Cutting a hole in the bass drum...How big, methods etc...

Re: holes in the kick drum....

hi,

just a quick question for you all - I have a Tama Rockstar - 4 pce. Pretty basic, but it suits my playing (basic). I've had it about 7 months - I still have the heads it came with on, which I am going to change to EC2's in the next month or so. I have my kick drum tuned as low as possible - I like a big sound - and have no hole in the resonant head. And to my ears it sounds good, y’know big.

I played a gig last night (1st one in ages - went really well, loads of fun). As I was setting up and chatting to the sound guy he said that I should cut a small hole in the front skin for micing. He seemed to think that mics have got a lot better over the last few years and a hole is the way to go.

Thing is I really love a big kick – it drives the song – and to my ears my kick sounded real good last night – and drummers I love from back in the day didn’t have hole in their kick drums…

So what do ya think – hole or not? And why?
I find there's no substitute for what YOU need on stage, if that means NO HOLE, then that's the way it is. You are the musician, and it's about YOU, not the soundman.

I've had soundmen come at my drumheads with razor knives thinking they're just gonna make an incision into a 50+ dollar 26 inch drum head, one guy was about to do it without even ASKING!!!!! I don't THINK so!!

I've played PLENTY of gigs to know that it IS possible to get a cool sound with the heads intact, but it depends on the skillz of the technician, most of which are CLUELESS as to even know how to ATTEMPT it.

OK, that being said you must be diplomatic in your approach to Mr. Clueless as he can make your night miserable.

I would then SUGGEST to him that he "Just try it" as you're SURE a technician of his skill level can make it work. Usually this "brown nosing" technique will get you through the evening without too much hassle..

If he is STILL resistant because he "Knows what the F@rque he's doing" you might suggest a second mic on the batter head to appease his high end deafness from standing too close to high output speakers for most of his life.

This attitude I know you must detect is not from the usual frustration that a drummer might have towards a soundman. It comes from a "been there done that" point of view that many drummers simply have not had.

I was a soundman for about 5 years for a cover band in the early 80's when equipment and outboard gear was no where NEAR as good as it is now, and I managed to figure out how to get things to work, so I don't have much sympathy for guys who can only figure out one way to skin the cat with a myriad of tools like gates and such to help them.

My point of view is NEVER compromise your sound. Did they ask Buddy Rich to put a hole in the kick drum's head? How about Bonham? Would those guys have been who they were without their drumtone? No, it's who they were and who YOU are.

Now that you've gotten through the night, you will of course need a PERMANENT solution to your dilemma which unfortunately WILL rear it's ugly head again.

Two words for you to click: Randall May.

Check these systems out, and if you cannot afford one right from the source take a stab at making a version of your own, I did and it's worked out fabulously. I have NEVER had a soundman complain EVER about my kick drum with an internal mic, EVER. Problem solved, forever.
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^^ MAN, I really can go on, 'EH??
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When I need a hole in my bass drum I use one of the two following methods...

1) I take both of my cats and make sure they are hungry, then I put them in my bass drum and tighten the ol' resonant head right down and put a small pile of food right outside the drum, making sure to clang the bowl so they know it's there...

or

2) I kick-kick-kick-kick in the same spot until my foot tears a rough hole in the general area of the desired hole...
 
When I need a hole in my bass drum I use one of the two following methods...

1) I take both of my cats and make sure they are hungry, then I put them in my bass drum and tighten the ol' resonant head right down and put a small pile of food right outside the drum, making sure to clang the bowl so they know it's there...

or

2) I kick-kick-kick-kick in the same spot until my foot tears a rough hole in the general area of the desired hole...


Hmmm...this sounds like a pretty suspicious method...are you sure that this works? Can I use dogs instead of cats? What if I have neither, what would substitute? An Elephant? Maybe a GIRAFFE???
 
Well I've just cut a hole in my Mapex M-Birch reso head and it's made an amazing difference. I did it because I needed relief from the feel and bouce I got with no hole. I like to bury the beater into the drum and with no port hole the rebound was just to much. So I've put a 4 inch hole in the front using an empty Heniz Chicken Soup tin (I think it's was the 800g size), heated it up on the stove and hey presto a perfect hole. So now I've got a stock reso with the hole and an Evans EMAD batter and that's it and I get the most incredible thud with a little bit of resonance due the the fact that the hole is only 4 inches. This is using the thinner foam ring as the batter muffling too and much better beater response. So I know it's personal preference but the test on the M-Birch bass drum has given good results and I'm well chuffed with it!
 
