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

[cdrums21]

Good point, forgot about the aspect of internal mounting of the mics. Do you do that? How do you like it? I'm thinking about it. I've had great mics of my own in the past when I played out on tour, but as of the past few years, I sold most of my microphones and processing and just let whoever was mic'ing the kit to slap a mic in the small hole I have in the front head. It gets a great sound, but an internal mic sounds cool too.

[Bernhard]

Here are the inside mics for DW Drums

My opinion is that miking a open BassDrum or through holes gives not a very good sound. Or if so, there are two mics needed - one also for the batter head from behind. Best sound in my opinion - this fat sound - is achieved by taking the Sound from the closed fronthead.

Anyway: taking mic sound is only a general source for the definitive mixing on the board - there you can get every sound you want.

Bernhard

[cdrums21]

I would agree with you about the quality of sound with the internal miking system being better, it makes sense, but if that's the case, why don't you see it used more often? On TV shows, live concerts, recording sessions, the bass drum is miked through a small hole in the front of the drum 99% of the time. Your thoughts??

[Bernhard]

Originally Posted by cdrums21

I would agree with you about the quality of sound with the internal miking system being better, it makes sense, but if that's the case, why don't you see it used more often? On TV shows, live concerts, recording sessions, the bass drum is miked through a small hole in the front of the drum 99% of the time. Your thoughts??

..will change very soon. Is not state of the art anymore.

Bernhard

[cdrums21]

I hope you're right...I love the sound of the kick with a full front head! So much bigger and more powerful!

[jangus]

The only person I can think of on TV that doesnt have an internal mic is Max Weinberg.

[pearl_floyd]

I was reading that having a hole in your kick drum helps air escape more easily from the drum and i'm finding that my pedal is bouncing off of the batter head more then once everytime i hit it. Would putting a hole in the reso head help with that?

[cdrums21]

Yes it would. My pedal beater is harder to control with a full front head on. It wants to bounce off the batter head a little more rather than laying into it.

[ucsd_drummer]

well, i'm a big fan of the hole in the reso head, it really helps the bounce back and also lets you adjust whatever you have inside the bass head, or take it out altogether, without removing the actual head. as for how i cut mine, my mother does Creative Memories scrapbooking, and they actually have numerous tools for cutting circles out of photos in various sizes. I used the tool that was basically a circular track that a special razor mounted on, and cut along the track. Absolutely perfect circle, no flaws, i've had it for over a year and no tears to date.

jeb

[maybetoday]

Hey, what about a reso head with 2 holes in the bottom corners of the head? I recently ordered a kit with the 2 holes in the lower corners. I prob still have time to change it to one hole. I am looking for a really loud bass drum that cuts through the mix. If two holes takes away from the volume, then I'll go with one.

What are the facts of two holes? Does it make that much a difference than one hole?

Also they are 5" so not too big either.

[Caleb]

Would it be better to cut a hole in the resonant head if the bass drum has muffling or not?

[Proggy illusions]

I have a Mapex Pro M 2006 kit and it sounds amazing. It didn't come with a hole, I first wanted to cut one in there, but I can't part with the sound it gives me; so much warmth, so much boom, so much maple resonation, gets you right in the guts. Although, I had to learn to play with my beater off the drum without using the heel down technique cuz I play rock head so it resonates to its full potential, cuz if you got no hole and you leave your beater on the bass drum, you're choking it and muffling it so if you play with the beater on the bass drum better off with a whole cuz you won't get a nice sound with no hole resonant head by leaving the beater on.

no hole is awesome, but the rebound may be a bitch at first...

[drumbandit]

could you cut a port in an aquarian regulator reso head?you can buy em with the whole pre-cut but i have holz and they dont do 4 3/4 inch rings.so i may order one without and cut it myself??

[sabshga]

I use a resonant head with no hole. I love the sound. I play rock, funk, R&B, blues and New orleans secpnd line. I agree that the sound can be too boomy so I have been using a Remo Mufflz tone control ring on the resonant side (a foam ring held against the inside of the head by a plastic collar that goes over the bearing edge before you put the head on). This leaves it full sounding but cuts down the ring to a manageable level. To move the air and get the beater to strike properly, I started using the Evans vented head on the batter side. It has tiny holes all around the perimeter of the head. It is a very fat sound, and I don't have any problems with the beater bouncing around on the imapct pad because the vents in the batter head give a good enough amount of room for the air to escape. Finally, regarding mike placement: the batter side gets miked. I love the sound and this is the way I fly after many different combinations over the years.

Regarding the hot coffee can. I don't know if anyone mentioned this but usually you get some stringy pieces of melted pastic adhering to the can when you take it off. It's a good idea to use some sandpaper to clear that stuff away. But as I say, I no longer get involved in this.

