Need some help on bass drum holes

[adam b_dup1]

i got a 22 inch bass drum, heads on both sides and a pillow inside and am asking if i should cut a hole on the resonate head, how big should it be and how should it affect my tuning and sound

thanks

[joeq]

the only reason to cut a hole in the front head is so you can wiggle a mic inside your kick drum for recording or reinforcement. It will change the sound and many would say not for the better.

 

This subject is a matter of great passion and even semi- religious fervor among drummers and recording engineers.

 

I am both and I have a hole in my head

 

I don't think it is that big a deal.

 

I feel that the abilty to place many different mics in different positions outweighs the (slight? HUGE?) sonic hit you take when you cut the hole.

 

Hole/No Hole- the armies are lining up to do battle even as I type this.

 

Incoming!

[adam b_dup1]

yea well i kinda just went out and did it

i cut a hole in my bass drum head about 3 inches to the right of the center and its about 5 1/2 inches in diameter. All i found out is that the sound is pretty much the excact same but louder, which is what i was looking for, so bonus on that one! plus it also now gives me the option to move my pillow around in my bass drum. and if any time soon, help me with micing it up.

so i guess i kinda toook a gamble and it worked out great!

thanks

[joeq]

watch the edge- it can be very sharp. You might want to put tape on it or buy one of those Holz things- a plastic ring that forms a smooth nice looking edge.

[DrummerCafe]

I personally have a bunch of the Aquarian Port Holes (they come in black or white) that I'd be happy to sell if you need one. Retails for $6.95 ... I'll give you one for $3.00 plus $2.00 shipping. Let me know if you need one.

 

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/tn/44/449351.t.jpg

 

What I do is first place the adhesive Port Hole ring where I want it, then take a razor blade (or the like) and cut inside the ring. This not only gives me a perfectly round hole, but the Port Hole ring is already in place ... protecting me from the sharp edges, and keeping the drumhead from tearing at the hole.

[0 0 1 0]

I say cut the hole man. Like you said, it gives you some volume. Which is good for live performance. It also allows for mic placement, which is good for recording. Its a win-win situation to me. I personally use 2 holes in the head with chrome trim on each. It looks super cool and I don't notice a difference in sound from one hole to two holes.

[where02190]

We keep a variety fo heads around for various tonal differences. Typically for rock, we use a hole, and a combination of mics in (Shure 91) and out(Shure Beta52 or Audio Technica 4033a). I'd recommend getting the pillow out of the drum, and replace it with a small piece of soft cotton or flannel, like from an old bedsheet. fold it so it's approx 1 inch thick, about a foot wide, and long enough to just touch the two heads. This will dampen overtones but not competely destroy them, and allow for you to get a nice attack from the beater as well by positing the mic either more or less toward the center.

 

FWIW, we cut a 4" hole 1/2 way be tween the center and the edge, with the top of the hole on the horizontal center, and on the floor tom side. We typically use a Remo Ambassador head for this front and rear.

 

The other option on head is replacing the front ambassador with a Fyberskin with no hole. A 1" felt strip damper is placed across both front and back heads, and the cotton dampening is removed, and placed against the front head to dampen the ring if necessary. For this head combo I use both a front mic (usually a Shure Beta52 or Rode NTK) approx 1 foot in front of the front head and slightly off center, and a beater side mic, (either a Shure Beta56 or an Audio Technica 4041) pointing at the beater, and placed so the snare is in the null of the mics pattern.

 

This works for me, it may or may not for you.

[adam b_dup1]

thanks a lot where02190, il have to try that out with my bass drum when i get home.

[Prof.Sound]

The following are excerpts from the Drum Tuning Bible :

 

Kick Drum, Holes in Your Head or Not

1. Any hole larger than 7" is like having no head at all on the drum.

 

2. A 7" hole creates the feel of a one-headed kick drum, feeds more beater attack direct to an audience and provides some of the tone of the resonant head. Further, it's easy to position a mic and change internal muffling devices, if used.

 

3. A 4-1/2" or 5" hole, or even 2 such holes, offset, allows some relief for rebound control of the kick beater, contains more of the drums resonance so that the resonant head is more pronounced in the tuning of the drum. A 4-1/2" hole is difficult to get large mic's positioned within (but can be done) and/or internal muffling altered.

 

4. No hole, very resonant, creates more bounce or rebound from the kick beater. It can become difficult to get the "slap" of the beater and resonance of the drum both when miced with one microphone. The muffling remains inside. The resonant head is very predominant in the overall sound.

 

 

Kick Drum, Pads and/or Pillows

1. One pad or pillow, or anything that cover a calculated 15-20% coverage against Batter head only: Beater attack accentuated, tone and sustain linger.

