Who has actually broken a kick head?

kettles

Gold Member
I have been slamming the s*** out of my 24" Remo PS3 with a plastic beater for about a year and a half, and there is no visible sign of damage or anything. I do have a falam patch so the point of impact is safe. So I'm curious as to how hard I'd have to hit to actually break the thing. Have you broken a head? What was the head+beater and playing situation?
 
I've broken a few but never on a head with one of those kevlar patches. Those things took away my awesomeness but saved me a few bucks in the process!
 
I did when I was first learning to play 30 years ago. I'm sure it was from doing almost everything wrong. Since then I haven't broken even a snare or tom head.
 
years ago i broke the first ply of a 2 ply bass head. I left it that was for a long time until the beater would get caught in the torn part. never even come close since then, that was like 1985.
 
I have. Evans EMAD. 2 months old. That hurt.

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But to be perfectly honest my felt beater was worn out and it was a plastic edge hitting it.
 
i broke a PS3 years ago with a dw5000 but it took awhile and then i put a vinyl patch on it and have had the same PS3 for over 2 years. still tunes up great and is the only remo head i'll ever consider buying again
 
Over 25 years ago, I broke the batter on my Tama Swingstar kick. It was the stock head and it was single-ply. But that's the only time it's happened to me.
 
Same as 8Mile. It was actually another single ply tama stock head. I was playing with a plastic beater at that point with no patch. Also this was like two years after I started playing and I was still burying the beater into the head. But since I've started using patches and better technique, I haven't busted a single one.

-Kyle
 
Once the felt "tip" of the bass drum pedal came off, and the steel shaft went right through the head. That is a good reason not to cut a hole in the front head. Peace and goodwill.
 
I broke an Aquarian Full Force head several years ago. It was old and had been sitting in a closet for a long time. I put it on the kit at church, and didn't use a patch. The plastic beater went through the head after a while. That's the only head I have ever broken.
 
Wooden beaters will break your heads if you don't use a patch. I have tried two wooden beaters and both times it cracked the head after only a few hours play.
 
Yes, twice, a long long time ago when I used to bury the beater into the batter head, luckily, both times, it was during rehearsals, since playing the BD with a "rebound" technique, I've never broke a bass drum head (touch wood).
 
hmmm mine was the stock head on an old export kit. I was young so i had to tape it until i could buy another. The tape really made it dead, which was an improvement.
 
The only head I've ever broken while playing was a kick head, on a rented kit. it was a Coated Ambassador I think. Luckily it broke during soundcheck, not the gig. The beater got stuck in the hole.

Ever since then I've carried a spare kick head to gigs, just in case.
 
The very first one on my kit when I bought it 12+ years ago, I put an Aquarian patch on all other heads after that and have never broken one since.
 
I've seen it happen a couple of times, and both instances were likely caused by the inability of the drummer to hear the kick due to insufficient stage monitors.

I mix monitors quite often, and the #1 request from drummers in all situations and genres is "more kick." I've also been behind the kit in situations where I couldn't hear anything my right foot was doing, and it wasn't fun at all.
 
I had a first at a rehearsal about a year ago. I broke a ported kick drum reso head, playing the batter (of course). It was a 6 YO Pearl logo head. I was slightly flabberghasted. I break a kick drum batter head about once every 2 years. That's when they get replaced. To get more life from the head, I will rotate it. Since my beater doesn't hit dead center, rotating the head, is like rotating your car tires, you get more mileage.
 
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