beater height

bmeat

Senior Member
what are the advantages and disadvantages of keeping the beater low and high? where is the sweet spot? thanks so much.
 
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Its whatever works for you, you need to be comfortable.

Look where the beater is here @ 2:07, nobody was going to debate 'the' man about how high his beater was.


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As a general rule the beater should strike the bass drum slightly higher than center.
About an inch above works for most folks.
If the beater hits directly on center the head tends to bounce more and it flams against the head easier if it is buried into the head.
If the beater hits to far away from center the bass drum sound is compromised.

The longer the beater shaft is the more power it will have but it will take longer to get to the head from rest position.

Experiment with the height and see what works best for you.
 
thats real high..i konw it lets it swing more mometum which you need when kicking the pedal..but there is no ideal level? it is all prefrence?


Look, you gotta be able to play and play comfortably, so yeah there's preference... your preference, that's all that matters.
 
You will notice that 2 inch risers are usually used on 18 inch bass drums.
That is to allow the beater shaft to be set at a longer length.
 
The best way to really know is to have someone strike the batter head with a beater while you're out front listening. You'll know were it sounds its best. All you have to do then is to adjust your pedal for the feel you want. I have the center of this particular beater just a bit higher than the center of my batter head.

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Dennis
 
The best way to really know is to have someone strike the batter head with a beater while you're out front listening. You'll know were it sounds its best. All you have to do then is to adjust your pedal for the feel you want. I have the center of this particular beater just a bit higher than the center of my batter head.



Dennis

fuzzy :)

you guys both suggest just above the center of the drum. I'll do that.
 
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You will notice that 2 inch risers are usually used on 18 inch bass drums.
That is to allow the beater shaft to be set at a longer length.




If you want to screw-up your bass drum technique and give yourself a hard time playing just lower your beater.

So in that respect, a riser allows the beater to remain in its normal playing position and raises the bass drum itself so beater hits closer to center.


The nature of standard pedal design means 99.99% of pedal beaters are going to hit above center on the BD head.

From floor to standard pedal shaft center is between 7 to 7.25 inches, add another 5 to 7 inches of beater (4.5 and lower makes it pretty un useable) and you're already above center of the average bass drum.

So 7 inches from the pedal and 7 inches from the beater, that's 14... which is half of 28. How many are playing a 28" bass drum?

On a 22" kick you'd need your beater 3.5" high to strike center.
 
If you want to screw-up your bass drum technique and give yourself a hard time playing just lower your beater.

So in that respect, a riser allows the beater to remain in its normal playing position and raises the bass drum itself so beater hits closer to center.


The nature of standard pedal design means 99.99% of pedal beaters are going to hit above center on the BD head.

From floor to standard pedal shaft center is between 7 to 7.25 inches, add another 5 to 7 inches of beater (4.5 and lower makes it pretty un useable) and you're already above center of the average bass drum.

So 7 inches from the pedal and 7 inches from the beater, that's 14... which is half of 28. How many are playing a 28" bass drum?

On a 22" kick you'd need your beater 3.5" high to strike center.

Hi Les

I have a Mapex Falcon and a 22" bass drum, the beater height is 5.5" and I hit the head in the center, in terms of height, but slightly to right, due to the beater position on the shaft of the pedal.

For playability, I adjusted the footboard angle, beater angle, the spring tension and my sweet spot on the footboard is at 2/3 to 3/4 of the total lenght, measuring from the heel of the footboard using heel-up technique.
 
I have a 26" kick and my beater is as high as it will go and hits just below centre, which I guess comes to the same thing.
 
Take your pedal off, put a tape measure on the hoop of your 22 kick and look at 11" dead center... its a scary little place.
 
