26” bass drum reso for boom!

L

LittleLegs

Senior Member
I’ve just got a 26” and am getting to grips with it. It came with Evans Calftone batter + felt strip, and a Smooth PS3 reso + hole. I really like the sound, but I’m wondering about getting a bit more tone from it.

I’m tempted by an Ambassador reso but wonder if it will he too papery. But would an Emperor not be papery (ie marching band) enough. Maybe at this size there isn’t much difference?

Do you think moving to a PS 3 batter would make much difference?

Any experineces with drum head choice would be really helpful!

Thanks.
 
P3 batter and Ambassador reso. is one of my go to combo's. My current 26 combo is a P3 batter and Fiberskyn reso.


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I have a 3-ply Radio King mahogany shell with a coated Emad on the batter and a coated Emperor on the reso with an Evan EQ pillow. Looking back at it, I should have gotten a coated Ambassador. I mean, it sounds great, but I think I went a little overboard on the muffling a little.
 
Ambassador and Fyberskyn, ☹️ god these are so popular.. I bought both and disliked them... This is exactly what my impression was, way too papery.
 
I have an emad on my batter and a real calfskin on the reso. WFL 3 ply. I tried an Aquarian vintage w felt strip. "Papery" as you said. The calfskin stayed on. MOO!!! But even that gets some muffling and still brings the thunder. I'm not in the camp of 'less muffling = more tone.' The big band guys did it. That John Bone Ham guy did it. The Appice brothers do it. Good luck on your quest. The world needs more BIG bass drums.
 
Amb has a very identifiable sound on kick to me. I like it when others use it, and if you plan on playing it open, I’d say it’s your best bet. But muffled I prefer two ply batters.
 
IMG_9463.jpegEvans Calftone on both sides. At first I hated it, tried different combinations .Alas returned to the Calftones and really tweaked the tuning and Boom had it right the first time.. 26" by 12" though..
 
I would like to hear the sounds, damn, we talk about musical instruments but we seldom hear sounds, it's all talk and often even intellectual talks, describing a sound with words.. :D

Especially bass drum sounds this is so interesting.

I urge people to publish a video of their bass drum, I commit to give a like with the 2 hearts in the eyes emojii. Whatever happens, it's a guarantee. --> this is what you get: :love:
 
AudioWonderland said:
The calf tones are very thick per the specs. How do they play?
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I have a Calftone EMAD on my 24" bass drum, and I think it sounds great. I also have the EQ4 version, and I wanted just a little more control so I'm using the EMAD with no foam ring attached.

I think the 12-mil base film is a big reason I like the head. It has a solid feel and I think it's giving more tone due to the greater mass of the head.

My experiences with heads that have 12-mil film have all been positive. I gave the Evans G12's a try back when they were first introduced, and liked them over a standard G1, and my current favorite snare head is the Remo Ambassador X reverse dot. I wish Aquarian would get into thicker films too, since they're my preferred brand, but after being 100% Aquarian for years I'm back to using whatever brand has the sound I want for a particular drum.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
I have a Calftone EMAD on my 24" bass drum, and I think it sounds great. I also have the EQ4 version, and I wanted just a little more control so I'm using the EMAD with no foam ring attached.

I think the 12-mil base film is a big reason I like the head. It has a solid feel and I think it's giving more tone due to the greater mass of the head.

My experiences with heads that have 12-mil film have all been positive. I gave the Evans G12's a try back when they were first introduced, and liked them over a standard G1, and my current favorite snare head is the Remo Ambassador X reverse dot. I wish Aquarian would get into thicker films too, since they're my preferred brand, but after being 100% Aquarian for years I'm back to using whatever brand has the sound I want for a particular drum.
Click to expand...
12mil base would not concern me. It's the extra mils they add for calf look/process that concerns me
 
a Fiberskyn (or Evan calftone) is a head "you can hit" hard while retaining a controlled "natural" drum ( err calf ish) sound.
We all like to hit hard to accent etc at times. and you can "get away with that in a natural sounding imo musical way

it's like controlled demolition : ) that doesn't upset the boat 's course..'trajectory...
it's that hearkening back to calf.
Is not a groove-knocker ...a disrupt-er... It's a (sonic) blender
 
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AudioWonderland said:
A 15 plus mil head is like hitting a counter top. I learned that from the g14's they used to make
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Gotcha! At bass drum size and tension, I don't think you'd feel the head was tabletop hard. In my experience with Fiberskyns on toms and snares they do feel stiffer, but they also seem to "relax" after they've been played a bit. Or maybe I just get used to the feel. All I am sure of is I really like that sound, and while it might not be for everyone, I think it's pretty cool. I've been debating for a while but I'm about to put Fiberskyns on all of my toms again. I miss that sound, and the Calftone bass drum head reminded me how cool the laminated faux-calf heads sound.
 
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