Does Bass Drum Batter Head Choice Matter? | Season Two, Episode 39
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- One of the most popular muffling methods for bass drums over the years has been the addition of a pillow inside the drum. Of course, this causes some controversy among those who believe that all bass drums should go “boom” rather than “thump” regardless of musical context. This week we set out to explore whether or not it matters what batter head you choose to use if you’re also using a pillow for internal muffling.
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Signal chain:
Mics - Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB & OctoPre - MacPro w/Pro Tools 12.8
Recorded at 48kHz / 24bit
Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB tinyurl.com/Cl...
Focusrite Clarett OctoPre tinyurl.com/Cl...
Full kit: AKG C414 (ear-distance)Snare drum & tom tom close mics: Shure SM57
Bass drum: AKG D112 (at mic port) + KAM R3 Ribbon microphone 8” away from reso
Bass Drum: Pearl Masters Custom Extra Maple
Batter Head 1: Evans Calftone EQ4
Batter Head 2: Evans UV EMAD
Batter Head 3: Evans G1 Clear
Reso: Evans EQ3 Coated White
Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
Presenting Sponsor: Promark by D’Addario
Production Partners: Focusrite, Evans Drumheads
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Wore my Sounds Like A Drum shirt in the studio last night while putting down tracks for our next album, it was great inspiration!
Oh nice! Hope everything went well. Got any photos from the session?
@@SoundsLikeADrum Everything went great! Unfortunately no, I did not take pics this time. We are slowly writing and recording our third album one-two songs at a time so my sessions have been brief this time around. I've got some from prior sessions however.
Ian Muessig whats the name of the first two albums so we can look them up? Cheers!
@@ThePaisteTrout477 The band is called Last Electric Rodeo and you can find our music on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and SoundCloud as well as our Facebook. There may be a few videos floating around youtube as well. Thanks!
Cliff's Notes (I got a little excited): 22 diameter x 20 inch bass drum--Pillow--Felt Beater--Clear Single-Ply Heads "top and bottom".
While I am nowhere near the caliber player of legends like Tony Williams, Simon Philips, Billy Cobham, Steve Smith, and the like, a few years ago I decided I wanted to run clear heads on the bass drum, like those guys did back in the late 70s to early 80s. I just loved the look and I liked the idea of creating a "window" through which interested audience members could see what my bass drum foot was doing. The problem is, my kick drum is 20 inches deep by 22 diameter and I have struggled to get a sound I like out of it for years (my next kick drum will NOT have these dimensions).
In an attempt to combat the boomy-ness caused by the depth (I think), I ran a wooden beater, wide-open bass drum with an Aquarian Classic Clear reso and Super Kick 1 batter---open bass drums feel completely different feel than "pillowed" and I had to change something. Unsatisfied, I ended up adding a blanket. Then a full-on pillow. Finally the head felt good, but sounded awful. And I knew there was something counter-intuitive about stuffing a pillow into a bass drum with a pre-muffled head.
So, get this! I decided to keep the pillow and switch back to a felt beater--old school style--and threw a 22" Remo Ambassador on there.. Haha! For my taste, in my room, it sings! I love it! I never would have thought to go this route, but I finally found a bass drum set up that I love for this weird year-2001 20x22 bass drum.
Bryce Hodge for that more traditional 70s/80s sounds I’d definitely recommend a classic 22x14 for the most range of tone possibilities. You can find single sold bass drums on Sweetwater and stuff. They’ve got a bunch of Yamaha and DW ones that come in a bunch of sizes and wood types.
Thanks, Liam, that's not a bad idea for a recording setup.
my 20" Gretsch (Jasper) has Aquarian American vintage both sides, with felt strips, plus a very small pillow barely touching both heads. I find that unported but muffled gives the best approximation of old records (my goal playing roots music isn't to sound "accurate" to a vintage drum in the room in 1963, it's to evoke the qualities that give the impression of that era - but still work with modern guitar amps and a mic.) the 22" Slingerland (3ply) I just got has a very old superkick (coated) and ported Aquarian regulator - cause they are what came with it. And they sound great, ready to go basic "rock" sound but with enough vintage tone left to be "right" for my tastes.
thank for one more awesome epic episode! I used to play that Evans Eq 3 (beater and reso), with a big dense foam inside, touching both heads in a large area with some pressure of this large foam compressed between both heads, and tuned tottaly low - the old recipe you always talk about. Now I tune my heads a little higher, a took off a lot of the foam, touching the heads only lightly, and got that wood beater - and it sounds way better! Thanks for teaching me to listen and get a sound so awesome from my cheap drums! lol ; ) Now I've got one more knowledge for shapping my sound the best way it can sound. Priceless free information! Worth a billion likes and followers! Cheers from Brazil!
my 18" bass drum came with a remo ambassador on it, switched it for an evans UV EQ4 and i'm in love. the inside of the drum is empty and there's no port so it has tons of tone but also a lot of thump and just feels so good on the foot
Chris Lightbody clear or coated? What about front head model? Thanks!
I love those calfskins.
That Calftone series definitely offers some great sounds and a cool aesthetic.
I too am a huge fan and use them across the kit
Cool vid, definitely different, despite the heavy muffling! Thanks for the insight!
