Kick / Bass Drum Head Recommendations?

Favorite Batter Head for Birch Kick Drum?

  • Total voters
    35
D

dejacky

New member
I have a Pacific FS (birch, not laquered) set & haven't gotten a desireable kick drum sound. The Aquarian SuperKick I prepack (batter + resonator) gives the drum a LOT more bass and rumble, but not really any "rich sounding lower mids." It creates more of a modern subwoofer sound instead of a nice harmonic "thump" (sometimes characterized as "muddy mids").
The kick drum still has that annoyingly sharp-bright-earpiercing ATTACK (sounds like "tap! crack!" instead of "boom/thump"). The Superkick I tamed it slightly, but the overall sound is kinda lacking in terms of "musicality & tonality". Some1 recommended an Evans EQ4 batter head to tame the BRIGHT attack and richen the sound since the Aquarian SuperKick series are naturally EQ'd to cut out a lot of the mid frequencies. :confused:

I found this chart:
http://www.evansdrumheads.com/bass_spec.asp

is the coated EQ4 the best choice? Or is the clear EQ4 better for my goal? What's the difference between "Open Sound" and "Focused Sound?" The birch wood gives the set a naturally "scooped EQ" & focused sound, but what is a better sounding head to use according to this evans chart?. I would GREATLY appreciate help from all you experienced home reccers!
 
EQ4 clear on batter and Remo Ebony w/4" hole on the resonant side.
Kick is a 16x22 1965 Ludwig with a piece of 3" bedding foam laid inside just barely touching both heads.
Resonant head is ever so slightly detuned to that of the batter.
Wonderful sound IMO.
 
The superkick rules. But don't try it, cause I want to be the only guy with that sound every other drummer is trying for.
 
Tuning

How are you tuning the head?I prefer to pull off the front head and loosen the top head so it's finger tight.If you hit the drum with a stick while suspended it will have alot of punch.If you want more tone tighten it just a hair so the slap is gone.The front head should have good porting for recording.For a big band sound no porting.(no muffling or little).If you want a big ringy John Bohnam sound leave the front head off and line the drum with foil.For recording I place my mic inches away from the front head inline with the beater.Hope this helps :)
 
Thanks BDrum,
that foil thing is interesting...

If you want more tone tighten it just a hair so the slap is gone.
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And hench "the problem." It's difficult for me to get rid of the "slap/tap" sound because the drum is naturally producing a very BRIGHT attack that's ear-piercing loud and annoying. I'm trying to tune it to emphasize more lower-mid frequencies of a kick drum..the superkick I + resonator combo achieves those very low rumble sounds, but it translates into a "quiet, less pronounced" kick drum during live situations since the aquarian superkick heads naturally remove the mid frequencies.

So, I've been tuning higher and higher to get more "tone" out of the drum. (It's fairly tight right now) It's worked to a certain degree, but I'm starting to feel that a coated head (possibly 2 ply) will be better. I might tune even higher soon before trying a new head.
 
I voted for remo

I'm not sure about the others.....I play A black Dot with
a kevlar spot.It sounded Heavy tonight..???
 
I made a mp3 recording my pacific FS (w/ aquarian I superkick batter+resonator on kick drum) and here it is:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/cheslermusic.htm

^pls tell me what you think of the sound or what you'd recommend after hearing this.

Recording Method:

NO FX or EQ added..this a dry recording from
Mics-->SMPro Audio PR8 Preamp-->RME Multiface-->DAW

2 overhead mics (Oktava MK012)
--> 2-stick length directly above snare, and the other at 45-degree angle slightly behind drummers right shoulder pointing at snare. Both overhead mics are same distance from center of kick drum

1 Kick Drum Mic (Audio Technica AT3035)
AT3035 2-inches away from resonant sound hole[bottom right side when facing front of kit] (directly in front), but pointing exactly towards center of resonante head.
 
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I used to used a Coated Power Stroke III.. that thing projected.

I really have no idea what kind of sound you're going for.. good luck.
 
I'm getting the EQ3! it better work well or else... :mad:

aww crap, it doesn't seem to be helping very much.... and it resonantes longer than the superkick I batter in a bad way..the batter just resonates too much! if it's tuned looser, it still sounds like crap...i just blew $25 on this too :( . the guitar center dude also recommended an evans G1 10inch batter head for my 10in tom. Should I put it on or return it for something better? something tells me evans heads might not be a good choice for my birch Pacific FS kit? :confused:
 
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A brand of heads can't be a bad brand of heads for any drumset...

I love Evans heads. I had the G1s on my Stage Custom and then I got the G2s... mmmm. I'm using an EMAD. I would suggest using Evans heads. :-)

I'm not sure you noticed.. but the Superkick has quite a bit more muffling than the EQ3. Shouldn't you have expected it to ring more? If you want a dead kick sound.. just throw something in the damn drum. Use a blanket or something.
 
I didn't like the "wet" sound of Evans EQ3. It seems better suited for Funk type music, not some melodious punk rock type music where I need that dry fundamental tone, but w/ a nice rich "thump" sound. The EQ3 retains that "object hitting/flapping against plastic overtones" sound that I HATE :rolleyes: even though it had a nice punch.

I love Evans heads. I had the G1s on my Stage Custom and then I got the G2s...
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so is your "mmm" attributed ot the G1's or the G2's? I have a birch kit so it changes my head choice possibilities. I think Evans G2's that sound great on a tama rockstar won't do the same thing for my Pacific FS birch kit. :confused: I want heads that suppress the really bright/higher/trebly attack sound of birch and bring out more "rich sounding mids"... I want a "warm" sound that just sounds "full" in these regards.

So, my eyes are set on the Remo PowerStroke III (coated) and Aquarian Superkick II (coated)...first I have to sell this EQ3 though..don't think guitar center accepts returns on used heads :(. (only used for 1 day!)

Just talked to the salesman, he's gonna let me exhange it! :) I'm gonna try the Remo Powerstroke III :cool: .
 
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And now I'm back to the Superkick I :o . I like the tone better on the powerstroke 3, BUT it accentuates too much of the "slap sound" from the birch bass drum.. The Aquarian Superkick I is a more consistent and useable sound...bahh this sucks, I might just try to buy a Pacific LX kick drum. Do maple kick drums also record well? :confused:
 
onesidered said:
Evans EMAD all the way!
Click to expand...

talk about a gift from the bass drum recording gods. that is the best drum head ever, IMO. (as far as ease of recording anyway) they sound awesome live too. and hardly anyone's using them...it's odd...alot of drummers put all this money into snare/tom heads and still have the same heads that came on their bass drum.
 
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