Bass drum patches

I use the AF patches on most of my kicks, and they work great. But I don't know how much they really affect the sound to a mic on the inside of the drum.

Bermuda
 
Interesting.
I haven't had the chance to experience much with the sound difference, but I always kinda assumed it was mostly for prolonging the life of the head, no?
 
Certain patches do affect the sound somewhat, but they were originally intended for protection where the beater strikes.

Back in the day, a piece of moleskin was used to help protect the head. As harder beaters and harder playing became more prevalent, more resilient synthetic patches became popular.

There are a few tricks involving 'patches' that do noticeable affect the sound though. One is to take a piece of a separate head, and tape it where the beater strikes so that there's about a 1/4" gap between the piece and the batter. This creates a nice slap without affecting how the pedal feels. Another trick involves taping a thin piece of wood or a coin (a US 50¢ piece when they were readily available) to get extra attack and 'cut', both acoustically and in the studio.

Bermuda
 
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All of my metalhead friends back in the early 90s used the Danmar PDKP or whatever they called them back then. Nobody had triggers, so the pads provided a massive serving of acoustic cut, making the patterns were evident in the rehearsal room and/or live.
 
bermuda said:
Certain patches do affect the sound somewhat, but they were originally intended for protection where the beater strikes.

Back in the day, a piece of moleskin was used to help protect the head. Ss harder beaters and harder playing became more prevalent, more resilient synthetic patches became popular.

There are a few tricks involving 'patches' that do noticeable affect the sound though. One is to take a piece of a separate head, and tape it where the beater strikes so that there's about a 1/4" gap between the piece and the batter. This creates a nice slap without affecting how the pedal feels. Another trick involves taping a thin piece of wood or a coin (a US 50¢ piece when they were readily available) to get extra attack and 'cut', both acoustically and in the studio.

Bermuda
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I use a Dr. Scholl's moleskin patch that's about 2x3 inches with a vintage soft Ludwig beater (wool?). It adds fantastic punch and warmth - it was EXACTLY what I was looking for.
 
Quick update! Bermuda's suggestion - taping on a section of a separate head retained the original sound of the bass drum while giving protection from the beater. Success!! Thanks again.
 
I just have a few square stickers. I think about three, maybe four of em'. They work just as good as any of those patches. But then again, I use felt beaters, so a lot of folks have told me I don't really need protection at all.
 
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