I'm an EMAD guy. Single ply. Just love the controlled thump. Nothing in the drum except a small towel, not touching the heads, to kill the "basketball bounce" sound. Wide muffling ring on the 22, narrow ring on the 18.
That G1 with a pillow is just begging for some high voltage rock!
Aquarian Super Kick 2. No more muffling than that. I have them on my 20", 22', and 24" bass drums.
What drumheads did you try in the process of figuring out that the Super Kick II was your go-to option and why did you ultimately decide on the SKII?
I had original DW heads, and EMAD. Not a fan of the EMAD, but I use Evans on the rest of my drums (All six sets) :-) EMAD was too dead. I like the tone I get from the SKII. I suppose it's all in the tuning.
@@Andrew3154 yea most drummers i know hate EMAD and love the superkick havent had it since i got my new kit i actually have an emad on it im thinking about putting a coated or clear emp i dont use muffling or a ported reso head
I also use a super kick II on my bass with a remo fiberskyn on the front.
@@SoundsLikeADrum The Super kick is clear so it has a nice attack, and the muffling isn't so strong that it doesn't resonate, which is something that I want.
SKII and everything else Evans here as well.
I absolutely love these videos. What a resource for drummers ... especially for those trying to make a gear decision on a limited budget!
What is the bass drum beater you are running in this video?
Thanks for the awesome content!
It looks like a Danmar 206 felt beater, which happens to be my personal favorite! I've used this model since 2001, with great results! It's a hefty (but not *too* hefty) beater that really draws the tone out of the drum.
What a difference the different heads make. Love the snare drum sound. It has such a crack. Cheers
It may sound old-fashioned compared to pre-damped heads but I prefer a coated 2-ply Emperor with a felt strip as it seems to work for all the styles I play.
I do almost the same....Emperor on batter...Ambassador on resonant with 2-1/4" wide Gibraltar SC-BF felt strips on both batter and reso sides. Also, Remo CS Black Dot clears with felt strips too...depends if recording or live. Live usually go with CS heads and felts.
Thorum13
And I prefer to use a traditional shaped felt beater (DW SM 103 medium felt) as I find this type pushes more punch and low end out the drum. Occasionally I’ll use a Yamaha (BT-914A) wood beater with a centre patch. Haven’t used a CS Black Dot on the bass drum for quite a few years, must try it out again now you mention it!
@@davidwinthrop7077 Nice. I use a very similar felt beater (Ludwig L1286 Speedking Felt Bass Drum Beater) and Speedking pedal. I have never tried a wood beater. I have a 26" bass drum. You think wood might sound decent?
Thorum13
It certainly produces more attack and weight. I use a 24” Tama Starclassic Maple and if I’m playing un-miked it’s the beater I’ll go for. Having said that it does have a great punchy sound when you do mic the kit up. I use the patch just to protect the head a little but even without I’ve not gone through an Emperor so they’re pretty tough!
I use an Emad with a cheap ebay $6 soft (felt)yet slightly firm beater and love it. Beaters make a huge difference. It bugs me when I see younger drummers automatically putting crap in their bass drums and it especially bugs me when I see or hear seasoned players tell younger drummers to put pillows in their kick drum...it should not be an automatic thing.
Definitely agree that muffling shouldn't be an automatic thing- sonic alterations (in our collective opinion) should be made based on how something sounds, not doing what's always been done. "Presets" may be convenient but can also be compromising. Cheers!
@@SoundsLikeADrum exactly... I wasn't accusing your channel of that by the way.. I think your channel is very "woke" as they say.
I’ve been loving the sound from my 14x20 Ludwig with just a Remo smoke reso (port hole) with the Evans emad on the batter. I have a vintage TMTN pajama shirt (cowabunga) that I will sometimes put inside. The sound is super punchy and dry even though their is little to no muffling. I like that sort of “rap kick” tone. I have not used a pillow in a kick drum for years. Gotta try it again. It seems like it would work for me.
Thanks for doing this. Changing bass heads used to be more affordable back in the day. The UT heads that usually come as stock on kits are close to g1. It is not cheap to upgrade heads today, luckily I bought a secondhand kit from a pro drummer who had spent almost the cost of the whole kit on top quality heads including an emad bass batter head. To try the 3 heads you featured costs about 150 bucks right? So thanks for that.Great job guys. Must add final note that its easier tune with more lugs despite the downside of taking longer to change heads. I had one ambassador head break during a gig, wooden beater smashed it! My pay for that gig was withheld because all I could do was play the floortom as a poor substitute haha ..nightmare!
I had a vintage Gold Sparkle Premier (late 60s/ early 70's) 20" and with the right heads it absolutely slammed in the studio with masses of punch and low end - completely not what it was designed for but it recorded so beautifully. It beat my 24" Yamaha recording custom even. It's really worth playing with different heads and having a selection on hand in the studio.
On my Yamaha Recording Customs from the 80s I use a clear head with a pillow, nice n punchy. My practice kit is a Pearl Forum, not a high end kit but I always struggled with bad overtones. So I used Onyx heads for awhile with bush jackets until I discovered Emad 2. Sounds great without additional muffling, more deeper sound then I had before and punch
Exactly, that's why I don't get expensive bass drum heads, because I'm going to put padding in anyway.
