Bassdrum Dig noise

den dosh

Junior Member
Hey everyone !

First and for all thank you for viewing my thread , i hope someone can help me ! .

I am used to playing heavy 24'x18' bassdrums barefooted , my heal up and burrying the beater
entirely into to the skin and leaving it there until the next stroke .
Recently , i purchased a drumkit mic setup and via a sequencer i record
my practices ..

Meanwhile i have bought a second drumkit ( premier black shadow ) with 22'x16 bassdrums ,
the first thing i noticed in trying to adapt to them was that i had to dig just a little less hard than i would with the 24's to be able to control them more easily .

Now , whats' been driving me mad is that one day i solo'd the bassdrums in my sequencer checking the sound i was achieving , and to much distress i had the famous
dig noise ( meaning that after every impact the beater still vibrates slightly on the head causing a kind of distorted sound in the impact frequencies )
Having put my 24's back and miced , i found i had the same problem , just less audible than with the 22's .
I have tried tuning harder / softer , plastic beater / felt , different pedals ( dw 5000 , camco ) displacing the mic ....

I am very reluctant in dropping my bassdrum technique as i am very happy with it ( endurance , speed , stability wise ).

I couldn't understand how all the professional drummers with the same technique on 22x16 kick drums don't have this problem ,
I know Vinnie Colaiuta is Vinnie Colaiuta , but playing on Frank's albums with a 22'x14' and using the same technique without this problem remains a mystery to me ?

Is there a soundengineering trick to disguise this sound ?

I would appreciate your advice and help on this matter !
Thank you all
 
The only choices I see are getting a real fuzzy soft beater, (this may or may not do the trick) learn to bury without bouncing, or stop burying
 
Hmmm...

Do you have impact pads on the batter head? I don't know if these would make a difference either way, but something to consider. A really slack tuning may help. You might also try adjusting the beater impact angle to see if there is improvement. Make sure the beater ball is impacting flush to the head.

Just a thought: what about shortening the beater length on your pedal? It may be easier to control the impact this way. Not a huge reduction, mind you, just a little adjustment. Some combination of all of these things may help.
 
Thanks for your answers and advice ,

No i do not use any sort of impact pad , and tuning wise i found a tight tune offers less noise than a slack one
I have no other choice but to work on a new technique ... odd =)
Thanks anyway guys
 
The only choices I see are getting a real fuzzy soft beater, (this may or may not do the trick) ...

I use a Vater Bomber, which I was told was the fluffiest beater around; that was to keep the volume down. Also, slacker tension on a pedal reduces the double-bounce prob but costs in speed and power (not an issue for me but probably is for many others).
 
Yes that does help inflames i have tried it aswell ,
the cost to pay however is a loss in that vital bassdrum attack click !
 
Also, slacker tension on a pedal reduces the double-bounce prob but costs in speed and power (not an issue for me but probably is for many others).
I get more power, speed and control with loose springs. It took me some time to get used to it when I switched to loose springs, but I haven't looked back since (I did it to force my feet to do the work instead of the pedals, because I had foot control problems). So I think loose(r) the spring tension is worth trying out.
 
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