I do not enjoy playing 24" kicks

konaboy

konaboy

Pioneer Member
So two of the three church campuses I play at have Yamaha stage customs 22,10,12,16 setup. The other has a Gretsch Rock ( I think that's the series) in a 24, 12,16 setup. I've played that kit twice now and do not enjoy it. That 24 seems to take so much more work and effort to play even with my personal BD pedal I use all the time. I even dialed the tension up on the head, they have and want the other heads tuned lower and man it just makes playing exhausting when you don't have the heads rebounding like you are use to!
 
That looks like Gretsch Catalina Rock sizes. Does it feel mushy or too hard?
 
Different strokes. I feel it's too much work playing an 18. A 24 I don't have to hit as hard. Are you rebounding the beater? This sounds opposite of what I experience, just goes to show that one man's bane is another man's joy.
 
larryace said:
Different strokes. I feel it's too much work playing an 18. A 24 I don't have to hit as hard. Are you rebounding the beater? This sounds opposite of what I experience, just goes to show that one man's bane is another man's joy.
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yeah it's got volume no doubt. I was rebounding the beater. It has an Evans Emad on it, toms have Coated Evans G2's on the batters
 
I don't understand. On one hand you say it takes too much work, and on the other hand you say it does have volume no doubt. That sounds like a recipe for an overly loud bass drum, but what do I know. I'd just play it like you play the 22. I'm guessing it's all a perception thing.

Best advice I ever got: If you're working too hard, you're doing something wrong.
 
konaboy said:
Have to really work for every stroke
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Changing bass drum size can dramatically change the feel, perhaps a closer at the "settings" can be helpful and by "settings" I don't just mean the BD tension, there's much more to it.

I did a thread about this a few years back, have a look at it http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93800, you might find the problem/solution to your problem.

Hope this help.
 
larryace said:
I don't understand. On one hand you say it takes too much work, and on the other hand you say it does have volume no doubt. That sounds like a recipe for an overly loud bass drum, but what do I know. I'd just play it like you play the 22. I'm guessing it's all a perception thing.

Best advice I ever got: If you're working too hard, you're doing something wrong.
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The too much work is in the sense that playing fast follow up notes like I'm used to on my 22" kicks was nearly impossible. Even just a straight 4 took more work than I'm use to, just didn't feel like any rebound to the head. Last time I played there I used their bass pedal and thought the problem was with their pedal, so today i took my personal pedal and it was still not what I'm accustomed to when playing.
 
When I played a 20 I used to tension the batter just above the wrinkle stage. Now that I play a 26 I tension the batter much tighter, have more bottom end, get more rebound, and hit the drum softer than I used to hit my 20.
 
18, 20, 22 and 24 all feel slightly different to play. I find 24 requires more adjustment than switching between 20 and 22. for me the way to make a 24 kick comfy is to actually slightly raise the stool height from my norm. However I do not adjust my pedal. 24 can feel mushy even if you tension the head normally. My recommendation would be to not to try to hard, don't over compensate, a 24 kick puts out a lot of omphhh.
 
konaboy said:
The too much work is in the sense that playing fast follow up notes like I'm used to on my 22" kicks was nearly impossible. Even just a straight 4 took more work than I'm use to, just didn't feel like any rebound to the head. Last time I played there I used their bass pedal and thought the problem was with their pedal, so today i took my personal pedal and it was still not what I'm accustomed to when playing.
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OK I get it now. And you said you tuned it up too. I was going to say tighten the batter. FWIW, the bigger the drum, IMO the tighter the reso needs to be. When I thump my reso, it sounds like a tympani tuned to a BOING!

Is the 24 a ported drum? A full front head, with no stuffing inside, would give you all the rebound you can handle.
 
Ghostnote said:
When I played a 20 I used to tension the batter just above the wrinkle stage. Now that I play a 26 I tension the batter much tighter, have more bottom end, get more rebound, and hit the drum softer than I used to hit my 20.
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I actually put almost a full turn in the rods after I started playing because it felt really loose which it was. Probably could have used another turn.
 
larryace said:
OK I get it now. And you said you tuned it up too. I was going to say tighten the batter. FWIW, the bigger the drum, IMO the tighter the reso needs to be. When I thump my reso, it sounds like a tympani tuned to a BOING!

Is the 24 a ported drum? A full front head, with no stuffing inside, would give you all the rebound you can handle.
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Yeah it's ported, Emad on the batter, not sure what head they put on the reso all I know is it's a black ported Evans I didn't look to see which one it was.
 
konaboy said:
So two of the three church campuses I play at have Yamaha stage customs 22,10,12,16 setup. The other has a Gretsch Rock ( I think that's the series) in a 24, 12,16 setup. I've played that kit twice now and do not enjoy it. That 24 seems to take so much more work and effort to play even with my personal BD pedal I use all the time. I even dialed the tension up on the head, they have and want the other heads tuned lower and man it just makes playing exhausting when you don't have the heads rebounding like you are use to!
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General rule, bigger kick, tighter batter head. You can gain rebound by using less stuffing inside the kick, or at least away from the head.

You can get any kick to dribble the beater, which is (can be) useable rebound. How do you think Bonham did it?
 
OK it's ported. Is it muffled too? Could it be the stuffing is sucking the life from the drum and you're working too hard?

If you're a full rebounder of the beater, man there's nothing like a wide open unmuffled kick drum, with a full front reso tuned up tight, and the batter tuned a little above JAW for a little rebound, that's the most that drum will put out. Unmiced it sounds great like that. It's all downhill from there in terms of tone and volume due to lost frequencies (when the drum is ported) or muffled out frequencies. (when the drum is muffled)

But if it's a shared kit that's not yours...assuming it is stuffed, at least take out the stuffing since its ported, and tune the front head up tight. That's easy. Unless it's glued in foam. Then you're hosed.
 
I switch from 18 to 20 to 22 and then 24 just to change it up. I love all the bass drums I have. Probably the easiest to play - for me - is my 22 Purewood renown.....incredible feel. My 24 kit is a 40's Gretsch 24/13/16 with matching 6.5x14 snare....all calfhide. I'm in drum heaven at that point :) - I use a late 50's WFL SpeedKing pedal with this kit....works for me. barely have to hit these drums and the tone is to die for.

I don't know what to tell you and you seem to have some very nice drums. Sometimes bass drums can take some getting used to -----the feel. Personally I have gone through hell with my size 15 feet - trying to play like someone else. Now I play 'within my species' and I have a lot more fun with it. I'm a middle of the road drummer and very happy with it.
 

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I don't enjoy it either. Big footprint, harder to transport, impossible to mount toms over it and no sonic benefits over a 20 or 22 IMO.

I will never get people that play huge sizes, the ergonomics of say a Bonham kit are just a pain and suck the fun out of playing for me.
 
KONA said:
I switch from 18 to 20 to 22 and then 24 just to change it up. I love all the bass drums I have. Probably the easiest to play - for me - is my 22 Purewood renown.....incredible feel. My 24 kit is a 40's Gretsch 24/13/16 with matching 6.5x14 snare....all calfhide. I'm in drum heaven at that point :) - I use a late 50's WFL SpeedKing pedal with this kit....works for me. barely have to hit these drums and the tone is to die for.

I don't know what to tell you and you seem to have some very nice drums. Sometimes bass drums can take some getting used to -----the feel. Personally I have gone through hell with my size 15 feet - trying to play like someone else. Now I play 'within my species' and I have a lot more fun with it. I'm a middle of the road drummer and very happy with it.
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I love that kit.. Anyone that understands a kit like that is much more than a middle of the road drummer.
 
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