Custom Bass Drum Head Artwork

Hey Guys,

Im new to this sort of stuff. Im looking at getting my band artwork on a bass head. I've been in contact with an airbrush artist who is going to draw some stuff up for me. Which got me thinking -

What's the difference between airbrushing artwork on and a normal print?
In regards to look, quality, effects etc.?

If anybody could give me a brief overview that would help a lot before I blow a lot of money that this guy is asking for. :)
 
Normal print to me implies a tranfer of somekind, vinyls or something along these lines, these can look great however if this guys art work is really great and you you feel that you like his work the end result will be much more organic and bespoke than simply printing out designs and sticking them on the kit. Depending on what hes charging it might be worth going for the latter option.
Can I ask what part of the kit your getting painted and whether it has a high gloss lacquer or a vinyl wrap on the surface (if its the whole kit your getting painted).
If it has the vinyle wraps he will have to use certain types of paint and if it is wood with lacquer he might need to sand it down before he can get to work then give it a finnish which will probably cost you.

Hope that helps.x
Tam.x
 
Im getting the reso bass head done. I am not sure what type of head he is going to paint on or if he will cut a port hole for me - hope he does but I will ask.
He is quoting $250 AUD for black and white or $300 with colour. My logo is black anyway but I asked him to draw up designs both in black and white and colour so I can choose.
 
Im getting the reso bass head done. I am not sure what type of head he is going to paint on or if he will cut a port hole for me - hope he does but I will ask.
He is quoting $250 AUD for black and white or $300 with colour. My logo is black anyway but I asked him to draw up designs both in black and white and colour so I can choose.

That sounds like a lot for 1 x bass drum head (you mention $AUD so I assume you're in Oz).
Hit N' Run Drum (based in Tweed Heads, QLD) do fantastic work but he doesn't paint them on (maybe that's why your guy is so expensive), just manipulates digital images to your specs then creates a decal (large sticker) which goes onto the head.
http://hitnrundrum.com/
Edit: Tweed Heads NSW (D'OH!)
 
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That sounds like a lot for 1 x bass drum head (you mention $AUD so I assume you're in Oz).
Hit N' Run Drum (based in Tweed Heads, QLD) do fantastic work but he doesn't paint them on (maybe that's why your guy is so expensive), just manipulates digital images to your specs then creates a decal (large sticker) which goes onto the head.
http://hitnrundrum.com/

Yeah that's what I was wondering, kind of how its normally done. and I guess its so expensive cause of the airbrushing and he's gunna do a background design for it as well. and yeah im in Sydney.
 
Yeah that's what I was wondering, kind of how its normally done. and I guess its so expensive cause of the airbrushing and he's gunna do a background design for it as well. and yeah im in Sydney.

Delivery to Sydney shouldn't be too much (apparently not crossing state lines means saving $$$).
If it helps, I paid $125 for a 22" bass drum head (picked it up from the guys place to save on delivery). That's half off what you're paying but maybe with delivery costs the saving wouldn't be as much (assuming the company is local to you).
I'd honestly be surprised if the airbrushing/ painting is any better than the decal sticker but having never seen an airbrushed version I can't make the comparison.
I WILL say that there was a slight loss in image resolution when the decal was printed out to bass drum size (despite using the highest resolution image available) but I was still happy with the results.
 
I WILL say that there was a slight loss in image resolution when the decal was printed out to bass drum size (despite using the highest resolution image available) but I was still happy with the results.

I wonder what they print at? Obviously some 300+ dpi on a 22" head would require a larger than 6000x6000 image, though I doubt it's that high fidelity- maybe 72, which would only require 1600 px square. I suppose there's only that much accuracy one can get on that large of a product, though.
 
Hey Guys,

Im new to this sort of stuff. Im looking at getting my band artwork on a bass head. I've been in contact with an airbrush artist who is going to draw some stuff up for me. Which got me thinking -

What's the difference between airbrushing artwork on and a normal print?
In regards to look, quality, effects etc.?

If anybody could give me a brief overview that would help a lot before I blow a lot of money that this guy is asking for. :)

Protip: find a sign shop that does vehicle wraps. Draw up your artwork in Illustrator to a 22.5" circle (for a 22" kick) and have them apply it like a big sticker. I just picked up three heads today. My drums always have custom kick heads. :D
 
I wonder what they print at? Obviously some 300+ dpi on a 22" head would require a larger than 6000x6000 image, though I doubt it's that high fidelity- maybe 72, which would only require 1600 px square. I suppose there's only that much accuracy one can get on that large of a product, though.