I prefer a clear emperor, although I put a clear ambassador on my 1970s Ludwig 3ply 14x22 and it's sounds even better! I always use a Remo falam so I'm not worried about going though it.
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the sound and attack of the Evans G1 with a pillow. However, I'm not sure that I'd like It with my 20" bass drum. I think I will try my 20" bass drum with a porthole on the reso head, as i usually use an unported head on smaller diameter bass drums for more resonance. This time it will be a Powerstroke 3 clear batter with a ported Powerstroke 3 coated resonant on my 20x14 vintage bass drum. I think this combo will still retain enough resonance and punch without annoying overtones. Great comparison as usual👍
@RedWhiteBlack Nice ! I once did a wedding gig and the soundman who is an acquaintance loaned me his vintage 20x14 Tower series Rogers bass drum and he had a P3 smooth reso with a porthole and pillow and an ambassador smooth batter , and it sounded as it should..Incredible !
Cool video man, i use small kicks mostly 16” 18” and always an Emad on Batter and Calftone or Fyberskyn on reso, but before the Jazz police hit me with sticks, i’ve gotta say that adding a Pillow on Smaller kicks adds more punch, and low end, it’s been working for me for few years now, keep up the good work man, always very informative stuff!
Thank you for this! I appreciate your videos so much. You give such great examples of sounds; it's super helpful.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Penny! Glad you’re enjoying the series.
-Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum You are most welcome. I'm totally a gear nerd, and you do an amazing job of asking questions I hadn't even thought of, or assumed I knew the answers to. This vid more confirmed my intuitions rather than changed my mind about anything, but a few of your vids have totally blown my mind and changed habits I've had for decades.
My main choice for heads is Remo Ebony P3 resonant / Remo PowerStroke 3 clear or coated.
For me it has the right balance of tone, attack, and sustain. They also feel great, and allow for a range of dynamics.
My bass drums are dw collectors 16×20", and 18×22".
I recently purchased a used Pearl Masters with a 24" x 18 " bass drum. After nearly going insane trying to get a sound and feel I like, I have settled on Powerstroke 3s for batter and reso,5 inch porthole and two Pearl pillows. The pillows are small and light and together are about 3/4 size of pillow in this video. I am not sure if I will ever get the sound or feel I am after from such a big drum but this combination is close.
Little late but Evans EQ3 stole my heart years ago, just exactly what I hear in my head and want from my bass drum. Added an EQ pad and took it to another level that really turns heads.
Those are great heads! We really dig the EQ4 in its various forms (particularly the UVEQ4).
I consider the EQ3 my "Goldilocks" bass drum batter head.
Not overly abundant in any one characteristic but just a perfect blend of all the good things you typically want out of a bass drum.
Loud, great feel, thick attack that can span the range from thump to click depending on tuning, all combined with a short burst of tone that carries the low end and decays quickly to avoid becoming too wild or muddy.
I'll pair it with an EQ3 Resonant and generally use two EQ Pad's; one always lightly touching the resonant head, the other ranging from not touching anything (just soaking up some of the reverberation from within the shell) to jammed up against the batter head, all depending on the room and musical context.
After experimenting with a bunch of different batter heads, this combo has come to be my favourite and has worked a treat on a number of different drums (Pearl Masters MCX 20x18, Tama Starclassic Birch 22x16, Tama Starclassic B/B 22x20).
Just ordered a GMAD for my 22" Tama kick, once it gets here it's replacing a 3 year old SuperKick II. I have used Powerstrokes before (liked them but nothing more than that), loved EMADs, really loved SK2s, but I've never tried the GMAD and I've heard decent things. I do have a weird setup, I play in a high energy hardcore 3 piece, and there's no bass guitar, so I generally keep my kick drum WIDE OPEN, nothing inside, and a red Evans Hydraulic head as a reso.
Also as an aside this is without a doubt my favorite drum channel to check out now, I have lots of favs but I find myself watching the vids on this endlessly🥁
I think it depends on the type of music you play. Since I play acoustic and/or mostly low volume, I prefer the "boom" over the "thump". At low volume, I want my bass drum to sound more like music than hitting a cardboard box or firing a cannon. I use a Remo Ambassador Powerstroke 3 for my 18" batter side and a Remo Ambassador single ply for my resonant side.
But, that's just me. There is no right or wrong here.
When are we gona get a deep dive on weird snare drum batters/combos? The hydraulic black, the hybrid, putting marching heads on a non marching head...ect...
We've actually done a few of those already- Hydraulic Red, Hybrid Coated, MX5 Marching Snare Side as a snare batter, playing on the bottom side of the snare drum, etc. Is there are particular head that you'd like to see us put to the test?
I've been using a Kevlar marching head as my batter for a while now and have been considering using a marching snare side, out of curiosity how did that sound? Do you have a video involving it?
I just keep trying new heads from both Remo and Evans whenever I need to get new heads. I’ll be doing that until a set of heads just completely blows me away to become my main set, so far I do really like the Evans HD Dry on my snare based on the sounds I can achieve. Especially a timbale-like effect when I go snares off and then a right, crisp sounding w/snare but also is only tuned about medium with puresound twisted 20’s which all together just makes it like a real dope sound for what I love to play, which is funk rock, classic rock, some jazz, hip hop, blues, some Latin, and the way it blends with the toms and the sensitivity of those snare wires, I don’t get much buzz when I hit my rack toms unless I like tighten the snares to the point where they’re basically choked.
