Tuning 1960's Ludwig maples

Ok Lads I put a coated PS3 on the batter, and kept the smooth ambassador on the reso,(65' Ludwigs) put a felt strip on the front with nothing else inside. I tuned the batter just above the wrinkle and cranked the reso pretty tight not ported, and I'm really digging the full round whomp I get out these things.

I agree with your tuning method and I'll bet the drum sounds great. That's basically what I did with my 26x14 3 ply Ludwig and it sounds scary good. I think the tighter reso head gives you that roundness and gut shaking punch that's missing in a ported tuned down kick drum. That should sound great in the audience as well. I wish I could do that with my gigging DW kit, but with mic'ing through various PA's and sound guys, the ported reso head with the batter real low and the reso slightly higher works best.
 
Ok so I've been Playing my vintage 3 ply Ludwigs here for a bit and like the sound of the toms alot, the bass drum is great and am running a ps3 coated with a smooth ambassador reso with a felt striP no port!
I like the boom I get but playing it live I'm thinking I may need it to be a bit more punchy and defined. Also considering the micing situation I'm thinking I should port it 4" off center!
All my kits in the past I have had ported heads, and I do like the sound I have however it is resonating alot!
Any suggestions, will I regret the port possibly with a small towel in it etc!!
Thanks
Suggest please I'm thinking of the port....
 
Lots of great info so far. After owning 5 or 6 vintage Ludwig kits as well as a variety of modern kits, I have a bit of experience in this matter.

My take: Remo coated Emperors over Remo coated Ambassadors on the toms. A Remo coated Powerstroke 3 on the batter side kick (felt strip would help as well), and either a coated Ambassador (with felt strip) on the front of the kick or possibly a smooth white Powerstroke 3 on the front.

I'd tune the heads a little higher than you think you should. These drums don't have the attack that modern kits do (which in my mind is a good thing) so tuning them up a little higher will give them a better ability to "speak". don't worry about having them sound high, the edges will still give the drums a warm thump.

Good luck!
 
Piperdoog: put a felt strip on your batter head as well. Or, get a thicker reso head. Porting it will reduce the sustain, but you will also lose some of the boom. Basically, anything you do to it will reduce the sound you like as well as the resonance. It's kinda like when you want to reduce the resonance of a snare drum, so you put on moodgel/gaffer's tape/o-ring/etc., and then you wonder, "Hey, why does my snare sound so muffled?
 
Ok thanks a bunch guys I'm not going to port it (as of yet) I do have another felt strip so I'll put that on the batter as well. I only put one on the smooth ambassador reso..
Ok I'll try that..
Cheers.
 
Ok lads, sorry!!
I had an extra felt strip and I put it on the batter and yup I do like it better.
Now, I will be gigging with this kit so is a port out of the question for these vintage kits??
I don't want to mess with sound guys, and I've heard you pretty much have to port it playing live. so I'm thinking an offset 4"
Thoughts??
 
It is easier for most sound guys to place a microphone in a ported reso head. You have some options here....if you love the sound of the unported head and don't want to lose that fullness and tone, you could insert a mount such as the kelly Shu and mount your own kick mic. You can mic the drum live with a mic on both sides of the kick, mic'ing the batter and reso head and mixing the two. Most sound guys only want to use 1 channel for kick drum, so that may not be an option. If you do port, a 4" hole off center would be my choice. There's still enough head to give you some boom and the mic placement is easy. You will lose that fullness and round tone, but in the house, the sound engineer should be able to get you a punchy fat kick sound, if a quality mic is used. Other than that, I don't know what else you could do.
 
I used to be a porter my whole life. Not any more. Now, I really go for that big tone from an unported unmuffled bass drum, especially unmiced. One observation...When the band is playing, I can't tell my drum is unported by sound alone. All that extra bigness blends right in with the band, in a good way, and sounds great. It also sounds superior in the audience compared to a ported kick. Micing an unported kick drum is easy. Just back off the mic a few inches from the reso and place the mic element halfway between the center of the head and the edge. I recommend a tighter rather than looser kick reso tuning for unported.

It's strange. We mic toms from the batter. They are unported. Why then does an unported kick drum get miced from the reso? Yes it's easier to place a mic there but is it a superior sound? If it is, why aren't toms miced from the reso? It would get them out of the way more. Maybe an unported kick would sound better miced from the batter head? As long as there is no pedal noise I wonder if this is a better way to go. Dennis?
 
Hey boys, very good points, that's why I love this page, very insightful!
I agree with the micing, it is strange that you don't see more unported heads while at live shows etc....
Well I did it I ported it as I have a show here in a bit and I like both for many reasons.
Ported:
I like the defined hit and separation I hear and actually feel from the pedal, also I like the fact I can muffle the inside by a towel or what have you by having that hole there. I do like a definitive hit of the bass drum instead of a boom (which I also like) that I get with the unported.
Last but not least obviously micing will not be a problem for the sound guys etc..

Un-ported:
Ok these are vintage 3 ply drums and the boom I get from this bass drum is awesome and should be played this way. It's a different way than I have ever played my kits from the past which also makes it interesting. It' is a little getting used to but sounds huge.

So I guess the simple solution is getting another bass drum head!!

I like things to be tuned and set and switching out heads to me anyways is a pain in the ass.
So when I have a stretch of live gigs, the ported goes in, when jamming in the basement the non ported goes in.
An extra $30 for another head is no biggie.

Thanks for all the advice guys, know I appreciate it..
 
Micing an unported kick drum is easy. Just back off the mic a few inches from the reso and place the mic element halfway between the center of the head and the edge.

Maybe an unported kick would sound better miced from the batter head? As long as there is no pedal noise I wonder if this is a better way to go. Dennis?

It is easy to mic, but not always practical. In my experience, in most live gigs in clubs, there isn't enough room on stage to have a microphone out in front of the bass drum without it being in danger of being kicked. Plus, there is the problem of bleed from other instruments when the mic is backed off away from the reso head. An internal mic mounted permanaently inside a non ported kick drum works well, but if the mic shits the bed for some reason, you're screwed.

Mic'ing the batter head on the kick drum is an effective way to mic it, but it gets alot of attack and not enough of the kick drums boom in most cases. That's why when recording an unported kick, mic'ing both heads is usually preferred.
 
Back
Top