UNDOING hole cut into bass head ?

[DrunkenGarbageCan]

In a fit of young teenage curiousity, my son and his buddy cut a 7" hole in the center of a perfect 22 inch Fiberskyn bass head.

Anyone have any secrets (besides getting a new head) to try to either minimize or eliminate the hole?

I really want to try to avoid a total hack repair job like a disposable plastic plate and duct tape. I was thinking of cutting an old head and patching it from the inside, but not sure how to keep it in place (did I speak too soon about the duct tape?)

My kid and I are still newbies, don't gig or anything, so even a partial return to the original sound is an improvement. Plus I am cheap and do not want to shell out the money for a new Fiberskyn

Sorry for this less than technical post (though I am hoping there is a sound engineer out there that deals with this on a daily basis).

I am also trying to teach my kid the infamous "you are responsible for your own actions" and "money doesn't grow on trees" lessons here and hopefully will have him doing most of the repairs.

Thanks and happy holidays

I hate to say it but the head now permanently has a hole it in. Even if you could tape the piece they cut out or somehow put it back in place the head is never going to vibrate correctly and you won't get the same tone.

I think the best way to teach him the value of money here is to tell him he's stuck with it until he can replace the head with his own money.

[Salicete]

You can't fix it.

Anything you did to try to cover the hole would look like a hack-job, and would, as fourstringdrums said, cause it to vibrate in strange ways.

That being said, what don't you like about the sound with a port in the BD head?

If it is too "boomy," try a damping pillow inside of the drum, and you may need to retune now that its characteristics have changed.

Buy a "Holz" ring to fit the hole, or of a slightly larger size if they don't have one to fit the hold the kids made. This will give a nice finished look to the head and will protect the edges of the hole so it won't split.

Oh ya, insist that the kids clean up their own mess, and pay for their own mistakes.

Originally Posted by Salicete

You can't fix it.

Anything you did to try to cover the hole would look like a hack-job, and would, as fourstringdrums said, cause it to vibrate in strange ways.

That being said, what don't you like about the sound with a port in the BD head?

If it is too "boomy," try a damping pillow inside of the drum, and you may need to retune now that its characteristics have changed.

Buy a "Holz" ring to fit the hole, or of a slightly larger size if they don't have one to fit the hold the kids made. This will give a nice finished look to the head and will protect the edges of the hole so it won't split.

Oh ya, insist that the kids clean up their own mess, and pay for their own mistakes.

He said they cut the hole in the center, a 7" one at that. They might as well not even have a head on there. Any hole that is dead center is going to turn the head into a non-vibrating head.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

Sounds like someone is getting a new head for Christmas from the kids. I would be afraid that anything you do to repair it would vibrate and rattle. Punish class is now open.

[DrunkenGarbageCan]

Thanks for all the quick replies!!!

With the hole it is just too boomy. I will try the blanket and retuning. If that fails, I still have the stock head till I can get a new one.

Overall he is a pretty great kid and I really should not be complaining about the cost of the head given the "upkeep" I hear some other parents spend on their kids. His birthday is next month and as part of his "lesson" I think he will be getting a new drum head instead of the latest video game.

Thanks again!!

[Deathmetalconga]

Originally Posted by GRUNTERSDAD

Sounds like someone is getting a new head for Christmas from the kids. I would be afraid that anything you do to repair it would vibrate and rattle. Punish class is now open.

You could get a sheet of adhesive-backed plastic and put a disc of it over the hole from behind the head, then carefully replace the piece that was removed. That would be the best way to do it.

But it would look like somebody cut a hole in the head and tried to fix it. Once you do something like this, you have to live with it or get a new head.

[bonzolead]

you could cut an old head and put some 3-min. epoxy on it and cover the hole but i'm afraid you are gonna have to invest in a new head.no matter what you do it will never sound as good as a new head would.

Bonzolead

[KarlCrafton]

This is a pretty decent fix, but it still might not sound right (& NOT like it was before) on that big a hole.

It'll be more muffled...that could be good, or bad...

Done correctly, you won't be able to tell from 6" away--IF you still have the cut out piece.

A 'one sheet' piece of CLEAR (you don't want to see it through the head) vinyl about 8" X 8" should be available at a place that does vinyl graphics (like the stuff on trucks and boats, signs, etc...) and not cost that much.

Just take the head, and put the vinyl piece on the inside, flip it over and match up the cut piece.

To line the hole piece up exactly, you can put a small dab of dish soap (Joy, Dawn etc...) in some water (just till it's slippery feeling on your fingers--a few drops) and apply it to the exposed sticky part on the vinyl (after it is stuck to the head on the inside) and position the cut out piece that way. It'l move around a bit because it's slick from the (small amount of) water/soap, so it's easy to get it just right.

Once the piece is in position, take a piece of paper bigger than the hole and use something to really burnish it down in place.

The vinyl graphic place may have a flat plastic burnisher/scraper they can give you or sell you.

But burnishers are CHEAP, so don't let them tell you it's an extra $10 or something.
I think you can even buy them at a Dollar Store or a Wal-Mart paint dept...

In any case, you can even use a wooden spoon, or the underside of a table spoon, just anything NOT sharp, or that will scrape.

The soap and water will dry, and the piece should stay put very well.

I replaced a 3" hole this way and it turned out fine....but, that was also on a 28" bass drum head, and not in the center.

The sound wasn't affected that much, and overall, not at all really. I just knew what it sounded like before...no one else knew any better...

Holes in the center were very common in the 70's, 80's (& some of the 90's), and people usually used pillows to damp down the boom.

Yes, a good idea on the new skin instead of the new video game if this, or a small pillow doesn't work to your satisfaction....too bad Fiberskyn's are more expensive...

Hope this helps & good luck!

[Velimor]

"Have you ever tried simply turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
-Bender

Your avatar and story immediately reminded me of that episode. There's so much we can learn from Bender.

[Bob Smith]

Mabey you could post a picture so we could see the hole.

[prempex]

cut a slightly bigger hole over it, and use the "holz" products.
thatway it looks neater and more professional, and it will have a decent quality brace.

[konaboy]

Originally Posted by prempex

cut a slightly bigger hole over it, and use the "holz" products.
thatway it looks neater and more professional, and it will have a decent quality brace.

It's already a 7" hole cutting it bigger isn't going to help and don't even know if holz even make something that size


Like other have said you're looking at a new head. Pillow, blanket and tuning might be able to resurrect the sound a little but in the end so much for his new video game ;-)

[tamadrummer132]

make your son pay for a new one? lol. that's what my dad would do.

[DrunkenGarbageCan]

Originally Posted by tamadrummer132

make your son pay for a new one? lol. that's what my dad would do.

My old man would have beat the hell out of me.....

We ended up just putting the stock Gretsch one back on and hung the old one up on the wall as a reminder of impulsive thoughts.

[iamtak]

the largest Holz product is 6"

new head