 

2. One pad or pillow, 15-20% coverage against resonant head only: Beater attack will be lessened, tone and sustain develop as a short burst of energy followed by some bright overtones.

 

2. One pad or pillow, 15-20% coverage against Batter head and Resonant: Beater attack accentuated, overall volume diminished a bit, tone and sustain become focused, overtones diminished.

 

2. One pad or pillow, 25-30% coverage against Batter head and 15-20% coverage of Resonant: Beater attack becomes much sharper and accentuated, overall volume does not diminished much more than the above, tone and sustain become even more focused, overtones all but gone. When used with a single ply muffled batter head, easy to get very sharp sound. Good choice for mic use.

 

2. One pad or pillow, 25-30% coverage against Batter and Resonant: A very focused sound, which becomes ideal for close micing of a kick drum. Beater attack becomes as sharp as it gets, overall volume does not diminished much more than the above, tone and sustain become short bursts of energy that when listened to without a mic, seem lifeless. A distinct "punch" sound.

 

Kick Drum, Sound of Characteristic Pairing of Drumheads

Note all tone and muffling characteristics from the following heads can be altered by the use of pillows/pads described in the section "Pads and/or Pillows" or the use of a hole in the drum head described under the section "Holes in Your Head or Not". Coatings and material type are as described in the section "Tom, Drumheads - Batter side". There are some similarities here to that which is used for a tom. But there are also some real differences such as the Evan's EQ and Aquarian Regulator series.

 

1. Single ply unmuffled Batter and Resonant: Open tone, bouncy feeling, highly resonant, ringy,

 

2. Single ply muffled Batter, Single ply unmuffled Resonant: Attack of the beater pops out, open tone, highly resonant, overtones diminished a bit on the initial attack but linger on the sustain

 

3. Single ply muffled Batter and Resonant: Attack of the beater is heard more, a dense but not quite a focused sound, overtones controlled but still there. Typical combination is the REMO PowerStroke 3 batter and resonant, or for a bit more low end try Evans EQ4 Batter paired with REMO PowerStroke 3, Evans EQ2 or Aquarian Regulator Resonant.

 

4. Single ply muffled Batter and 2-ply muffled Resonant: Attack of the beater pops out, wide focused sound, overtones controlled. Typical combination is the REMO PowerStroke 3 batter with Pinstripe, Evans EQ3 or Aquarian SuperKick II Resonant.

 

5. 2-ply muffled Batter and 2-ply muffled Resonant: Very focused and punchy attack, narrow focused sound, overtones very controlled (may need no pillows/pads). Typical combination on both the batter and resonant would be REMO Pinstripe, or Evans EQ3 or Aquarian SuperKick II.

 

Kick Drum, Tuning Procedure and Tricks

1. The same tuning procedure works on the kick drum as well. Simply follow the procedure listed above under "Tuning and Seating the Heads, All Drums" and take into account the following points as well.

 

2. A Typical tuning method is to have the batter head control the attack portion of the sound and the resonant head to control the "sustain" portion of the sound.

 

3. For more punch, tune the resonant side up in pitch 1-2 notes from the batter. Tune entire drum up in pitch.

 

4. For a "plastic" sound, use single ply batter heads tuned just to a point of the lowest note and detune ½ turn on each lug. A hard felt beater without a patch works well. If you go to wood or plastic beaters, use the patch.

 

5. A fat kick drum is achieved the same way a "fat" tom sound is achieved. Taking the resonant head and tuning to the lowest note, and then detuning a slight amount (1/16 to 1/8 of a turn) creates a "fat, loose or dark" drum sound. The batter head is then used to alter the pitch. Note that the pitch for a "fat" tuning can be somewhat limited.

 

6. For a short "open" burst of resonant tone, followed by a muted overtone, try using one of the EQ pads placed loosely against either head so that when the beater strikes the head, the upper portion of the pad (the "hinged" section) floats away from the head yet returns quickly. You can effect the duration of the sound by the positioning of the pad. This also works when using 2 pads where one remains firm against the head while the other on top or against the other head provided the "hinged" sound.

 

7. Don't have a pillow or pad? Try using strips of felt or cotton sheet material of varying inches in width placed near the center of the drumhead, these get held on by the head, stretch them tight. As a guide try 4.5" on a 20"; 5" on a 22"; 5.5" on a 24". Used on 1 head, this is the equivalent of 25-30% coverage or like two EQ pads per head. Also, a towel rolled up and taped to the inside bottom of one or both heads works. An old feather pillow or folded blanket works equally well. Be creative! Anything that "lightly" touches the head will work, if done in the same percentage of cover given above in "Pads and/or Pillows". For that "hinged" sound, try a towel or cloth taped to the head on just the upper edge so that it floats on and off the head with the beater strike.

 

8. Get the drum up off the floor as much as your pedal and spurs will allow for more resonance.