Multiple small port holes for bd instead of one that's bigger?

poika

Silver Member
Anybody have any experience with using multiple smaller port holes around the head instead of the usual 4" hole?

I just put on a new ambassador for the reso head and it sounds great. The problem is that I like to bury the beater and the beater bounces on the batter head with the unported head. Only slightly, but enough to produce a kind of a "double-kick"

I have a 22" Ludwig Vistalite bass drum, and I have taken the tom mount thingy out so some of the air comes out through there, but it's just not enough. It's muffled on the inside, which also helps with the bouncing.

I'd like to keep the head as resonant as possible, yet get the air moving out enough so that my beater doesn't bounce. Somehow I'd think that many smaller holes divided across the head would let the head resonate more, am I right?

This was the only photo I found, but I was thinking of perhaps going even smaller

Pros / cons ?
 

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Honestly, it just sounds to me that you have your batter head tuned too high. I was having the same problem recently, using a 20" kick with an unported reso. I just loosened up the batter head, and not only did it fix that problem, but it sounds much better now, too. More low end resonance in it.
 
No it's pretty loose actually. I have a Remo ps3 and I like it low, it gives a nice thud to it.

I play the bass drum with a lot of force sometimes, and I think it's just a case of not enough pressure getting out, causing the batter head to bounce back a bit too much.

I read somewhere that basically the size of the hole should not take up any more than 10% of the head surface area.

what I'm interested in is that if you divide that 10% into multiple holes, does it change the sound and/or feel whether you divide it in three holes or six smaller holes.. I'm not sure if I know how to explain myself better?
 
Having holes evenly all around the head could be benefitial in that the head will be vibrating more evenly across the entire surface, which probably results in a more even tone and longer sustain. Just a theory...

The best solution however, is to not bury the damn beater. It doesn't take more than a month to completely revamp your foot technique, and play without burying the beater without even thinking about it. You'll have more options in tuning, and you get a lot more vibration between the heads = more sustain and more low end.
 
No it's pretty loose actually. I have a Remo ps3 and I like it low, it gives a nice thud to it.

I play the bass drum with a lot of force sometimes, and I think it's just a case of not enough pressure getting out, causing the batter head to bounce back a bit too much.

That seems odd to me. I tend to play very hard, and bury the beater all the time, and never have an issue as long as my head isn't too tight.

I guess there are many more factors to take into consideration (beater type, kick drum size, type of head, internal/external dampening, etc.)
 
Try a Drum Workshop bass drum resonate head, They have many tiny holes set around the perimeter of the head.
I port some of my bass drum heads but not all of them. It depends on the tuning and the music that I am playing.
When I do port, I am a fan of a single porthole that is 4" or smaller depending on the size of the drum and the tuning.
I also have learned how to not bury the beater when I don't want to.
 
The bass drum measures 22" x 13", so that may also play a part in it, maybe in a deeper bass drum it would take longer for the air to travel to the front head and back, meaning that by the time it comes back to the batter head the pressure is not as powerful?

The shell is made of acrylic, and the hard plastic probably works against me on this one. Maybe a wooden bass drum would absorb the sound a bit more, I guess..

Not burying the beater isn't really an option. I tried that for a while but never got comfortable with it, it just doesn't suit the way my legs work.
I have a DW5000 pedal with the plastic/felt beater (I use the felt side)

Besides, I did some A-B tests and found that for me, with the style I use to play, I actually prefer the sound that comes when you bury the beater. It's more of a snappy, controlled attack sound. Now I just need to combine that thud to getting the right kind of low end out of the reso head.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into those DW reso heads also
 
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