Trying to get more low end.

Grant C.

Junior Member
I am trying to get more low end bass drum sound. I have a 16" X 22" Premier Genesta bass drum with a Remo Powersonic head for the batter with loose tuning. I have the original Premier head on the front with a 6" port and a 3" wide felt strip running top to bottom. I am just not getting enough low end sound. I am thinking that the thin shell that Premier makes is a large cause of this. Also, perhaps the port hole is causing some of this. Any recommendations to get more low end? Perhaps change the front head?

Thanks Everyone!
 
It's kind of counter-intuitive, but I've found tuning the reso fairly high and leaving it unmuffled allows for a longer low sort of boooom. I tune my batter loose with a ring, so I still get a nice thwack...
 
I'd change that resonant head, a 6" hole is going to lose you a lot of resonance and consequently low-end. Tune the reso fairly high as well.
 
A smaller, off-centre port would also help. A hole in the centre will mean the air just goes out, whereas an offset port means the air has a chance to bounce around inside a few times before it escapes, which is where you get a resonant sound from.
 
I am trying to get more low end bass drum sound. I have a 16" X 22" Premier Genesta bass drum with a Remo Powersonic head for the batter with loose tuning. I have the original Premier head on the front with a 6" port and a 3" wide felt strip running top to bottom. I am just not getting enough low end sound. I am thinking that the thin shell that Premier makes is a large cause of this. Also, perhaps the port hole is causing some of this. Any recommendations to get more low end? Perhaps change the front head?

Thanks Everyone!

I don't like the Powersonic, it sucks the life from my 22" in a big way. It's just too thick. My current fave is the Aquarian Force 1, but any single ply head with some kind of muffling ring around it will be better than the Powersonic, IMO.

Agreed on the smaller mic port, but that's only part of the problem.
 
The Evans EMAD Batter head is pretty killer.

The only downside to the Sub kick is that it wouldn't affect your sound unless it was going through speakers or a sound system of some sort.

-Jonathan
 
I am just not getting enough low end sound. I am thinking that the thin shell that Premier makes is a large cause of this.

A thin shell would tend to enhance the warmth and translate as low-end, so that's not going to be an issue.

In what context are you looking for low-end: acoustically? Miked in a live situation? In the studio? What surface is the drum on when you don't get enough low-end, concrete, or a raised floor or riser? And by low-end, do you mean thump, or just a low note, or 'boom'? They can be 3 different things, and are accomplished in different ways. The drum size is probably not a problem, although it does depend what you're looking for. Obviously a larger diameter drum wants to make a lower note, and different sizes cater to different needs. You wouldn't use a 26" kick in a bop kit, and you wouldn't use an 18" kick in a Led Zep tribute band. And a kick on a riser or raised floor has more warmth than one sitting on a concrete floor.

Defining what you want will yield more specific suggestions.

Bermuda
 
A Subkick is superb if you're already generating low end from you're drum, but it can't offer much help if the low end is missing at source. The real benefit of a subkick is that it captures low end, & reproduces it without the need to use EQ. Otherwise, just EQ any mic & you'll increase the bottom end. It'll probably sound yukky though.

You're shell isn't the issue. A thinner shell will produce plenty of bottom end, usually much more than a thicker shell. Where it suffers is in the projection departement compared to the thicker shells. Especially if you're not mic'ing, & even if you are, an unported reso head will give you the most low end. Head & tuning choices as others have suggested.
 
Yeah like others have said I'd go with a smaller port or no port on the reso and try a batter head with less muffling like a PS3 or the evans equivelant. That way you can have more control over the muffling if you need it by using a small felt strips on the batter or reso if necessary. I switched from an aquarian SK1 to a PS3 and it really opened up the sound and depth of the drum.
 
1) I have a Premier Signia kit, and I found the stock Premier front head really isn't that great for getting low end off of. Switching out the Premier head to a Remo made a big difference for me.

2) Some times it's just room your in. The acoustic properties of some rooms just suck the low end out of everything.
 
I can't add anything, just reiterate what's been said. Go with an Evans EMAD or Aquarian PS2 or 3 for the batter, tune it a bit tighter then you have it now, offset port or no port at all for the reso head and you should be golden. I'm currently using an Evans EMAD with the large ring and an Aquarian reso on my 20" Taye kick. Sounds like a million bucks!
 
I can't add anything, just reiterate what's been said. Go with an Evans EMAD or Aquarian PS2 or 3 for the batter, tune it a bit tighter then you have it now, offset port or no port at all for the reso head and you should be golden. I'm currently using an Evans EMAD with the large ring and an Aquarian reso on my 20" Taye kick. Sounds like a million bucks!

Just an FYI Aquarian doesn't make a PS2 or 3 head. Remo makes a PS3 and PS4 no such head as a PS2 in their catalog.
 
A $40 kickport claims to do this..I have one and cant swear that it works a whole lot but it looks kinda cool if nothing else..I need to try the with and without recording experiment
 
Just an FYI Aquarian doesn't make a PS2 or 3 head. Remo makes a PS3 and PS4 no such head as a PS2 in their catalog.

OOPPS! I meant super kick! lol! I can't believe I made that mistake! Especially since I had one on my kick for 3 years!

*Note to self* Stop posting on the internet after taking Ambian sleeping meds!
 
I don't know if you're aware of this, so forgive me if this is something you know, but don't expect your acoustic kit to make the same kind of boom that you hear live at a lot of shows or in studio. Those drums are mic'd, eq'd, etc, to bring out that low end, sent through subwoofers...you get the idea. With that said, you can still do a lot to get a great low sound from a drum, but it'll never match the sound you can get from processing like that.
 
OOPPS! I meant super kick! lol! I can't believe I made that mistake! Especially since I had one on my kick for 3 years!

*Note to self* Stop posting on the internet after taking Ambian sleeping meds!

LOL!!!! I thought you might have been talking about the SK series but wasn't sure.
 
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