18" Bass Drum Heads / Tuning

wlue

Junior Member
I've got a Sonor 3007 maple kit with an 18" bass drum and I'm trying to decide which heads to put on either the batter or resonant side. I was thinking of either using an 18' Ambassador with a felt strip, or getting an 18" Fiberskyn PS3 for the resonant side. An issue with my bass drum right now (it currently has stock Remo UT PS3 heads) is when I try to tune it up to the pitch I want for jazz, it loses all of its body, warmth, and volume, so I'm stuck with a high-pitched punchy sound when I want to get more of a 'boom'. It may be the way I'm tuning it (currently experiented with a medium batter and a combination of a medium-tight and medium-loose resonant side), but the combination I'm using don't seem to keep the warmth heard at lower tunings show at the higher range. Any suggestions?
 
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i prefer remos, but EMADs work amazingly on my 18" with nothing sitting inside the drum. i keep them relatively loose too.
 
Fiberskyns have a nice warm sound with a hint of a dampening effect and the PS3 version should do nicely for a bass head. You could also try a Coated Emperor head, and let that two ply thickness give a bit more body to the sound. Try a tight reso side and a medium to loose batter depending on how you like the feel and sustain. You will want a non-stock reso head as well, especially for a small bass drum like that if you are looking for a big sound. Ambassadors with felt, and PS3s work great.
 
I second the emad. I have a 18" Coated Emad on mine that I use for jazz and oh man that sounds great. High Pitch with great low end and warmth!
 
Would an EMAD2 be too much for a 18"x14" kick drum? I'm looking for a hard rock/metal sounding kick so if you have any ideas. Thanks.
 
I've got a Sonor 3007 maple kit with an 18" bass drum and I'm trying to decide which heads to put on either the batter or resonant side. Any suggestions?

+3 on the Emad. I use one with the smaller foam muffle ring, nothing inside the drum and a coated Gretscy logo reso. Great punch, a little boom and a sweet tone.

Would an EMAD2 be too much for a 18"x14" kick drum? I'm looking for a hard rock/metal sounding kick so if you have any ideas. Thanks.

The Emad2 won't give you as much volume (un mic'd). It will probably sound good but I've only tried the Emad single ply.

My 18" floor tom sounds better with an Emperor than with an Ambassador but I think my 18" BD sounds better with a single ply.
 
Thanks TTNW. Has anyone ever used a GMAD? What do you guys use for the reso head? I was gonna try an EQ3.
 
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