That is a great question (maybe I should have discussed it with him before buying) : )
I just checked and the largest image I could find on the web (technically illegal but it will never be seen outside of my garage) was 600 x 600, while the finished image used for printing was 961 x 961 (that's a bit shy of 6000 x 6000)!
I guess the best thing (for anyone wanting to use web images) would be to use wallpapers?
 
A few facts about stickers and direct painting of drum heads - please note that these are facts - having done a lot of research on the topic!

1) Painting - not a good idea - changes the resonation abilities of the head and, therefore, affects the sound! Also, paint, if applied directly onto the head starts to come off after a while when exposed to UV light and vibration.

2) Stickers - look awful and cheap and once again, affect the sound a lot! will eventually start coming off as well.

Your very mature and constructive (in the most sarcastic possible way) to my post on band-art.com makes me actually wanna bring up the company's name here again! I was actually searching for good quality custom drum heads for a good while that wouldn't be painted or have the awful stickers on them and then I came across with this company. I contacted them and they've really come up with a new way to make those custom heads. What they do is they sort of print on a ultra thin film kinda high-tec material that is then sticked onto the head and it won't affect the sound at all as it will resonate WITH the head - not form another layer on the top that won't sort of "live in harmony" with the original head. They've also managed to get Aquarium, Evans and Remo on board so that tells sth about them. I've placed an order for two heads now and am looking forward to seeing how they will turn out! The prices aren't bad either - providing that, apparently, provide heads and gears for bigger "players" in the music industry.
 
A few facts about stickers and direct painting of drum heads - please note that these are facts - having done a lot of research on the topic!

1) Painting - not a good idea - changes the resonation abilities of the head and, therefore, affects the sound! Also, paint, if applied directly onto the head starts to come off after a while when exposed to UV light and vibration.

2) Stickers - look awful and cheap and once again, affect the sound a lot! will eventually start coming off as well.

Your very mature and constructive (in the most sarcastic possible way) to my post on band-art.com makes me actually wanna bring up the company's name here again! I was actually searching for good quality custom drum heads for a good while that wouldn't be painted or have the awful stickers on them and then I came across with this company. I contacted them and they've really come up with a new way to make those custom heads. What they do is they sort of print on a ultra thin film kinda high-tec material that is then sticked onto the head and it won't affect the sound at all as it will resonate WITH the head - not form another layer on the top that won't sort of "live in harmony" with the original head. They've also managed to get Aquarium, Evans and Remo on board so that tells sth about them. I've placed an order for two heads now and am looking forward to seeing how they will turn out! The prices aren't bad either - providing that, apparently, provide heads and gears for bigger "players" in the music industry.

It seems I jumped the gun here re: your intentions on this forum.
It's just that we get a lot of "one post wonders" here who spruke for this product or the other then disappear forever- your first post led me to believe you were such a person and I apologise (seems like you have a lot to offer this forum after all re: artwork).
 
It seems I jumped the gun here re: your intentions on this forum.
It's just that we get a lot of "one post wonders" here who spruke for this product or the other then disappear forever- your first post led me to believe you were such a person and I apologise (seems like you have a lot to offer this forum after all re: artwork).

Haha we're a bit jaded with the "just passing through" types. :D
 
I agree my first impression of that new member's post was that it might be spam indeed. Glad it turned out he's a legit member! Being wary isn't the worst thing.
 
Apology accepted :) I suppose I can't blame you for being wary as, unfortunately, one tends to see quite a lot of spamming nowadays but am glad we cleared that out ;) So, I'm definitely not a spammer but a true, legit member who just wants to discuss things and share some good ideas or products whenever I happen to come across some - isn't that what we are all doing here after all? :) This particular topic on custom bass drum heads and custom band gear in general just happens to be sth I've done a lot of research on recently while trying discover the best possibly product and convenient service for myself and my band. I'm sure I'll be discussing other topics as well in the future now that I'm registered ;) Peace!
 
I'll just add that I've always used DrumArt and they consistently blow my expectations away. I know Jim will ship anywhere. Maybe worth a look?
 
i completely forgot to kinda close this forum up. Pretty much i ended up getting the airbrush artist to do one for me. Cost me $300 AUD. Below are the results. They're not the best photo's, but i can take more if your interested. Pretty much, this guy put so much detail into this peice its not even funny. Up close, you see so much detail in the eye and around the cracks on the edges. Really happy with the result. Didnt noticeably change the sound. If you want contact details of the guy let me know :)
 

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