Regards,

Gary
Dix Hills, NY

[Madwatch]

Originally Posted by ucsd_drummer

well, i'm a big fan of the hole in the reso head, it really helps the bounce back and also lets you adjust whatever you have inside the bass head, or take it out altogether, without removing the actual head. as for how i cut mine, my mother does Creative Memories scrapbooking, and they actually have numerous tools for cutting circles out of photos in various sizes. I used the tool that was basically a circular track that a special razor mounted on, and cut along the track. Absolutely perfect circle, no flaws, i've had it for over a year and no tears to date.

jeb

I do the same thing and it works great!

[mikei]

What ever you do, do not cut a hole in the head while the head is attached.

I was doing a great job. When the blade got to the nearest edge, it just slit open all the way to the outer edge of the head.

The good news is that it looks so bad now, that my wife made me buy a pair of new ported regulators!

[cantstandyourfunk]

Originally Posted by funk-rockpunk

Anyone wanna help me out?

My drum tech friend who does it has a unique technique. He takes the can lid, and a pin, and just traces out the hole on the specific location of the head. Works like magic, and the hole has practically 0 bearing edge.

[cantstandyourfunk]

Originally Posted by sabshga

I use a resonant head with no hole. I love the sound. I play rock, funk, R&B, blues and New orleans secpnd line. I agree that the sound can be too boomy so I have been using a Remo Mufflz tone control ring on the resonant side (a foam ring held against the inside of the head by a plastic collar that goes over the bearing edge before you put the head on). This leaves it full sounding but cuts down the ring to a manageable level. To move the air and get the beater to strike properly, I started using the Evans vented head on the batter side. It has tiny holes all around the perimeter of the head. It is a very fat sound, and I don't have any problems with the beater bouncing around on the imapct pad because the vents in the batter head give a good enough amount of room for the air to escape. Finally, regarding mike placement: the batter side gets miked. I love the sound and this is the way I fly after many different combinations over the years.

Regarding the hot coffee can. I don't know if anyone mentioned this but usually you get some stringy pieces of melted pastic adhering to the can when you take it off. It's a good idea to use some sandpaper to clear that stuff away. But as I say, I no longer get involved in this.

Regards,

Gary
Dix Hills, NY

Cheers, mate. I play similar music with my band, and I have a set up where I use the kick with no hole on the resonant head. To cut the boom, I use Simon Philips' method of dampening: just a rolled up towel taped to the drum's wall on the batter side. Would like to use the holed-up Evans batter head for one, though.
The funk is the king.

[Echo]

Cutting a hole in the back i think really helps the sound and cuts out this 'boom' everyone's mentioning, but never cut it in the center all the air just sods off out the back and kills the natural resonance of the shell.
Nad with regards to dampening just buy an emad2 a beautiful head which fits many (not all) musics. And it can make a cheap bass sound stonking.

[xcrazzy2xbass]

I have three holes going vertically on the right side for the head and alot of duck tape. hey, it works.

[jrrucH]

before i place hole in bass, i will use a can to burn, do i loosen the head? leave it stretched? i am not sure abt that??

[BertTheDrummer]

here's another idea that my fiancee actually came up with, she does a lot of scrap booking, go to the local crafts store (Hobby Lobby etc) and you can pickup a circle cutter, you can get cheap ones for like $10-$15... works like magic with no fuss about trying to get a straight cut. Some I've seen are even adjustable from 1-8"

[rhythmjunkie]

Hey what's up guys? If you cut the hole in the center of the bass drum, it's like not having a front head at all. If you want the hole to serve the purpose of a mic' portal, it's good to have it between 4"-8" on the very outside edge of the head. I put mine halfway up and all the way to the right. It's 8". My yamaha kit came with a plastic ring, that was 8", with an adhesive on the back of it. I just stuck the ring on and then cut the inner circle out with a razor blade. It's a good idea to sand down the hole after you cut it out, also. You or some sound guy could get cut on the sharp edges. Also a 6" or 8" splash cymbal is good to trace a circle, and then cut the circle out with a razor blade. Some sand-papering will clean up the edges.

[maniacondrums]

I recently emailed dw and complained about the fact my 7000 pedal bounces massively. I got a reply saying that if I were to cut a 6" inch Porthole, It would let more air out solving the problem. Can I have a few opinions on that.

[Victor_se]

I have a 22" Bass Drum whit a 5" hole in the right bttom of the head

it sound cool, have a nice low.end and i think it doesnt affect teh atack

[punkuzz900]

I was hoping someone could help me with this subject too. I've been drumming for about almost 3 years now and I have a 20"(diameter)x16"(depth) bass drum, anyone got suggestions for a hole size and how to go about it. I know cutting a hole gives the bass drum more beater attack presence, but want to try and keep as much bass depth in the sound as I can. Anyone got any suggestions?

