Bass Drum Volume / Running Through PA

Gonna try a hard beater. You make a really good point about volume proportion. I have a disability. I am a below knee amputee. Lost my right leg below the knee 5 years ago after a drunk driver slammed his motorcyle into my daughter and I at 65 MPH while we were crossing the street. Also nearly lost the left leg too, but it was saved, but left with severe damage. ANYHOO...playing the drums again seemed IMPOSSIBLE. But, I relearned how to play. I learned to play the bass drum with my right prosthetic leg/foot, in a "heel up" fashion. (no ankle). This works, and I can play most everything I used to, BUT really slamming the bass drum IS tiring. I get the job done, but playing it really hard, for long periods of time is difficult. I use a double pedal. I learned to play the bass drum with my left leg as well. For figures that require 16th notes (ie, "Walk this Way") I break the beat up between the two feet and often used a second closed hihat. So yes...the bass drum volume may sometimes be tough to match with the snare because I just can't stomp really hard for very long periods of time. However, this hasn't been an issue. I can play it loud, but continual heavy stomping is a drag. But even if I DIDN"T have the disability, stomping sucks....want to just play it normally and have the band quiet down, or mic the drum.

I've tried solid front heads, and I KNOW it sounds better. It just feels like mush...it's so hard to get used to after years of playing with a hole the head. But Maybe it's time to try again.

Thanks for the info!

You are fvcking awesome. The fact that you didn't even mention your disability in the original post blows my mind. Keep kicking ass, my friend, you've got a fan right here.
 
I'd say before you try amplification, try a full front head and tune that reso up so it sounds like a tympani, boing! No extra muffling either, none. The Emad is plenty.

Drum overtones undeservedly get a bad, bad rap. Have to eliminate those stray overtones! Truly, overtones ARE your tone.

Putting a hole in the front head subtracts volume and tone unmiced. Play that bitch wide open. Learn to love the sound. It is beautiful. Bass drums are happiest unencumbered by fabric and holes. Let that drum speak.

Glad this came up, because I have a question about the hole/no hole conundrum.

I liked the sound my bass drum had with a full front head, but it was the action that I hated; I've got a fairly large bass drum (24"), and when I struck the beater head, the trapped air made both heads vibrate forcefully. Trying to play fast continuous notes or quick double-strokes was extremely difficult, as the vibrating head would be fighting my beater while I tried to execute.

I tried a bit of muffling, some tape, etc., but that was defeating the purpose of the open sound. I was seriously starting to question my own technique, which seemed to be going backwards. It was frustrating.

Finally I decided to try cutting a hole in the front to see if it helped. BAM! As soon as the hole was cut to let the air escape, the vibrating stopped and I was able to really dig into the drum again. To my relief, my foot control immediately returned. I still play with the port on the front of the bass drum, and I've never had a problem with my playing since, but I can tell that some of the drum's tone is gone.

So I was curious: do other drummers have this problem? Is it in the tuning, and if so, is there a good method of tuning to minimize this effect? Does it have to do with the size on the drum (I would imagine that smaller bass drum heads would necessarily vibrate less)? Is there a muffling trick I should try? (I play with a plastic head DW beater and really like the thwack, so I'd rather not go back to the felt beater.)
 
Phil do you bury the beater or rebound the beater? I don't see how anyone can bury the beater with a full front head, without getting the multiple bounce thing. Unless you stomp on the footboard so hard that it can't rebound, in which case you're killing the tone of the head.

I rebound the beater, always have. I played ported for all but the last 2 years. When I went to full front head, it was still a big adjustment, even with rebounding the beater. There's so much more bounceback. I don't know how to bury on a full front head. The multiple bounce thing is unavoidable for me and completely unacceptable.

So you really have to commit to a different way to play the bass drum if you go full front, unless you can make your present technique work.

I tried going full front a few times, and the first 2 times didn't last because I couldn't get past the feel. But I tried again in 2012, and I decided that the full front tone was so much better than the ported tone, that I forced myself to adapt to the feel. It was very much worth the effort. Now I don't even think about it.

But if you're a bury-er....the only suggestion I can offer is to learn to rebound. It's a way fuller tone than ported.
 
Glad this came up, because I have a question about the hole/no hole conundrum.
So I was curious: do other drummers have this problem?

I think your experience with the hole, no hole thing is common. On my 20 inch bass drum playing without a hole was OK. On my 22 inch bass I needed the hole.