I have a hard time believing you guys have your beaters hitting dead center on your bass drums. I have four different brands of pedals and they all hit in exactly the same spot. There is not that much of a difference brand to brand. Pick two lugs on opposite sides of your bass drum and imagine a line between them. Pick two more lugs and do the same. X marks the center. My beaters are not even extended all the way and they hit 3 or 4 inches above the center of my 22" kicks. I'm not sure I could lower the beaters enough to hit dead center without the other end of the shaft sticking out so far from the bottom that it hits the head.
 
Ditto, just above or below the center. Above if you need more power without monkeying with a lot of adjustments, but dead center is just that, Dead..
 
I used 18" 20" (currently) and a 22' and always center the beater to the batter. Never above an inch over center using the 18" I don't want my bass drums off the ground in a cradle or use a riser. I have taylored beaters for different size heads. I also use a smaller beater on my 18" than I use on a 22". For years I used a maple mallet with a Remo Yellow Flam, it worked nicely with a Power Stroke. Now I use a Pearl Eliminator beater hitting dead center on a Aq. Super Kick 1, it works well with my new DW 5000. Doc
 
I used 18" 20" (currently) and a 22' and always center the beater to the batter. Never above an inch over center using the 18" I don't want my bass drums off the ground in a cradle or use a riser. I have taylored beaters for different size heads. I also use a smaller beater on my 18" than I use on a 22". For years I used a maple mallet with a Remo Yellow Flam, it worked nicely with a Power Stroke. Now I use a Pearl Eliminator beater hitting dead center on a Aq. Super Kick 1, it works well with my new DW 5000. Doc

my kick drum sounds great with the stock head and a small pillow inside.
 
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Hi guys

Just had an idea...

When we play on the kit, we use different areas on snares, toms and cymbals to create differents sounds and feel.

Now, generally speaking, we only use one setting on the bass drum, with the pedal adjusted to our playing preferences, and while it's possible to have a few different sounding possibilities from such a setting, we're somewhat limited with the options of "different sounds".

There is already the possibility of having a different combo of bass drums, ie: a 24" and a 20" set up for exemple, or the use of a double pedal with different beaters height adjustement.

But a pedal which could produce such versatility, doesn't exist, to my knowledge, it would be beneficial for players whom playing style apply to various styles of music.

While it can be achieved by leading with the left foot instead of the right foot, it is somehow just a "too big a challenge" as far as I'm concern.

A "single" pedal design, with, say three footboards and three beaters set at different height, would certainly produce different sounds and feel.

If such a pedal would exist, would you use one? Do you have any idea(s) how to develop that concept?
 
Ditto, just above or below the center. Above if you need more power without monkeying with a lot of adjustments, but dead center is just that, Dead..

This makes sense. From radial symmetry, if you hit dead center, the reflected waves coming from the shell will align themselves opposite the outward waves from the strike and cancel. If you go above center, your foot will have to work a little harder (force x distance) and you will tend to play louder. If you go below, the opposite will be the case. Interesting thread!
 
A "single" pedal design, with, say three footboards and three beaters set at different height, would certainly produce different sounds and feel.

If such a pedal would exist, would you use one? Do you have any idea(s) how to develop that concept?



ixnay... wouldn't want one.

All you have to do to change the sound of your kick is reach down with a drum key, or just turn a few key rods.


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ixnay... wouldn't want one.

All you have to do to change the sound of your kick is reach down with a drum key, or just turn a few key rods.

The idea/concept was to have different sound sources and feel while playing, not just adjusting or changing the beater or re-tuning the bass drum.

However, upon reflexion, a pedal with 3 footboards/beaters is not really feasible, with all the existing designs already on the market these days and the fact that it would only be of interest to a minority of drummers, it would make such a design far to expensive to research, build and manufacture.
 
The idea/concept was to have different sound sources and feel while playing, not just adjusting or changing the beater or re-tuning the bass drum.

Yeah, if that's the case, a sheet of cork with adhesive backing, a sheet of thick mylar (drumhead material) with an adhesive backing, felt, use you imagination... these things can be swapped-out as a beater surface between songs and give a different feel/sound w/o messing with the pedal or tuning the head.
 
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