new94.jpg

[Fiery]

Kick drum angle changes nothing, it's all up to hoop width. If the batter head is vertical - 90 degrees, the beater will be a bit over 90 at the point of impact. If the beater is at 90 degrees, the head will be less the 90. The contact surface stays the same in any case. Here's an ASCII diagram of sorts, left line represents the head, right line the beater:
- head vertical: |\
- beater vertical: /|

No need to worry about beater having to travel more either, because you can adjust this by chaning the beater angle. In other words, if it feels good to you with the current setting, you might not like the change in feel when you raise the kick.

What will change when you raise the front of your kick drum, is that the hoop clamp will put more tension on the hoop, which in turn decreases resonance and sustain. Bob Gatzen has a pretty good video on this issue.

[Les Ismore]

Kick drum angle changes nothing, it's all up to hoop width. If the batter head is vertical - 90 degrees, the beater will be a bit over 90 at the point of impact. If the beater is at 90 degrees, the head will be less the 90. The contact surface stays the same in any case. Here's an ASCII diagram of sorts, left line represents the head, right line the beater:
- head vertical: |\
- beater vertical: /|

No need to worry about beater having to travel more either, because you can adjust this by chaning the beater angle. In other words, if it feels good to you with the current setting, you might not like the change in feel when you raise the kick.

What will change when you raise the front of your kick drum, is that the hoop clamp will put more tension on the hoop, which in turn decreases resonance and sustain. Bob Gatzen has a pretty good video on this issue.



Actually raising the bass drum with the spurs will cause the beater to hit sooner/flatter. It'll also bring the toms in closer to the snare, should they be mounted on the bass drum.

With the front of the bass drum raised, tension on the hoop/head will only be affected if the pedal is 'clamped' to the hoop. I think gatzen clamps the pedal down in his video.

You may be able to get away with not clamping (or just ever so lightly) the pedal, as weight is distributed onto the batter end of the bass drum when its elevated up front. If you had a Axis pedal, you could easily take the hoop clamp off, then hoop thickness would be of no concern.

[Fiery]

The beater will hit the head sooner, but the head surface itself will no longer be vertical, so they will still be at an angle related to one another. Like the "diagram": /|, where "/" is the head and "|" is the beater.

The hoop will be affected only if the hoop clamp is tightened, that's true. So if you don't tighten your pedal hoop clamp, it's nothing to worry about.

[genericdrummingusername]

Speaking of not clamping, where can I get a base plate for my master side pedal on mt double kick pedal? It kind of moves around in use, unless I really clamp it, which, of course, I refuse to do, Simple logic suggests, I'm losing energy with these extraneous movements, wearing parts and the hoop out, etc.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Are you talking about the slave pedal on the hi hat side? there is a clamp made to clamp the slave pedal to the hi hat stand.

[genericdrummingusername]

Are you talking about the slave pedal on the hi hat side? there is a clamp made to clamp the slave pedal to the hi hat stand.

If you're talking to me, uh, no, I'm talking about the Main bass drum side kick pedal. It doesn't have a base plate, just the bars, and it wobbles a lot.

[Skitch]

and I think that if the beater hits the head with the top 1/3, it will put more stress on the head because there's more force concentrated in one area.

There is always more stress on a bass drum head; the beater hits in the same spot every time!



Mike

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