What I have learned about bass drum reso holes and tone on this forum caused me to compromise. I cut a small 3 inch hole in my bass drum reso head. Just enough for the soundman to put his mic inside, but not too big, so that I still have some good tone in my bass. It worked for me !

I think they make an adjustable hole size kick port, don't they? If they don't, they should !
Then you could adjust the hole size just big enough to eliminate the bounce back for your style of playing.

.
 
So you really have to commit to a different way to play the bass drum if you go full front, unless you can make your present technique work.
...
But if you're a bury-er....the only suggestion I can offer is to learn to rebound. It's a way fuller tone than ported.

Yeah, I really bury it. No sugar-coating: I'm a stomper. My foot technique is pretty terrible. I compensate with fury. (Not an equal trade-off, by any means.)

Still, it's good to know it's not about the drum or my equipment - helps to isolate the problem and work on a solution. I've actually started working on letting the beater rebound; it's slow going but I can certainly hear the difference.

What I have learned about bass drum reso holes and tone on this forum caused me to compromise. I cut a small 3 inch hole in my bass drum reso head. Just enough for the soundman to put his mic inside, but not too big, so that I still have some good tone in my bass. It worked for me !
.

I'm going to try exactly that when I get my next bass head. Thanks!
 
You are fvcking awesome. The fact that you didn't even mention your disability in the original post blows my mind. Keep kicking ass, my friend, you've got a fan right here.

Thank you and everyone else for the really nice words. I don't usually bring it up unless I'm asking questions that are directly related to the disability, or asking other people about their physical challenges and drumming.

Playing drums was a huge part of life before the drunk driver smashed his motorcycle into my daughter and I, who were crossing the street in a crosswalk. The lowlife had 9 prior DUIs. She didn't make it (she was my angel), and I almost didn't as well. Spending months in the hospital, I tried to figure how I could play drums again. The idea of playing the bass drum with the left foot seemed IMPOSSIBLE. I thought about Rick Allen a lot. Anyhoo, I learned how to play the bass drum with the left foot, or the right "foot", or both feet. So now, when I can pull off a lick like the intro to "American Band", or play a song where I have to split the bass drum up between two feet, I feel some accomplishment. After some years (this was 5 years ago) I am finally in a band again, as a middle-aged guy in my 40's, playing rock, funk, R&B, even some top-40 here and there...have recorded a demo (though a budget one), and am playing out again. Not easy, but playing drums is something I've always loved doing, any way I can.

Your nice words are appreciated. Thank you again. I'm just a middle aged husband and father of two kids, working in Information Technology...WHO LOVES TO PLAY DRUMS!

This forum is so great.
 
Thank you and everyone else for the really nice words. I don't usually bring it up unless I'm asking questions that are directly related to the disability, or asking other people about their physical challenges and drumming.

Playing drums was a huge part of life before the drunk driver smashed his motorcycle into my daughter and I, who were crossing the street in a crosswalk. The lowlife had 9 prior DUIs. She didn't make it (she was my angel), and I almost didn't as well. Spending months in the hospital, I tried to figure how I could play drums again. The idea of playing the bass drum with the left foot seemed IMPOSSIBLE. I thought about Rick Allen a lot. Anyhoo, I learned how to play the bass drum with the left foot, or the right "foot", or both feet. So now, when I can pull off a lick like the intro to "American Band", or play a song where I have to split the bass drum up between two feet, I feel some accomplishment. After some years (this was 5 years ago) I am finally in a band again, as a middle-aged guy in my 40's, playing rock, funk, R&B, even some top-40 here and there...have recorded a demo (though a budget one), and am playing out again. Not easy, but playing drums is something I've always loved doing, any way I can.

Your nice words are appreciated. Thank you again. I'm just a middle aged husband and father of two kids, working in Information Technology...WHO LOVES TO PLAY DRUMS!

This forum is so great.

Oh my god...so terribly sorry about your daughter. You're unbelievably tough to keep moving ahead as you obviously have. That fvcking lowlife piece-of-crap plankton vomit biker @sshole...I'd like to eviscerate him and every court employee that allowed him to ride again after 9 DUI's.

To seize on one ray of light - thank god you had the drums to turn to for therapy. It's a real holistic healing that comes from playing drums.
 
Wow that's one heavy story. Your daughter....that just breaks me up.
 
You have dealt with pain most do not experience. My serious respect and admiration!
 
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