bass drum trick i just read about

Retrovertigo

Senior Member
just thought i would pass this on. it was in the latest issue of Tapeop. (which is free by the way). the article was about prepping drums for recording. it had a bunch of good tips. anyway...


tape a quarter to either head about halfway between the beater and the rim. this will slow the vibration of the head which will drop the pitch.

i have a feeling that is what the "Kickport" is actually doing. it's adding dampening half way between the center and the edge.

i haven't dont this yet but i will once i get to my rehearsal space.
 
so i tried this tonight and... nothing. it basically did nothing. oh well. there was a reason i never heard about it before.
 
Basic physics. Given the same spring rate (flexibility or compliance), more mass gives a lower fundamental frequency. Anything you add to the head will increase it's mass. Flam pads, quarters and so forth. The trick is not to affect how easily it vibrates, as in thicker heads or large rings/dots. Which will also dampen or reduce the sustain of the head. Something some folks actually want, thus the various heads with things on them.
 
so i tried this tonight and... nothing. it basically did nothing. oh well. there was a reason i never heard about it before.
What head do you have, how is it tuned and what kind of muffling do you use?

I'm guessing any effect would be more noticeable on an open kick with an unmuffled head that's tuned higher than JAW.
 
Back
Top