I let my stock bass batter go a long time without a new one and for my first one I got an EMAD Clear which was real different because I was using the stock with a big pillow and it was similar to the G1 sound and then I got the pre-muffled EMAD and decided to just stick an EQ pillow in there with a 15lb weight on the pillow so it doesn’t touch the drum. I still have the stock White w/Black Pearl logo reso that I’m now looking to replace because it’s definitely losing a lot of its life, I can tell by how much I have to go and just tighten up a few somewhat loose tensions rods.
I actually need new resos on pretty much all my drums at this point, but the bass and snare are going out of tune within 40 minutes, plus the stock bass reso is from August 2018 when I got the kit and the other resos are all from about a year ago, so timing works out based upon most averages.
The main thing I’m thinking would play the biggest roles in having a pillow inside the bass would be 1. Single vs Double ply (as well as overall thickness) and 2. Coated vs Clear.
I’d like to see coated vs clear of the same bass drum heads with the pillow and see if there’s a difference. And then maybe two coated and two clear, one of each that’s as thick as they get and the other about as thin as they get and see the difference on that.
I think those would yield interesting test results.
And besides me getting a emad reso for my current emad, I’ve been looking at the hydraulic heads by Evans for a long time, so I’ll likely be getting one for the bass batter when I eventually get that set.
I’m also really excited to try and get my hands on the new Evans UV2’s. The videos I’ve seen so far, they sound great and that UV coating is so durable. Can’t wait to try em, plus my floor tom doesn’t like to tune up for me all the time, so having the level 360 heads I think should help.
Can you possibly do a video on the difference between different reso heads for toms? Especially including the Evans EC Reso that apparently has some sort of tonal muffling to make like as clear of a note as possible and to have the actual note resonate and not all the overtones n stuff. So like if you could show how those work compared to others, that’d be cool.
Keep up the great work guys!!!
First it were Powerstrokes 3 on a 22" bassdrum, but i switched to Evans EMAD Coated with a wide open drum. Played it on a similar bassdrum of a friend and fell in love immediately. So easy to tune properly and sounds fat everytime
Also don't forget not burying the pedal helps and the tension springs on that pedal.But then again I'm old school I like the tones a tad open and classic sounding ala Emp/Amb/felt strip.🤖📡
Currently using Remo Powerstroke Pro, Powerstroke 3 reso and 2 Evan's EQ pillows barely touching both heads. Loving this combo!
I'm an EMAD kind of guy, but man that g1 sounded pretty killer not burying the beater, overall shocked I liked the g1!
It reminded me of before I changed out the stock heads on my first Crush kit. At the time, Crush was using Remo UTs as their stock heads, which actually weren't terrible. When tuned right and with a throw blanket on the inside, it sounded pretty killer, and a lot like the G1. When I changed my heads to coated Ambassadors, I kind of regretted it, because the Ambassador didn't really ever get the same sound. I've been able to approximate, but never replicate it.
After 28 years of playing, I've changed a lot over time. I have the same backstory. Grew up playing rock, using tons of muffling, clear heads, double bass... But over the years, as I've settled down, I've gotten a lot more bluesy and now I've settled on a wide open bass drum with a coated emad. I love that sound and plan on using it until I can't stand it anymore.
great! as always!
will try with my 16 kick.
i use remo coated ambasador both sizes, somethimes emperor coated reso.
i really hate all that ringing basketball sound in my drum. i watch your 16 bass drum video, but maybe, this same experiment, with a 16 kick?
just thinking loud. probably is stupid idea. anyway. love ya guys!
m.
Definitely an interesting idea with an ultra small drum like a 16" kick. Maybe as a bonus video on our Patreon...
Just put on Calftone EMAD for batter (using thin foam ring) and Calftone EQ4 as reso unported. Have felt strips on each. Pulled the pillow, but still wanted some focus. So, wanted more resonance and projection, but not too much sustain. Still getting used to it. But liking it so far. Nice rebound for my foot on faster stuff.
I have a Pearl Masters Custom (maple) 18 x 22, and I use an EMAD Batter (the one with the foam ring in the port hole) and a clear EMAD with the medium ring. The only thing in the drum is an old pair of slacks--breaks up the sine wave and mitigates that basketball tone.
I use those because I want something that sounds good to me while practicing and mics up well for club shows, and that combo does it. I get a deep, long tone that isn't boomy or Bonham-y. I find that I can't use pillows because it limits the bass drum's dynamic range. Hitting hard and hitting soft both sound like a medium volume "thump" to the ear, and don't differentiate enough in the microphone.
I also have an early 2000s Pearl Export 16x20. I have a Remo Powerstroke on the front and a coated Ambassador on the batter side. Tuned medium, it's a great open sound for quieter bar gigs and acoustic stuff. I use a big fluffy beater on it and leave it wide open! Pillow in there very rarely.
The g1 with a pillow is massive sounding and the Calftone is thick and vintage. Very cool. I use a SKII, the emad never sounded the way I want and 1 ply wasn't able to get low enough. Now I am considering a Calftone and self muffle.
