the 13 year old engeener Posted June 15, 2002 Share Posted June 15, 2002 hi guys! what's the best way to get a good fat,low-end,loud,click bass drum sound? thanks seya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Hee hee! Ted A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k1neta Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 stick a mic in it Kenneth Gag Watchers On The Storm Elegie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Not meaning to be a pain in the ass, just my ideas on this are fairly fanatical, and I'm a bit notorious around these parts for my 32" bass drum..... Still, convincing sounds can be coaxed out of the usual 18-24" drums, they just can't compete for power and depth with a 28" or 32". Most of the low end comes from the resonant head, the one that faces the audience, so DO have one, and if you absolutely must cut a hole in it, do it closer to the edge than the center. There's a lot to be said for NOT cutting a hole in it! Calf heads are vastly better for bass drum, with a really physical punch to them, but probably you will use plastic like most suckers, so make sure your heads are fresh enough to have some "boing" to them! New plastic heads sound way better than old ones, don't wait 'til they break to replace them. Tuning is a huge big deal. Since your lows are coming from the resonant head, tune that as low as you can and still get a good tone, too low and it gets fwappy. The batter head can be tuned higher, especially the lugs down near the beater, and the tension on the head will give you your punch and what power you can manage, so get the tension right to feel good for the foot without putting a pillow behind the beater head . Muffle the resonant head in only the barest way, throw a tshirt against the base of it or something, or don't muffle it at all. You can lose your lows in a big hurry by overdoing it. Muffling the batter head is where you control your tone and the sustain of the drum. You'll probably want to damp it pretty good to get a real click-type sound. Start with a cloth jammed in between the pedal and the batter head, and go from there. I don't know if you're micing it, recording it, or what, but start with a good sound in the room or yer out of luck! Micing it, try a mic on the batter side, pointing at the same angle as the overheads, pointing a few inches above the beater, or try a "front of kick" mic out - in front of the kick! (you may need to flip the polarity here relative to the overheads or batter side kick mic). Also you can make a kick tunnel out of sofa cushions, instrument cases, or whatever, to get some isolation and still be able to mic the kick from a distance- remember the low soundwaves are long, they need space to "unfold". Good luck! Ted A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Believe it or not, Ted, ... I get the best bass response from a 20 bass drum that is 18 deep. It gives me that deep throat sound with out the waah overtones. Let us know 13 year old from Hartwell. By the way, spent my summers as a kid roaming the mountains above Toccoa, GA. Lake Yonah to be exact! Love that country! DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebonn Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Same here. I've had 26" 24" and now 22". The 22 is by far the better sounding to me. Then again I didn't have Power Stroke 3's on the others. Do Power Stroke 3's come in 32" ? www.blairsdevillestudios.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Yeah my 20" with a PowerStroke 3 doesn't suck, especially with our drummer kicking the living hell out of it. He's got a pretty explosive right foot, even when not playing hard. Don't know how he does that. Then again, we're always up for experimenting. Ted, where the hell does one get calfskin heads these days? We have really got to try that. --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 www.lefima-usa.com They take forever, and cost too much! Although 20" is not so big, so they probably don't cost too, too much. Also try Cooperman Fife&Drum. I find the trouble with a super deep drum (like 18") is the pianissimo response, the resonant head isn't necessarily moving until you get to a certain volume, although I doubt a lot of pianissimo goes on down there! Of course plenty of untoward sounds can be obtained from a big drum, tuning is as important as ever. I love it because my heads are tuned way tighter that you can tune small bass drum heads and get a really low pitch, so the punch is really something, and no much floppy ring, as the heads are too tight for that. Plus, the power is considerable! I find almost all drum kits to be extremely top heavy... usually considerable imagination and some mics and EQ is necessary to bring the kick up to where it ought to be. Ted A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the 13 year old engeener Posted June 21, 2002 Author Share Posted June 21, 2002 i just got out of the studio the other day and i found a good way to get a good sound but still it won't work for everything. mosty rock. 20" dw/parcific bass drum shure beta 52 mic some kind of "v-tech" mic aquairian super kick drum head(back) plane remo with muffuling ring(front) i placed the beta 52 inside the kick on a foam sheet about 3-5" from the back head. i placed the v-tech mic on the outside pointing at the small 5" hole that i had cut into the front head. then, back at the recorder, i eq'ed the two bass drum channels like this.... beta 52 10-bass/10+highs (track) 2+bass/5-mids/14+highs(channel) v-tech about the same as beta 52 (track) 4-7+bass/2-3-mids/5-8+highs (channel) that my not be how i mixed it, but it's close. i wound post a demo of it but my #@*&%@1##!!! computer is down right know. you want to know something that may help you?...DON'T EVERY BUY ANY SOFTWARE FROM CAKEWALK!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 That's a lot of EQ. Makes me wonder about the mic placement. A lot of times you can get a better sound with more careful placement and less EQ, but experience helps and you're getting some of that. Ted A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuchel Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Well...if you can get your hands on an AKG D36 double capsule dynamic mic (out of production since the 60's) you'll not find a better mic 3 to 4 inches from the front. You'll use the unique pattern selector almost like an eq to dial in the desire sound. 3 feet away you'll love the low end a Neumann fet U47 will give. I've also had success with an AKG C24, especially for jazz. Create a tunnel (carpet for instance) to get BD separation from the kit. Oh yeah, the Bass Drum should sound great. tuchel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuchel Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Well...if you can get your hands on an AKG D36 double capsule dynamic mic (out of production since the 60's) you'll not find a better mic 3 to 4 inches from the front. You'll use the unique pattern selector almost like an eq to dial in the desire sound. 3 feet away you love the low end a Neumann fet U47 will give. I've also had success with an AKG C24, especially for jazz. Create a tunnel (carpet for instance) to get BD separation from the kit. Oh yeah, the Bass Drum should sound great. tuchel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted June 22, 2002 Share Posted June 22, 2002 Hi 13......I place my ATM 25 on a small mic stand within the drum. I set the stand toward the front of the drum and set the mic on an slight angle from direct center of the beater and about 8" away from the beater head. the front head has a nice size hole in it by design by Pearl. I get a good sound this way. Maybe you only need to raise the mike up, on an angle in the center of the drum, and place the other mic on the beater side of the head to hear the pop of the beater. Just a thought. My fade out........... Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uh Clem Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 Best kick sound I've gotten to date was setup at my studio by.... Lee Flier! Gretsch 20" with Evans "set" heads (did we be pull the muffler back, Lee? I think so) - the head has the small off-center hole where she placed an RE20 (API312 pre) with the grill just inside angled pointing at the batter side between the beater and shell. I don't think I did much eq, if any on those tracks - maybe a little compression when mixing. When all of the sudden, it is simple, that's when you got it right. Recap of main ingredients: 1) Good Drummer - sorry - a must have 2) Good Drum - ditto 3) the right mic, pre, placement (otherwise known as good engineering). Steve Powell - Bull Moon Digital www.bullmoondigital.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted June 23, 2002 Share Posted June 23, 2002 Right you are Steve, I pulled that muffling back in a hurry! I was very glad to have been able to help you out, it was fun! --Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4stringslapper Posted June 27, 2002 Share Posted June 27, 2002 use a mic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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