beater not perpendicular to ground when hitting kick head

wormtownpaul said:
I guess my remaining problem is that given how standard, high end bass drum pedals are configured, this is a problem that 99% of drummers should be facing. The two ways I've heard to address it are 1) to use thinner metal hoops, and 2) to adjust the spurs so, as I understood if, the whole kick is lifted off the ground and the drum remains parallel to the ground, because the resonant end of the drum is raised as high as the pedal is raising the batter end of the drum.

Problems that remain. I think most drummers use wood hoops. Are they somehow getting around the problem, or does this suggest that the "problem" isn't that severe? And second, I just don't see many drummer employing the kick drum off the ground solution. Does this again suggest that most drummers aren't addressing the issue and that it really isn't that severe?

I'm not arguing that it isn't severe; I'm simply confused on the matter.
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You should be able to tilt your bass drum up about 3 or 4 degrees above parallel to the ground. This will help the problem without bending the batter side hoop. It may just be that your hoop is to wide, shave it down if you must.

If none if this works, you should decide what annoys you more. Going past the 90 degree, or having a top heavy beater.
 
I think the main question would be, If you have a beater hitting a bass drum head at 360, 0, or 5 degrees from vertical do any of us have the ear to hear the difference. If so why not find a bent shaft or bend one that would make it perpendicular.
 

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Nodiggie said:
Well, my kick is tilted back just enough so that the cam does not touch the head. My beater strikes at pretty much a 90 deg. angle. In my opinion, if you're past 90 you are wasting energy cause you have to press down farther on the pedal to actually make contact. ???

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That's a good point. On the other hand, people will increase the throw of their beater for more power (sacrificing speed), which makes the beater farther from the head, just the same as if the beater had to travel at 95 degrees to reach the head. So it's all relative. I don't think it's important if the beater is at 90 degrees when it hits.
 
wormtownpaul said:
I guess my remaining problem is that given how standard, high end bass drum pedals are configured, this is a problem that 99% of drummers should be facing. The two ways I've heard to address it are 1) to use thinner metal hoops, and 2) to adjust the spurs so, as I understood if, the whole kick is lifted off the ground and the drum remains parallel to the ground, because the resonant end of the drum is raised as high as the pedal is raising the batter end of the drum.

Problems that remain. I think most drummers use wood hoops. Are they somehow getting around the problem, or does this suggest that the "problem" isn't that severe? And second, I just don't see many drummer employing the kick drum off the ground solution. Does this again suggest that most drummers aren't addressing the issue and that it really isn't that severe?

I'm not arguing that it isn't severe; I'm simply confused on the matter.
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I would have to question the premise that this is a problem to begin with. When you hit a snare or other drum with a stick, you are not parallel with the head. Where did this notion that the kick beater needs to be come from?

As for the "wasted energy" to push the pedal an extra 1/4 of an inch on a stroke, that's pretty much a moot point. Tweak the pedal to taste and your done. That's why board angle and shaft angles are adjustable.

If you insist on "fixing" this issues there is only one solution. The beater ball has to be of appropriate size to get the shaft parallel to the head when the ball contacts the head. Tipping the drum and using different hoops won't solve anything. You can only get so close to the head before the cam/chain is making contact.
 
TheArchitect said:
If you insist on "fixing" this issues there is only one solution. The beater ball has to be of appropriate size to get the shaft parallel to the head when the ball contacts the head. Tipping the drum and using different hoops won't solve anything. You can only get so close to the head before the cam/chain is making contact.
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This one hits the beater right on the head, as it were.

I think we've moved away from a standard felt ball beater in favor of smaller beaters... and of course that will require more distance to contact the head.

I don't think you're going to detect much difference between a 95 and 90 degree angle.

Does any company make a pedal whose beater shaft can slide on the cam toward the head? If so, proper positioning could place the beater shaft on the same plane as the front edge of the cam and chain... and even the smallest beater head should be able to hit squarely at 90 degrees.
 
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