If you're ever looking for a two-ply version, the EMAD 2 and the EMAD Heavyweight (SUPER thick) are additional options from Evans. Cheers!
18 inch Evans Onyx Emad I got to it because I was looking for a sound like the Hydraulics and was told they didn't make a Hydraulic head in that size so it was the next best and I am in love with it
As a fan of wide-open bass drums, I'm surprised how much I liked the sound of the clear G1!
Currently playing a Renaissance P3 batter and an uncut Fiberskin reso on a 18×20 Tama B/B. Going for a "Motown on Steroids" kinda vibe. I like an articulate bass drum sound that sits on top of bass guitar instead of under it.
I muffled the shit out of my bass drums on my Export and Prestige Session Select kits but on my Gretsch New Classic kit, an EMAD head with the smallest ring is perfection. (stock coated Gretsch resonant head)
Oooo that gear G1 is nice!
One of these days, I'll get around to buying my own rig. But technically, I've been borrowing my father's practice set for about twenty years. It's a CB-700 Internationale, which you should definitely not feel bad if you don't remember. It's one of two products produced in the 90's with a fiberglass-lined shell, the other being the Pearl Export.
Anywho, that fiberglass was meant to focus the sound and provide more punch out of what were really very thin shells that otherwise don't provide much body. It does that, but at the expense of volume and and increasing upper-range frequency ringing.
None of this much mattered for a drum set that was always meant to be played in big, loud 90's metal situations. And it came with black dot heads on the batters and silver dot heads on the resonant heads, so clearly, resonance was not a priority. But as my sound as changed, I've had to finesse tone out of drums that just don't want to produce it on their own.
My bass rig reflects these realities. I want to hear something other than "THUMP," so I need the bass to ring out more. Sad, because that's really it's sweet spot. But I've discovered that using an EMAD2 for my batter head, a calftone head for the resso and an EQ Pad inside the shell, basically puffed out as far as I can get it gets me the sound I'm looking for.
The result is enough ring to sound legitimately "boomy" while taming the ring. I also replaced the stock plastic and aluminium hoops with Pearl wood hoops, which did a LOT to add nice wood resonance.
I’ve tried several of Evans EQ# series heads and none of them worked for me. Remo Powerstroke, usable but not good, hard to get any volume. Even more so for Fiberskyn Powerstroke, which has a nice tone, but not much loudness. When I tried the Aquarian Superkick 2, I think I bought the wrong head - I heard a Superkick on a friend’s kit and it was great, but I think it must have been Superkick 1. So probably my fault it didn’t give me what I was after.
Best results I’ve had have been with:
1. Rogers Holiday 1963 22x14”: Remo Ambassador Clear batter, Smooth White reso, felt strip under each head, no port, nothing inside. This drum and this setup is beautiful for any music of any kind, no adjustments needed. Just exactly what a bass drum should sound like.
2. Yamaha RC (1992, 20x16): Remo Pinstripe batter, Ebony Ambassador reso with small port, folded carpet square in the bottom of the shell, which could be turned so it touched only the batter, both, or neither head. Slight tension adjustments up or down and placement of that carpet square made that drum incredibly versatile and easy to play.
I have never had or heard a kick drum that didn't need muffling , I use the Evans eq pad and also a pillow ! I also use the Evan's retro screen on the reso side which is basically having no front head at all and an Evan's onyx emad as a batter tuned just above wrinkle , its tight, focused, punchy in the chest etc that's what I like anyway and it records like a dream . Part of this also is pedal feel and I like a buried beater feel anyway mu .02 cents
If my heads are pre-muffled I like an empty bass drum. Remo Ebony P3 reso / P3, P4, or PowerStroke Pro batter.
If I use something like an ebony or chrome reso / Ambassador, C.S., Emperor, or PinStripe batter I like something in the drum.
I really like when the P3s are tuned up on an empty drum. It might be an adjustment if someone is used to burying their beaters.
My favourite are: Remo Ambassador (10 mil or 12 mil) and Remo FIberskyn.
I use a Powersonic Clear batter (which is already pretty muffled) and I used really thin hotel towels. One around the bottom edge of the reso head and one that I don’t even think is touch the batter head much at all.
I use the Emad. I think mostly because I'm a modern rock drummer, and I find the mix of attack and tone to be the most pleasant for me. I have tried powerstrokes, aquarian super kicks, and of course stock heads. Always came back to the Emad
Still love putting pillows in my 22s 👌🏽. Not for the 16/18 or 20s though
Currently I have an Evans MX2 Black on my batter for bass. Stupid amounts of low end and I love it
I used Evan's bass skin.
THEN at guitar center I kept seeing aquarian skins. so I grabbed a set and got the super kick.
THEN MY MIND EXPLODED, the super kick II was forever my bass head.
remo vintage emperor coated tom Tom's
Aquarian High-Velocity snare head.
as well as Aquarian Modern Vintage
My go to is a Aquarian Superkick 1 on batter. I was using a pillow and a mesh reso. Now im trying out no pillow and ported stock mapex coated reso.
22” Coated EMAD, with the widest damper, nothing inside. I love it.
