re: ARRGH!!! (Tuning a Kick drum)

Saurencaerthai · King Kong Joined: 24 Sep 2002 Posts: 2609

Well, here's a lil question for ya all:
I can tune most of my smaller drums (floor tom and smaller) relatively well and almost always get a tone I'm satasfied with, however, I always have trouble with the kick. Tonight, I took both heads off the kick to give it a long-put off tuning. I am currently using a Powerstroke III on the batter and a black ported Evans resonator head (the evans wasn't my choice, mind you). This is a Pearl Export 22X16 kick.

The big problem I've found is that I always get a rather ugly, high, dead attack with little warmth.

My question to you: what might you suggest to help bring a better sound to this kick? Also, how do you tune yours? (2 keyturns away from slack? wicked tight?)

Kaos_x52 · Newbie Alert Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 1

Saurencaerthai,
I read your article about the axis pedals vs iron cobras. My name is Chris and I have been playing drums for about 9 years and was wondering if you could give me your AIM sn or your e-mail address so we can talk about this. I am in the middle of deciding which to get, an axis or iron cobra. I need a little helP in deciding which 1. Thanx
-Chris

Pond Drummer · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 5:40 am Post subject: re: ARRGH!!! (Tuning a Kick drum)

This may be a bit obvious but a load of ols towels/blankets in the drum work for me.

Ugly Man On Parade · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 6:20 am Post subject: re: ARRGH!!! (Tuning a Kick drum)

I tune my batter head on my bass drum like, half a turn from slack, like, sometimes in a middle of a gig i have to tighten it cause my pedal loosen it till it has slack. My front is also tuned pretty loosely. Maybe it's just the drum but it has a deep, full sound. I have never used them myself, but a many many drummers pro and not pro swear by impact patches. I have been debating whether to invest in some, and think i might experiment, why not eh? I think you should go try out some impact patches and see what happens

gdawson44 · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 6:22 am Post subject: re: ARRGH!!! (Tuning a Kick drum)

quote:
Originally posted by Saurencaerthai:

The big problem I've found is that I always get a rather ugly, high, dead attack with little warmth.

Ahh, the curse of the 22" kick! I play in a band which has their own drums and the kick is a 22". I've struggled with this kick and it's sound. Finally, I simply took the reso head off and tuned up the batter medium-tight. That's the best I could get out of it. It may or may not work for you.

Saurencaerthai · King Kong Joined: 24 Sep 2002 Posts: 2609

Thanx for the ideas all, I'll keep them in mind tomorrow before I attack my kick with an axe!

Kaos_x52:
I'd be glad to tell you all I know. If you need my email, go to the Dog House main board. There should be a spot where it says "Moderated by:" and then the Mods. Each links to the corrosponding email. Look foreward to hearing from ya!

crowley35 · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 8:18 pm Post subject: re: ARRGH!!! (Tuning a Kick drum)

Here's my gospel for bass tuning.
*Disclaimer: don't do this on other drums.

First, put on only the batter head, and tune it just so the wrinkles are gone. Tighten in small increments to desired pitch, but don't go more than a turn or two tigher on this step. Don't worry about the overall sound at this point.

Next, I put a pillow in my bass (20x16), but this is an old, slept on pillow, so its smaller and flatter than a brand new one. The main thing with the pillow placement is that it touches the batter head lightly.

Next put on the front head, and tighten it literally just till the wrinkles are gone.

Tweak to preference, but this works very well for me. And the bonus is that this sounds pretty good by itself, but mine sounds incredible with a mic on it.

Good luck

crowley35 · Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2003 8:19 pm Post subject: re: ARRGH!!! (Tuning a Kick drum)

I do also use the impact patch the came with my Evans EQ4 Coated Batter head. It really doesn't do much for sound, but it does a lot for durability, cuz the EQ4 doesn't seem like a very think head.

carrollhach · Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 12:50 pm Post subject:

I have found that Evans Genera heads are particularly easy to tune, even with a 22". 22" bass drums, though standard, are my least favorite (and the soundman's as well) becasue they are so big and hard to control. I greatly prefer smaller drums (20 being the biggest. My current is a 16 on a danmar kick riser).

Tone Foam works well when attached to the resonant head... it's a self-sticking insulatiing foam that encircles the diameter of the the head.

ulank · Tadpole Joined: 05 Mar 2003 Posts: 22

My drummer has a 22" kick that was always a pain to get a good fat sound out of it. The Aquarian SuperKick II made me think it was a different drum. Big and boomy, very nice. Previously, we had PowerStroke III's on there.

Saurencaerthai · King Kong Joined: 24 Sep 2002 Posts: 2609

I've heard both good things about the SuperkickII as well as numerous drums with that head and it's been slowly winning me over! The ony major issue I have heard of from past Aquarian-users is that the mylar has the tendancy to pull away from the hoop. Has anybody had this happen?

crowley35 · Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2003 10:34 am Post subject:

Another note about getting a "warmer" sound out of a kick drum:

Having a full front head with no hole allows the sound to resonate fully, rather than dissipating quickly through the sound hole.

Here's a different tuning idea that I've been experimenting with lately on a 20x16 kick with a full front head and Evans EQ4 batter:

Tune the batter to desired pitch, then put on the front and tighten way tighter than you ever thought a bass head should be with no pillows or mufflers inside. This will give a warmer, more resonating sound. Unfortunately, this also takes some of the punch away from the drum.

If anyone knows a way to get this resonant sound with good attack, let me know.