Heads for the big kick

A

AudioWonderland

Silver Member
Have a birch 22x17 with clear eq4 batter and a ported eq3 coated reso head.

Added a 24x15 Birch drum and have been undecided on heads. Coated Emp batter/ Coated Ambassadors reso? Black dot batter/ clear reso tony william style? Evans calftone Buddy style?

Definitely want to go unported and be distinct from the 22
 
AudioWonderland said:
Do you run those drums ported or unported? What reso head?
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Unported - I can't stand the dead sound of a port. For reso, I use a PS3 equivalent, something single ply with a light ring on the inside to control any extensive ring from the reso head.

Bear in mind that the only live playing I am doing is not close micd, like I'm lucky if I get a couple of overheads and one on the bass drum so I need to fullness and projection of a 'lively' bass drum.

If I was ever playing a large venue that justified close mics on every drum, I would probably run a standard ported reso with the mic inside the drum. One can dream. :)
 
WuHan Solo said:
You didn't mention what type of sound you're looking for, or what type of music you intend to play with this drum.
Recommendations need to take these things into account.
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It's for studio use. No specific players sound in mind. Big 70's rock is the idea but "some" level of adjustability would be nice.
 
AudioWonderland said:
It's for studio use. No specific players sound in mind. Big 70's rock is the idea but "some" level of adjustability would be nice.
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There are several videos of Steve Smith playing a bass drum with just felt strips for muffling. That's what came to mind when you posted your question. He bounces the beater, doesn't bury it. I think that's the best way to play an un-ported-reso-head bass drum. There's much less chance for the beater to dribble on the batter head.

Let us know what you decide!
 
Batter: coated Ambassador with felt strip OR coated Emperor without a strip.
Reso: Fiberskyn Ambassador, with a felt strip only if needed (preferably without)
Inside: a KickPro weighted kick drum pillow (not touching either head) to soak up any errant frequencies bouncing around in there.
 
TK-421 said:
Inside: a KickPro weighted kick drum pillow (not touching either head) to soak up any errant frequencies bouncing around in there.
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It also heavily dampens shell vibrations, making for a tighter sound.
 
cbphoto said:
There are several videos of Steve Smith playing a bass drum with just felt strips for muffling. That's what came to mind when you posted your question. He bounces the beater, doesn't bury it. I think that's the best way to play an un-ported-reso-head bass drum. There's much less chance for the beater to dribble on the batter head.

Let us know what you decide!
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^^^^ This, if you're going unported. Whenever I play an unported kick, I have to play heel down in order to bounce the beater off the head. But normally I play heel up (and with a ported kick).
 
I have been very happy with an Evans EQ4 (frosted) on the batter side tuned about as low as I can get it where there is still some tone/sustain at each lug. Then I use an un-ported single ply head for the resonant side, which I tune about medium and will increase the tension on that until I am happy with the sound in the room.
 
Jeremy Bender said:
I have a coated PS3 batter & an Ambaddasdor smooth white unported on front of my 24 x14" Big low end sound from the Yamaha Hybrid Maple.
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I think I have settled on either 2ply coated batter and 1 ply coated or a clear EQ4 batter with a smooth white EQ3 reso. Both very Bonzo from different eras. I am not going to know for sure until I try them. Just looking for deals now

I am also thinking my 20" will get Calftones front and back eventually too. No reason for that drum to sound like the 22's either
 
Evans EQ3 coated for batter . all Evans all the time i have it on my 20" Maple and it sounds awesome with one felt strip and nothing else
 
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