Bass Drum Heads - PS3 vs SK2

Nastynate16

Junior Member
Hey everyone. I recently purchased a Tama Starclassic Maple kit with a 22x18 bass drum and i am trying to decide what heads to put on it. I want a deep rock sounding bass so I am trying to decide between a Remo Powerstroke 3 with Ported Powerstroke 3 Reso head or an Aquarian SK2 with a Ported Regulator head. I play a lot of funk and rock music. I will be playing live with this set so i dont want to put any pillows in the bass drum because i dont want to take to much away from the sound because i might/might not be miced depending on where we play.

On a side note my set is green and i figure it would look sweet with a white reso head. Is there much of a difference between a coated vs an ebony reso?

I know this is heavily eq'd with the mics and all but something similar to this

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/dennischambersfatback.html

I also have a drumdial so if you have any recomendations for tuning settings please let me know.

Thanks
 
Hey everyone. I recently purchased a Tama Starclassic Maple kit with a 22x18 bass drum and i am trying to decide what heads to put on it. I want a deep rock sounding bass so I am trying to decide between a Remo Powerstroke 3 with Ported Powerstroke 3 Reso head or an Aquarian SK2 with a Ported Regulator head. I play a lot of funk and rock music. I will be playing live with this set so i dont want to put any pillows in the bass drum because i dont want to take to much away from the sound because i might/might not be miced depending on where we play.

On a side note my set is green and i figure it would look sweet with a white reso head. Is there much of a difference between a coated vs an ebony reso?

I know this is heavily eq'd with the mics and all but something similar to this

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/dennischambersfatback.html

I also have a drumdial so if you have any recomendations for tuning settings please let me know.

Thanks

Green and white would be cool.

Your head choices present a fairly wide contrast. The PS3 head has a minimal level of pre-muffling while the SKII is about as muffled as you can get and still call it a head.

Even with miking the SKII is too dead for a lot of people. After my single try with one I went back to a SKI. This in a situation where live, the kick was always miked.

Presently I am using the Aquarian version of your other choice, the PS3. The Aquarian Full Force 1 and 2 combo. Like the PS3, this head is single ply with a "vented" film layer at the edge. This in a situation where the kit is not miked on a consistent basis.

Of the two options, I prefer the Full Force or PS3. No muffling, other than what comes on these heads, no port hole. Big sound that can be worked with when a mic is needed.
 
Agreed!

I'd only use the SK combo if the drum would always be miked. This is a very soft and dry sounding combination.

For playing out unmiked, you need the drum to boooom (sustain) and the SKs just won't do it. (They're not designed to!) If you play out unmiked you should consider forgoing the port as well, because it lessens sustain.

I use PS3s in both unmiked and miked situations. For unmiked it's PS3s front and rear, no port and nothing in the drum. Tuned for boom. Amazingly loud! For miked I replace the reso with a ported PS3 (4" port, offset at 4 o'clock) and some muffling--usually an Evans EQ pad on the batter and a small rolled-up towel against the reso.

If you play both miked and unmiked I recommend using something like the PS3 because you can add muffling to it if you need to, but you can't remove it from the SKs.
 
If you play both miked and unmiked I recommend using something like the PS3 because you can add muffling to it if you need to, but you can't remove it from the SKs.

Very true. With my 20 inch birch bass drum, I found the Superkick to be a little too subdued (even with nothing inside the drum!). Now I use a clear PS3, and finally have the sound I want. It sounds just as good with no muffling as it does with a pillow inside; there's just as much warmth as there was with the Superkick, but there's a lot more attack to the sound.
 
I really don't know why drummers leave out the Remo Powersonic Kick drum head when recommending a bass batter drum head. If you want very low frequency with max sustain then give the Powersonic a try. I feel the old stand buy PS3 in not even close! And thats saying allot for the worlds most widely used bass batter head.
 
I really don't know why drummers leave out the Remo Powersonic Kick drum head when recommending a bass batter drum head. If you want very low frequency with max sustain then give the Powersonic a try. I feel the old stand buy PS3 in not even close! And thats saying allot for the worlds most widely used bass batter head.

Well, there's a reason for that: not many drummers like them. And of the ones that do I suspect that very few play out at all.

My vote for the worst bass drum head available today. Even an SKII lets more tone through. I suppose if you're always miked and don't mind your entire sound coming from the engineer's EQ knobs . . .

Of the ones I've (sadly) heard, there was no sustain whatsoever. No surprise given the construction.

Finally, it's worth noting that the PS3 does not sound its best at JAW tuning--it needs to go slightly higher before it becomes meaty and fat. Worth trying if you've been disappointed in them at JAW.
 
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