I use a standard sized 22 x 16 bass but it sounds a lot bigger using a particular method:

I used an Evans EMAD batter head with the largest foam insert. I use circle of a(n old) coated Ambassador head Gorilla Glue'd to the spot where the beater makes contact. My resonant head is a Powerstroke 3 with a 4" hole cut in the CENTER with nothing inside the bass drum whatsoever. The reason for a center hole, is because the center has the least tone of the drumhead, therefore, cutting a hole there, gives a modicum of tone reduction compared to cutting one on the perimeter region. Plus, in certain situations where you want more "tone" and less "kick", you place the mic near the edge, instead of inside the hole. This setup provides an extremely versatile miking capability for various styles of music and rooms.

Another advantage to the center hole, is that the drum evacuates the air a bit faster than if the hole were offset, being that the impact of the beater is approximately directly across the drum. This allows more punchy reaction of the heads, but can be balanced by a higher tuning of the drum. You can get a HUGE sound this way, especially since there is nothing inside the drum inhibiting the maximum air volume inside and quick evacuation.
 
Hey guys and girls,

I have a 16" bass drum with a Remo Fiberskyn 3 head on it. I want to cut/burn a hole on it to put a mic in it. How big should the hole be??
 
Thanks guys, this thread is very helpful. I'd probably buy a holz thing and trace it like that, or I could use a CD. fyi a cd is 4.75" just a tiny bit under 5" unless I measured wrong lol. I have a feeling that when I cut a hole in the reso, I'll need to add a little bit of muffling.

I'm not very knowledgable about smaller heads, but my guess is 3" hole or smaller for a 16" head.. I guess if you start smaller you could always make adjustments.
 
Uh, yeah:

http://www.olfaproducts.com/ProductDetail.jsp?LISTID=2F0000-1137369287

We've literally used ONE of these on the over 6000 heads we've done to this point -- Regulators, Classic Clears and Full Force alike. Not all of them have had ports, but many have had more than one. So, I'd say it's gone through at least 6000 cuts, and we're just now getting ready to replace it now. :)

--Jim.
 
I hace seen sound guys just take a knife to someones bass drum and cut a hole in the front to place a mike..............I find that out of order- The poor guy was just going to start a set with his band and the sound geek ran over and did it without asking!!!

I have a 4 inch hole in mine off center about a third up- it has a silver holz fitting in it and it looks the bizz- I put it in for recording as I would have caved a sound mans head in if they came near my kit with a knife!
In truth I think it helps with the sound and makes for slightly lower tone- I can also adjust my eq pillows when I need to.
I cut the whole with a jam jar I think-- I just placed it on pushed it down and cut around it with a craft knife- job done!
 
I just used a penknife on mine, did the trick. After I got the blue holz it was perfect! It even matched the blue stripe!!

DSC00520-1.jpg
 
I hace seen sound guys just take a knife to someones bass drum and cut a hole in the front to place a mike..............I find that out of order- The poor guy was just going to start a set with his band and the sound geek ran over and did it without asking!!!
!

yeah....I find this EXTREMELY out of order......no way is some dude going to run up and cut a hole in my bass drum without asking. No ...Way.

And whoever said it is about the musician...not the soundguy? Bravo....Bravo...
 
I just cut one in my reso head today. Easy and cheap way to do it:: Trace a CD with a razor, they are about the size you want and perfectly round. You can tape it down in the middle hole to hold it in place if you like. Of course this way is free, if you want it done nicely it's probably better to buy one of those kits that come with the hole reinforcement things.
 
If you go on youtube there are a few tutorials on cutting bass drum ports. The best seems to be the heated can method which burns through the skin and has no rough edges to clean up.
 
when I cut my rsonant bass drum head, I actually found it easier to play faster, and there is a great balance between tone and punch...

I cut mine 4 inches..burned a hole right through it....a little smelly though
 
Stanely knife to make the whole and then just buy a 6/4 inch bass drum 'O' because there worth every penny. If your looking to mike the kit id go for 6" but if you just want more of a thud to your bass drum 4" will do.
 
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