I wouldn’t have guessed the clear G1 would have the deepest and fullest low end of those 3 heads but to my ear it sure does. Sounded fantastic
The G1 is often forgotten but still so capable. There’s good reason why Keith Carlock and Jojo Mayer prefer this head. Cheers! -Ben
Not to brag, but I have an amazing bass drum sound, without any added dampening, either internal or external. The drum is a 1960 Camco, 20”. Remo Powerstroke3 front and back, with a Toneport installed. Sounds perfect on stage or in the studio.
That’s great! Do you think that bass drum sounds achieved with some form of dampening are of lesser value when it comes to the performance, either in studio or on stage?
Sounds Like A Drum Absolutely not. What really matters is achieving the sound you want. Personally, I was always bothered by the fact that I had to treat my bass drum differently than the other drums - no pillows in my toms, why in the kick? I like the idea of the bass shell resonating as freely as my toms and snare (it’s been converted back to a ‘naked’ drum). I also really like how the head feels to play; more feedback in the pedalboard. But that’s the beauty of drums: they’re a highly personalized instrument. If it works for you, then it’s good!
i like 1 ply heads with a. pillow and a port hole. also add a bass drumpatch. extreme natural clickiness thats amazing for metal or rock.
+soundslikeadrum *I had a situation calling for the lowest usable pitch and almost Classical sustain from a drumset bass.* I therefore used an EVANS®/D'Addario® BD22EMADHW 10+10-mil hazy batter fitted with the wide perimeter damping ring and REMO® KS-9404-00 FaLam Slam at center, (Evans having no direct analog available through Hoshino) a TAMA®-branded REMO® ES-1022-00 10-mil resonant, and no internal damping on my TAMA®/Hoshino® IMB22E ø22"x18" poplarbuilt kick. Eliminating a side load on the batter that killed sustain required a cut-down wood plaque blank under the bottom batter lugs. The tone is good enough to approach on the YAMAHA® RY2T4 at OMS Japanese Christian, using two EVANS®/D'Addario® heads on the BD922Y birchbuilt kick: A BD22EMADHW batter with narrow perimeter damping ring and a BD22GB4CT resonant (with large Ho-o and vertical "日本楽器製造" as watermark behind three-fork Mon and small "山羽株式会社" replacing the "'56 CALFTONE / Evans").
This is was very very EAR opening!! Lately pillows have been a huge no no for me but after watching this I realized that there is usable sounds there!
coated 2-ply heads give me volume and warmth. but clear 2 ply heads give me punch and a perfect balance. I like both :)
i always laugh when i hear somebody saying coated heads are warmer. this is simply impossible. because coated heads shorten the frequency range by cutting the highs and very lows. basically you end up with a focus mid range sound. this is not warmer. warm = full range. what you mean is "focus".
My favorite bass drum head right now is the Aquarian Super Kick 2. Was an emad guy for a while, but I saw Darren King (he’s played with Mutemath, Sucré, Scarypoolparty. He’s an animal, check him out if you haven’t heard of him) playin with one and I decided to give it a try. It’s pretty similar to the emad, but I personally like it more because it uses a felt ring rather than a foam one. Little bit softer of a damping tone in my opinion.
All that aside, that G1 with the pillow sounded super killer and might just be what I try next!
Does the batter matter? :-) I don't use a pillow so for me YES it does. Aquarian Super Kick I or II for rock, and Aquarian Modern Vintage for jazz. When I do use something in my BD it is air pillow packing material that I get from Amazon shipments. I don't use Evans heads very often but the Calftone heads are the ones I would likely use. I believe these videos would be better if other brands were included. I know D'Addario is the sponser but it would seem less like a commercial if other brands were included.
Yea they are sponsored so they limit their channel by only using evans, its the thing i dislike most about this dope channel, i also like the remo fiberskyns more than evans calftone
Based on our findings here, it still matters even if you're using a pillow. D'Addario stepped up and offered for Promark to be the Presenting Sponsor of the Tuesday videos and provide drumheads via Evans. We're grateful for their support as we wouldn't be able to produce this series without it. Conversations have happened with other brands and they've gone silent, which is certainly up to them. We're happy to work with brands that make a quality product and want to work with us. On top of that easily 90+% of the episodes from the last year have covered topics that don't require the use of the specific model of drumhead showcased and we're quite open about that. Sorry to hear that you feel like any of this feels like a commercial. -Ben
@Jango Bango + @Carl Upthegrove We'd be more than happy to go 100% brand agnostic if we had enough support from viewers such as yourselves via our Patreon. We recognize that we can't please everybody and that there will always be someone who wants something more that we're not prepared to offer but if you'd like to help make what you've described possible, join us here: www.patreon.com/soundslikeadrum
@@SoundsLikeADrum Thank you for the reply. I understand much better now. I will check out Patreon
Nothing like rage quitting drumming and seeing a new video from you
Gotta pick those sticks back up and get back to playing!
I've been using Emad 2's since the original head on my first kit broke. This was usually accompanied with pillows or blankets as extra muffling, due to neighbors. Earlier this year I decided to go for a coated Powerstroke 3, because it seemed like everybody was using PS3's. But after playing the Emad for so long, I had a hard time with the PS3. The response felt off and during double pedal runs, the head would counter my second beater with the trampoline effect. I also couldn't get the PS3 to sound good, which was a lot easier with the Emad 2. Now I'm using the Emad Heavyweight with an EQpad. It's nice to play but can sound a bit boring and boxy behind the kit, so now I usually have the kick mic'ed up. Recently I've been wanting to try the PS3 on again. See if I can't get something better out of it than last time.
