16" bass drum - what heads to use?

retoxtony

Senior Member
So i wanted a little kick for a jungle kit so i made a small bass drum out of a 16" foor tom i had kicking around. Its a 16" Pearl Masters maple that sounded great as a floor tom but i'm not digging the sound as a bass drum. It also feels really weird and bouncy against the bass drum beater. Right now its got clear ambassadors on both sides. I've been playing with the tension but its just not working. Other than throwing a small pillow against the batter head i'm not sure what to do to help. Any ideas where to start with head selection?
 
Evans makes bass drum heads for small drums and converts. I think they start at 16 inch models. Check them out
 
Evans makes bass drum heads for small drums and converts. I think they start at 16 inch models. Check them out

Yes, Evans makes a 16” Emad and offers 2 variations, one for metal tom hoops and the other for wooden bass drum hoops. I have this head on my Yamaha Hipgig jr.
 
This has been discussed ad nauseam. What sound are you looking for, and are you gigging or playing at home? Are you micd?
 
This has been discussed ad nauseam. What sound are you looking for, and are you gigging or playing at home? Are you micd?

At this point I’m not exactly sure how it’s going to be used. Kinda depends how good I can get it sounding. I’d gig it if I can get it sounding nice since our gig s are always miced. The original intention was a small easy to move quiet kit for coffeehouse gigs or the backstage jams at some of the small outdoor festivals we play at. Seems like there’s always some kind of jam going on and nobody ever takes the time to set up any kind of kit.

I’m gonna try the felt strips or maybe a small pillow for now. If that doesn’t work I’ll take a look at the Emad people mentioned.
 
In that case a PS3 front and back has worked for me on a 16". Since you have Ambs on there now the felt strips are a good idea. I tried felt but ended up using a strip of foam that had adhesive on one side on the inside of the reso head. I think it was for sealing doors. It added enough mass to the head to get a great punch even when unmicd.

As for the weird beater feel there wasn't much I could do except for tune the batter loose.
 
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I have a 15" bass drum I'm messing around with. I think I might try a black dot on the batter side to get a little extra attack and focus. I also heard that the black dot lowers the fundamental a little bit so it might be a good choice for smaller drums

But I haven't tried it yet so I don't know for sure
 
Maybe I'm wrong, but I always had the feeling that one shouldn't port a small bass drum so as not to loose bottom end ?
 
From the Evans site: bass drum sizes
 

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Maybe I'm wrong, but I always had the feeling that one shouldn't port a small bass drum so as not to loose bottom end ?

Yes, if the port is too big. 3” is rather small. It should make the pedal feel similar to a larger drum with a port that most are used too.
 
I'm using a 16" Clear Remo CS Dot, combined with the Pearl Logo Factory Powerstroke Rip off front head.

I prefer unported and I have a nice controlled boom.

For smaller bass drums you really have to give them as much openness as possible. Porting them seems to defeat that object unless you're micing up.
 
Any ideas where to start with head selection?

Buy a 22" Emad for the batter, and then a 22" ported reso head with control ring. Then, buy a 22" kick drum to put in the middle of the heads. That should get the sound you want. :)

Seriously though, I've tried doing the 16" converted floor tom thing, and I've even owned an 18" kick. To my ears, the smallest drum I can get a decent kick drum sound out of is a 20".

Just my 2¢.

Hope you find something that works for you!

PS. Evans makes a 16" Emad. Might be worth a shot.
 
After trying different combinations I am very happy with Evans Emad as batter head on my Sonor AQ2 Safari Bass Drum. Reso head is a Remo UX PS3 copy in which I cut a 4“ port hole.
 
I would recommend against an EMAD or heavily muffled head for a 16". They need to breathe a little bit. I also recommend against using a porthole. 16's don't move nearly as much air as a larger bass drum, and you need all the help you can get in projection, which a full head will do better, especially on a 16".

I use a 16" jungle kick myself sometimes. I find that an Evans Calftone EQ4 works great. I tried a UV1 EQ4 as well, but something about the Calftone, like the Remo Fiberskyns, just sound great on bass drums.
 
I got a 16" Aquarian Super Kick II for my Breakbeats kit, and it sounds amazing, almost like an 18" bass drum. It was highly recommended by other people using Breakbeats and they were absolutely right.
 
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