PS3 bass head..........WOW

konaboy

konaboy

Pioneer Member
Bought a PS3 clear for my bass batter to replace my SK1 and wow did it open up my bass! Sounds really good from the driver seat. I need to get it out of my practice room in my house and see how it sounds in an auditorium, which I will next weekend. Definitely like the feel of it and it adds a nice tone from what I can tell. I have an Aquarian Regulator as the reso. I had read many good things about that head on here and after 14 years of playing the SK1 thought I'd give it a try and so far I'm glad I did!
 
konaboy said:
Bought a PS3 clear for my bass batter to replace my SK1 and wow did it open up my bass! Sounds really good from the driver seat. I need to get it out of my practice room in my house and see how it sounds in an auditorium, which I will next weekend. Definitely like the feel of it and it adds a nice tone from what I can tell. I have an Aquarian Regulator as the reso. I had read many good things about that head on here and after 14 years of playing the SK1 thought I'd give it a try and so far I'm glad I did!
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I've been using mainly Evans heads for a while seeing my school band experience was mostly with Remo, and I gotta say I like Remo heads still.... I have a Superkick I and Regulator on my kit right now and I love it, but when I replace my batters I'm definitely going to try a Powerstroke now. I considered it before but I'm liking the sound of this. =]
 
I was a remo guy until 2 years ago when I switched to evans for my toms but always like the Sk1 so I stuck with it. Well after reading all the good things hear about the PS3 I thought I'd give it a try and I'm really impressed. Opened the tone of the drum up some and it sounds great. It's on a 22" Yamaha kick. I'm really liking it, played for about 45 min this morning and the head feels really good to my foot! Left the regulator on but when I change it not sure what I'll go with, might just go with another regulator. I might go back to remo on my next tom head change to brighten up the sound a little bit on my toms
 
I like 'em, too, I use PS3s front and rear, no port and nothing in the drum. It's nice to hear a bass drum actually sound like a drum, no?

You might notice that PS3s come alive tuned a little higher than other heads. They do not sound their best at JAW.
 
drumtechdad said:
I like 'em, too, I use PS3s front and rear, no port and nothing in the drum. It's nice to hear a bass drum actually sound like a drum, no?

You might notice that PS3s come alive tuned a little higher than other heads. They do not sound their best at JAW.
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yep found that out last night, JAW not good, little more tension then I had on my SK1 but adds a nice bit of rebound! I haven't had any muffling in side the drum other than the damping that came on the heads! Might have to try the ps3 as a reso too ;-) Definitely has livened the drum up a little!
 
drumtechdad said:
I like 'em, too, I use PS3s front and rear, no port and nothing in the drum. It's nice to hear a bass drum actually sound like a drum, no?

You might notice that PS3s come alive tuned a little higher than other heads. They do not sound their best at JAW.
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Hell yes! I prefer a clear PS3 on the batter and a smooth-white in front - the perfect sound for me.

I had to port mine and put the pillow back in the drum recently...this Unix kick is just too much w/o some dampening...it overpowers the rest of the kit. I did run them just as you described on my Ludwig and DW kits and it's a great sound.

They do have a sort of "minimal" tuning threshold, too loose and they sound completely dead. I'm betting it has something to do with the dampening ring on the outside. If you tune them just above *that* range they still sound deeper, darker and fatter than anything else I've tried...especially after settling in for a few months.
 
drumtechdad said:
I like 'em, too, I use PS3s front and rear, no port and nothing in the drum. It's nice to hear a bass drum actually sound like a drum, no?

You might notice that PS3s come alive tuned a little higher than other heads. They do not sound their best at JAW.
Click to expand...