Remo powerstroke 3 on my 28" no muffling, no hole
I take it you are referring to what you use on the batter side but what do you use on the resonance side?
@@henrikostensson1160 Stock Ludwig heavy.
Im running a coated ambassador x over a coated ambassador on my 18", just using external muffling when needed. I was using a coated emperor but not quite lively enough for the sound i wanted
Great stuff. Of course it all matters to the player and purist but I have had more issues with engineers just making things sound however they want instead of using their power for support. I love single ply heads on bass drums with no muffling rings because it leaves the head to bearing edge relationship pure. I love being able to control my tone. Pillows and or weather stripping do great for me when I need a more muffled sound. That being said I currently have. Clear SKII that has a tear in the top layer. I was doing a lot of gigs that needed that super control and I don’t want to put a bunch of stuff in the drum to retain volume and resonance. Close mic live a studio they work great for that punch and low end with very few mids. I like mids. But the engineers hate them
Could you make a bass drum playlist? Or... one for all the various instruments?
I used to use the Evans EMAD on my bass drums with no muffling. Then, I saw another drummer who was playing a festival I was playing break one in the middle of a set, which freaked me out, so I went out and got an EMAD Heavyweight. Then I started working with a sound guy who would sometimes want to trigger the bass drum, and the ring on the EMAD got in the way, so I switched to a Remo P4 on the bass drum. It sounds good when it was mic'd, but it really was too dead sounding for me in, so I switched to a P3 with a little blanket in the kick in it and I make sure to use the little badge and hope that I won't break head.
Evans eq4 also work with triggers. Had same prob with Emad ring
For heavy rock or metal: Reso is Aquarian Regulator. Batter is clear Powerstroke 3 if you're using a mic, whether for live or studio playing. Kick mics just love the clear PS3. If you're not using a mic, say for a small gig, EMAD Heavyweight reigns supreme.
Evans Emad coated with the thin ring, emad reso, small pillow inside touching the batter head.
(EDIT: I had a G1 on my other kick and didn't really like the sound at all, I prefer pre-muffled heads because I want to tune my bass drum really low.)
Evans calftone eq4 on my old Ludwig studio 22” bass. Eq4 in my 18” bass. G14 on my martini kit.
I use calftone reso on all of them. no batter head muffling on any of them. Usually felt on the reso side depends on the gig or producer.
I just came to these choice thru trial and error.
I also like emperor vintage heads but Remo has priced themselves out of the working musicians reach.
My kicker is 22x18 I prefer no pillow just the natural sound pinstripes on the kicker side clear I like big and bold sounds
I'm now really interested to try a Calftone head. It sounded like a tone I've been chasing in my mind for a long time, especially when compared to the modern style heads.
Haha, that G1 reminds me of every bass drums I used to play of 15years ago, when I couldnt find any drumheads with muffling (in my country, not US).
Have you ever tried a marching bass head? I currently run an Evans MX2. Give it a try.
The EMAD head almost sounded like a sample! Should work great for metal drumming. I generaly use the clear powerstroke 3, but I've wanted to try out the coated version for some time now. And after this video, the EMAD seemed interesting!
I've had an Ambassador Coated on my Crush Chameleon Ash bass drum for awhile, and I actually don't really like it without some serious dampening (it ends up sounding kind of like the G1 with the pillow when I tune it right). I've seen that both Steve Goold and Jeff Randall use the Powerstroke P3 Coated, so I'm gonna try that next cause I like the sound they get out of their drums.
Another great videos gents! Please tell me what are those hi hats?
Calfskin. Love those ‘56’s!
Me personally I don’t like a lot of muffling I play with remo power strokes p4s with the muffle ring that’s all I need nothing inside the bass drums . As you noticed I said bass drums because I play 2 bass drums . I hate double pedals .
I have Superkick 1 on a pdp Encore. No pillow. It sounds incredible. I just got a dw Design Series and put an Evans hydraulic on it to match the color. No pillow. It sucked. I put the factory Remo on it with the supplied pillows. Now it sounds pretty good,but not even as good as the cheap pdp...so I’ll probably buy a Superkick and take out the pillows. A poplar bass drum should not sound better than one made of maple.
I'm feeling the tone of that calftone head
That calftone is awesome! Would you expect the sound to vary even more without a reso head, or in the extreme case in a shallow pancake kick drum? It seems there'd be fewer variables to colour the batter head's tone in those cases.
I'd tend to hypothesize that the lack of a reso head would actually diminish the contrast between each of the batter heads since the air would be allowed to escape rather than reflect off the reso and come back to the batter head. Definitely an interesting idea though. Love the approach of adjusting the variables- that's why we kept everything the same except for the batter head choice. Cheers! -Ben
in all honesty, i think you forgot something to take into account is the beaters. hard or soft, the combo makes a huge difference. some react better with hard beaters and some not. durability too. some heads are resilient to be pounded by hard beaters where some simply blow after 1/2 hours of play. that's why 1 ply heads require beater patch on it. it also helps "focusing" the sound a lil bit.
personnaly i like 2 ply clear reso with 1 ply clear batter + beater patch. the decay is short and powerful. i use 6 pieces of foam that i stapled inside the shell to contact the heads. it really gives that natural feeling to the foot. when i have a pillow, i need to engage more power. i hate the feeling of it.
