That good bass drum sound.

[inclineline606]

I need help with my bass drum.
The thing is, I can't get that bass drum sound. It's always too low and flabby or too high and pitchy. I have a double ply batter and a single ply (and spray-painted) resonant with a 3.5 inch hole. Any suggestions on muting, tuning, techniques? HELP! 

[king]

I like to use a 2-ply bass drum head. Preferably the Evans EMAD, or the Aquarian SuperKick II. I haven't used a coated reso head in a long time. Usually I tighten my batter head to where I get a good rebound but not so it's too tight. I was just checking out this cool product to improve the sound of your bass drum. It's called the KickPort and you can find it here http://futurepercussionconcepts.com/kickport.html

Here's a cool video of Bob Gatzen giving bass drum tips https://drummerconnection.com/users/drumfreak/media/youtube/199-drummers-only-bob-gatzen-tuning-tip-4-bass-drum

Let me know how this works out for you.

[ThatDrummerKid]

I switch around between the EMAD 2 or the SuperKick II for my kick drum. Sounds great for pretty much any kind of music!

[inclineline606]

I can't afford any heads right now, and if I could, I'd get a new floor tom head. Mine is DEAD.
But once I save up some cash, I'll check out that Evans head. The Bob Gatzen vid helped a lot with tuning, but I still can't get that fat punch I hear in a lot of songs. I think it's just the heads like you guys think.
Thanks a bunch. This website is the number 1 thing that I check for everything about drums.

[kyle7863]

Keep in mind that Most songs digitally alter the sound of the drums to make them sound great, so you might be chasing the non-existent godly bass drum sound, but something that always helps for me is to tune the bass reso head medium tight and the batter head loosely, and than put a pillow on the reso head. check it out, might work for you.

[king]

you might be chasing the non-existent godly bass drum sound
That's funny...but true.
Hey guys! Check out the Marque Feature when you get a chance!

[drumfreak]

I'm in the process of shooting some videos to help you better understand drum sounds that are raw and then show you the process of making them sound better.

Even if you can't afford the equipment,  you can at least get a good idea of how the kick drum sounds through the mic without any processing:

https://drummerconnection.com/featured/video/4998-drum-room-drumfreak-sound-check-episode-3

Maybe that will help!

[inclineline606]

Most songs digitally alter the sound of the drums to make them sound great ... tune the bass reso head medium tight and the batter head loosely, and than put a pillow on the reso head.

I'm in the process of shooting some videos to help you better understand drum sounds that are raw and then show you the process of making them sound better.

The pillow trick helped A LOT. I used it at first, but it gave me a really loose sound. I tried tuning it like you said, and it sounds way better when I play the whole kit.

The first video was great for my small understanding of micing. I'll be sure to check out the others once they're up.

Thanks guys.

[king]

That's a cool little trick, I'll have to try that sometime.

[kyle7863]

No problem, took me forever to figure that out, but im glad to pass it on.

I love tuning my drums, and so far i've picked up some pretty good tricks, So if you ever need any advice on tuning or what head to choose, feel free to message me.


-glad to help.

[king]

I don't mind tuning drums, it just has a tendency to get frustrating every now and then. I need some new heads!

[inclineline606]

I'm the kind of person that likes to mess around with things, especially my guitars (like the wiring and such). I like experimenting with the tuning, but there comes a time where you either have to seek advice or get new heads!