I happen to have a spare ps/3. If I am using an emad II (a must for my aluminum kick as the ps/3 sounded too thin believe it or not.) A ps/3 reso would make a fat sounding kick, and not a choked, short tone?
 
trkdrmr said:
I happen to have a spare ps/3. If I am using an emad II (a must for my aluminum kick as the ps/3 sounded too thin believe it or not.) A ps/3 reso would make a fat sounding kick, and not a choked, short tone?
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what are you currently running as a reso?
 
konaboy said:
what are you currently running as a reso?
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I had a 1-ply evans, an emad ported and I just now swapped out the ps/3. I had to remove the falam slam patch, so it took some "goof off" spray to clean the adhesive off.

With nothing inside the kick drum, the ps/3 does sound good as a reso! Definitely getting some improve response over the ported emad reso.

I think I'll use the emad 2/ps/3 combo on my 2nd kick.
 
zambizzi said:
Hell yes! I prefer a clear PS3 on the batter and a smooth-white in front - the perfect sound for me.

I had to port mine and put the pillow back in the drum recently...this Unix kick is just too much w/o some dampening...it overpowers the rest of the kit. I did run them just as you described on my Ludwig and DW kits and it's a great sound.
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Incidentally, the difference in Unix Stave vs my aluminum is that the wood (bubinga in this case) will have more high frequency energy in the envelope than aluminum does. This make the bubinga have a "cut" volume where the aluminum is relegated to a resonance projection. I have to treat mine a bit different than wood. (IE PS/3 as a batter doesn't have the oomph, whereas it does on other drums.)
 
I run PS3 front & back, small offset port for miking, no additional muffling. Golden. Been curious about the PS4 on the batter though, anyone tried it?
 
Here is a pic of my kick with ported, and then ps/3 reso. I have new "trick" logos on the way.
 

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Crazy+Hands said:
I used to have them and i might go back...the SK1 is just too soft sounding, more of a jazzy kick sound. I would go with Evans but I keep hearing about the EMAD rings falling apart prematurely, anyone experienced that before?
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Haven't had a problem with the one I put on our church kit and it's been on for quite some time.
 
Crazy+Hands said:
I used to have them and i might go back...the SK1 is just too soft sounding, more of a jazzy kick sound. I would go with Evans but I keep hearing about the EMAD rings falling apart prematurely, anyone experienced that before?
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Unfortunately, I have. The ahdesive that Evans uses is weak, and the plastic affixed to the head is very thin and easily breakable if you change the foam insert rings frequently. I've used the EMAD, PS3, and Aquarian Super Kick, and the PS3 is the best sounding IMO.
 
Drifter in the Dark said:
Unfortunately, I have. The ahdesive that Evans uses is weak, and the plastic affixed to the head is very thin and easily breakable if you change the foam insert rings frequently. I've used the EMAD, PS3, and Aquarian Super Kick, and the PS3 is the best sounding IMO.
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Hi, Evans Prez here. We have experienced cracking on a very small percentage of the EMAD rings but have made an improvement in the design which should eliminate the problem.
 
Drifter in the Dark said:
Unfortunately, I have. The ahdesive that Evans uses is weak, and the plastic affixed to the head is very thin and easily breakable if you change the foam insert rings frequently. I've used the EMAD, PS3, and Aquarian Super Kick, and the PS3 is the best sounding IMO.
Click to expand...

I love love love the PS3 batter and reso with a 5" port on my 24" PDP CXR kick. (My "rock" set) I currently have the same setup on my 22" M Birch Kick and its OK but not as killer like on he other drum. I think I am going back to an EQ3 batter on the 22 and probably put the unported PS3 back on the reso with no muffling. The M Birch is a jazz/fusion kick with more open, resonant sounds.

I bought an emad for my 18" Gretsch kit. I didn't like it. A kick that small just doesn't do the "thump" sound well. Its too small in my opinion. I went with coated emperors and tuned it more like a 3rd tom.
 
EvansPrez said:
Hi, Evans Prez here. We have experienced cracking on a very small percentage of the EMAD rings but have made an improvement in the design which should eliminate the problem.
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When did you make the improvement? Because I was considering trying an EMAD2, but almost all the reviews online say that the rings fall off.
 
I have played EMADs for several years. Had one plastic ring break. No other issues. Great head.
 
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