Yes of course different beaters will draw out different behaviors, that’s 100% on point. This is more about the head change being the only variable. On the same note, one head and 5 different beaters can get insane variety too. 👍🏻 -Cody
G1 sounds excellent
Does using two 16” crash cymbals create a good hi-hat sound? Is it possible to use a top hi-hat as a crash or ride, or does it sound bad ? Thanks!
It doesn't seem related to the topic here, but so what? To your first question... yes, you can get a good sound. A hi hat cymbal ain't so different to a crash, but there are different types of crashes (or hi hats) attending to its shape, weight, bell, bow, etc, and depending on that, and the combination you use you may like the sound or not. I'd suggest you anyway to put the lighter of them on top and the heavier on the botton, but it's on you. And your second question, yes you can use a hi hat top or botton cymbal as a crash, if you like small crashes, but as a ride.... mmm I don't see it, too small imo, but hey, there's an easy way to figure it out, just try it and see if you like it.
everything this guy ->@@isihernandez9752 said, is true! and i do use two 16" crashes as hi hats on most gigs. talking by experience, using the config Isi said would affect to a washier, darker sound. but there’s nothing wrong on using two crashes with similar weight as hi hats,, it’ll affect to a drier sound,, imo
16” hi hats are just the way to go man hahaha. go and experiment with 17”,, or even 18”,,, there’s nothing wrong with experimenting🤣
@@SammyDumanauw I've used 14"s almost all of my life, and it's fine, but lastly I'm using 15"s as my main hats and I'm delighted. I still use 14"s as x hats or main ones,depending on the situation, but the 15"s are perfect for me (I guess it's not only the size, but the cymbals themselves =P). I also like how 16" and bigger sound, but it's not practical for me. Harder to place them in my kit except when I use a smaller version, and a bit too heavy and hard to control when you play them with your foot, specially on fast parts. And I'm not sure if the rod would stand for long with too much weight. So for me, 15"s are just perfect.
But it doesn't mean I don't like to experiment. Lastly I've used a 20" hi hat, composed by a Paiste Sound Formula Reflector Series Full Ride as the botton and a Zildjian K Custom Dark Crash as the top... It sounds hughe and it's fun to play it for a while, or for recording a specific song or a part of it, but it ain't practical for a common use.
@@isihernandez9752 dude 20”, thats rad🤣🙌
@@SammyDumanauw hahahaha it was fun, but I don't think I'll do it often... =P
Ok, completely off topic, but interesting nonetheless: I have been trying to set my rack toms more parallel to the ground instead of at an angle (since I play with traditional grip most of the time) but they simply refuse to resonate. The sound dies almost immediatly like there's some heavy phase cancellation happening. If I put them back at a considerable angle or raise the tom mount high enough for Tim Duncan to confortably play on them while standing, it all goes back to normal. Does anybody have any ideas?
Hey guys! What would happen if you ported the batter head on a bass drum, and how would it compare to ported reso or fully unported?
Great videos. Please keep them coming. I am trying to make my cheap maple drum set sound like john Bonham’s ludwig. The ludwig will be mine one day but not today (she will be mine, she will be mine). The 22 kick came used with an evans coated with a muffling ring on the batter side. Not at all the sound i am going for. I bury the beater at this point and currently have no muffling. I have the reso Head tuned up high. I don’t record or gig. Just play in the basement . I am considering trying out an ambassador clear or emperor coated. Do i need muffling? Any other suggestions?
Interesting how different the kick sounds in this comparison. Any chance you could do a follow-up to this using an unported bass drum front head?
With the Evans UV Emad, there was this sort of almost clicky sound accentuated with the hit. Do you know what that might have been from? Was it a normal thing from a head like that? Is it just because it was tighter/more dampened?
SLaD supporting a forgone conclusion: i love the emad
12:20 sounds like Bugs Bunny 😄
Would love a video on pancake kick drums, like the dw design 20 inch. Love the channel guys!
how does the sound of your snare effect the way you play (your kick) and how does the sound of your kick effect the way you play (your snare). Like do certain sounds make you play different styles in improv?
Oh absolutely, they all influence each other and lead me down different paths. It changes all the time, I don’t really have hard rules there but generally the bigger/more sustain-y the sound the more I lean toward slower playing to get the most out of it. -Cody
I use a emad or gmad with a couple of old dress shirts and my sound is explosive
one pillow lol, I usually have my bass drum a little less than half full :D
when we getting the snare wire comparison video guys??????
When we launch the comparison series but we need your help to make that dream a reality. Please consider joining us on Patreon to help support the development of new series: www.patreon.com/soundslikeadrum
More importantly, change your heads frequently. Fresh heads make a big difference! Dont neglect the reso!
True, I neglected the resos for very long time and wondered why new batter heads still didn't sound right. Finally changed all heads and was glad.