[mickeyotc]

Originally Posted by maniacondrums

I recently emailed dw and complained about the fact my 7000 pedal bounces massively. I got a reply saying that if I were to cut a 6" inch Porthole, It would let more air out solving the problem. Can I have a few opinions on that.

The hole definitely solves the pedal bounce problem, which is the only reason I have a hole in my front head. To me, it requires a completely different foot technique to play on kit with no hole in the front head.

I'd like to know more about how to successfully play without the hole, because at times I have been required to play on a backline or house kit that has no hole and it is awful for me.

If anyone has any input on, or suggestions for this, I would love to hear it!! Thanks.

[ddrummer]

Originally Posted by punkuzz900

I was hoping someone could help me with this subject too. I've been drumming for about almost 3 years now and I have a 20"(diameter)x16"(depth) bass drum, anyone got suggestions for a hole size and how to go about it. I know cutting a hole gives the bass drum more beater attack presence, but want to try and keep as much bass depth in the sound as I can. Anyone got any suggestions?

If you take your bass drum skin to your local drum shop they should cut the hole for you and show you the right size. note if u are a recording in a band make shure they cut the hole in thr middle of the skin as it makes it easier to put the mic in u can have the hole to the left or right.. what ever u like but it must be half way up the skin. now for your depth issue make your front bass skin fairly loose only make your lugs just past finger tight this works really well for me but make shure its not to loose of it will just make a flapping noise....

[liam1523]

I have a 22" bass drum! What is the best size of hole for my bass drum?????????????????????????

Liam

[druid]

I have to agree that DW has one of ...if not the best solution with the vented front heads....I also am NOT a big fan of dead thumpy bass drums....I think drums are supposed to have some tone...and you can't add back in what you take away....I used to have a porthole...or no front heads...I would never go back to that version again.

[seanardo]

A warning to anyone considering getting bass drum hole re-enforcements. Stick to the Holz brand, I bought one of those Bass Drum O's from Ebay but the two parts don't stay together!! Someone has mentioned this already, just wanted to re-iterate...

The max hole size I would put is a 6" but I have a 4" which did enhance the sound of my bass a bit and it hardly touched the resonance. I just used the melting can trick and duct tape on the hole and it worked fine. Just throw an empty can upside down on the stove until it is very hot and then place it on the head where you want the hole and it will melt it percisely.

[Garvin]

Quick funny story about cutting a hole over Thanksgiving...

I was visiting my wifes family, and staying with my brother-in-law who is also a drummer. He had a really nice Mapex kit that needed some love. It was all taped up and the bass drum was literally stuffed with egg-crate and blankets and was totally dead. After a few (dozen) beers that day I decided to help him bring the kit to life. We spent an hour or so retuning everything and ended with the bass drum. I gave him my opinion about cutting holes and told him that I'd screwed up every one I ever trid to do free hand, but he was an "artist" and insisted that he was a master with an X-acto knife. I asked if he needed another round. He strapped a head-lamp to his head and looking like a deranged surgeon began carving into the head. About 15 minutes later and a lot of laughter he ended up with a not-so-round, CD sized hole in no particular semetrical alignment on his bass drum. We went to the shop the next day and got a new head.

Lesson? DON"T CUT A HOLE FREEHAND WHILE DRINKING!

[Victor_se]

hahahahaha

Good adivce Garvin.

A good advice too is don't drink any wine or something while you're carring your things to your car, usually the Bars or venues are little hot and outside a little cold....not a good mix

Victor

[drumdruid]

Folks,
Theres a great tool from Holz ... same guys who make the drum `O`s for cutting holes , works perfect every time and you can adjust it from like 1 inch to 10....

[dr.funkenstien]

What i did to cut a hole in my front kick skin is heat up a Tim Hortons coffee can and just burn a nice whole in it. I prefer to by them with the hole cause they have the rings around them already incase you rip them.

[Les Ismore]

Has this been posted yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wStcDiAZnyM

[si20]

I never record at the moment but i do play live. Would I be better off to put a hole in my reso head? I am probably not going to do so as I like the sound of my bass drum at the moment and I do not like the sound of the beater actually making contact with the head but I just thought I would see what u guys views are.

[jaybanger]

short answer:definately cut the hole. Here's why in my opinion: someone made reference to Max's kit on the Conan O'Brien show. He doesn't have a hole in the resonant head. That kit never moves from the riser probably. He is dealing with the best of the best of everything. Sound engineers, mics and who knows what else. Most of us are dealing with the other side of that coin. Different place everyday, setting up quickly, a great or not so great sound man. In my opinion the kick drum should breathe. 6" to 4" hole at about 4:30 or 5:00 on the resonant head. It won't kill the resonance. Holz makes a good tool for that.

[TCWill76]

I just got finished using a heated 4" coffee can on my front bass head. It worked great!!! very easy, very precise.