When a bass drum head is shot?

philsaudio

New member
Found my drum - Now about heads
Hi:
I found a clean Pearl Export 22x16 yesterday for $50.00 at the local music-go-round. HORRAY!

I got it home, did the Prof sound drum tuning bible tune up on it and now it is not satisfying me.

It has a pearl resonant head, black with white logo, and I cut a 4" hole at 3 oclock for the mic. It has a pinstripe on the batter side.

I think I got the little Rhythem Travler kick to sound better than this one does. Of course it had the Evans EQ3 on the batter side.

I am still messing with tuning and damping but not yet satisfied.

Here is my question.

The batter pinstrip has a little hole in the front skin, where it looks like the shaft part of the kick pedal was eating into the head.

Can anyone opine on if this hole has ruined the head?

Thanks
Phil
 
a head is shot when "it's worn out" a batter head that has a hole of any sort is worn out. I'm also not a fan of cutting holes in heads...if there isn't a hole... then mic next to the beater...or take the front head compleatly off.

Also if its a "pearl" head then it's probably no good.

Heads are like guitar strings... replace them when they break and when they've been heavily used.

I have a preference towards Aquarian heads.

Muffeling should also technically be avoided...because if it was supposed to be muffeled then it would come from the factory muffeled. bearing in mind that an awful lot of modern recordings are done with triggers on drums.
 
drum heads are a LOT like guitar strings. you notice a great difference when replacing them, and they DO wear out pretty quickly with any regular use what so ever. i can hear when my heads are starting to go, and I replace them at that point. bottom line, when they get dimpled/pitted or there are holes in them, they're long dead and absolutely need replacing.

replace that head, and likely any other heads you've got, and you'll notice a marked difference in sound. keep in mind that the bottom/resonant heads play a large role here, as does proper tuning.

that said, i really like Evans heads more than remos, and i find pinstripes to be far too "dead" sounding (even when new) for my tastes, as i like more "alive" sounding drums.


FWIW, zeke, i believe that pearl logo heads are just rebadged evans heads. it's been a long time since i've heard either way......but fresh outta da box, they're really not too bad, if properly tuned.


wade
 
a hole in the batter head is definitely going to affect the tuning/sound of the drum. If the head was on that drum long enough for the beater to wear the head that thin....then it is definitely time for a new one!!! Pony up the $25 and get a new one...your kick will sound a whole heck of alot better.

I currently use a Remo Powerstroke3 on my kick and it sounds pretty amazing...
 
Heads are like sticks, they go.
They are real important to getting the sound. I keep extras on-hand anyway. Why screw around with it? It's shot. Replace it.
 
<<They are real important to getting the sound>>

to be honest, i'd argue that they're the single most important piece on a drumset. you can have a high-end DW kit in a million dollar room mic'd with neumanns and beyers and if you've got old, dead heads on it, it'll still sound like shit. new heads will breathe life back into every drumkit, especially cheap, crappy kits in bad rooms (*cough* mine *cough*). :p

along those lines, using different heads will give you a whole pallate of colors. coated versus single ply clear versus the 2-ply (pinstripe) type....you'll get a completely different tone out of the same drum with 3 different heads. the trick is finding the ones that give you the sound that you're looking for. and again, don't underestimate the need for good resonant (bottom) heads.

of course, new heads aren't worth shit if you can't tune em properly.......

<<I keep extras on-hand anyway>>

hey rimshot, what makes you more nervous? pre-gig jitters or the thought of gigging without an extra snare head? :D


wade
 
mrface2112 said:

hey rimshot, what makes you more nervous? pre-gig jitters or the thought of gigging without an extra snare head? :D


wade

Hi Wade,
I agree completely on the heads. Even a cheaper low end set can sound like a great set with the right heads and tuning.

I don't bring an extra snare head with me on gigs. It takes too long to change and tune it anyway. I bring two extra snares, all tuned and ready to go (I'm not obsessive compulsive, I'm not obsessive compulsive,I'm not obsessive compulsive. ;) )
er...um....I bring some extra cymbal stands, an extra tom mount, and another kick pedal and another kick batter head with me too.(and a ton of sticks)

I'm usually more nervous that my bass player doesn't show up, than anything else. I'm usually first one there to set up, and the bass player often will wander in right before we're on. Drives me nuts! :O
 
geez, your bass player too? we're always wondering (hoping) he'll show. wonder what it is about those bassists.

i'd like to gig with a spare snare, but while i've got 3, two are el-cheapos (ludwig and pearl metal ones) that i wouldn't even dream of playing (and oughta just put on ebay). the one i do use is a ludwig gold sparkle from the mid-60's and i love the way it sounds (nice, high crack for a 5.5x14).......at least, til i can afford that DW solid maple one.

most of the places we gig, we're in control of the clock, too, so if i bust a head, we take a break. :p likewise, i play with a number of toms and cymbals, so if i lose one, i can make do.

i'm always the first one there, too, since i've gotta setup my drums and then run everything for the PA too (assuming we've gotta bring one). i've been teaching the rest of the guys on how to at least run the cables, which really takes a lot of the load off.

sometimes it's enough to say "oh to be a bassist". :D


wade
 
Not to take away from the excellence of DW drums, but my favorite snare is my Yamaha Custom Birch Absolute which is fitted with the maple rims. I have another favorite which I made from a 10 ply Kellar maple shell with 45 degree bearing edges and "pure sound" snare wires that's also fitted with maple rims and an 8 ply maple 9" deep snare that is fitted with maple rims, and then my old Slingerland mahogany wit cast rims and a Yamaha groove block. I also own a Tama steel snare and a Mapex brass snare. I don't know why I even bought the metal snares, I don't like how they sound and I hate how they record. Different strokes....I guess.

If you get to a GC when it's slow and the salespeople are hungry, you can really negotiate on the Yamaha snares. They list at well over $500, but I got mine for $225.
That's plenty of bang for your buck.

If you want a really loud resonant hardwood kick drum, be prepared to spend close to $1000 or more, or you can simply order a maple Kellar shell to the size you want from :
www.drummaker.com
Have him add the support rings and do the drilling for you and you can simply transfer all of your hardware from your other kick drum.(You'll have to measure the lugs for the drilling for him) He's good to deal with and you will get a super kick drum for under $200.

This is a good inexpensive way to seriously upgrade a kit. You can even save more if you are at all handy and have the tools for drilling, but it's easier just to have them do it. (You can transfer the shell cover from your old kick too) . You'll drive other drummers crazy wondering why your cheap drum kit sounds so much better than theirs. :)
 
oooooh......see.....the last thing i need in addition to recording gear GAS is drum acquisition GAS. i've been plenty happy with my pearl exports, but i'm guessing that's largely b/c i've not had the opportunity to play a lot of "better" drums.

i'm with you, though--the two drums that make the biggest difference in sound are the kick and snare, and they're definitely on my list to upgrade--and i will be going the piecemeal route. i'll definitely keep drummaker.com in mind--i've liked what i've seen there in the past. i'm handy enough to drill my own holes, but i'd rather pay the extra cash and have them do it anyway.

first and foremost, though, is building a drum riser to get my current drums off the cement floor in my basement. drums on concrete = icky icky icky.


wade
 
mrface2112 said:
first and foremost, though, is building a drum riser to get my current drums off the cement floor in my basement. drums on concrete = icky icky icky.
wade

Wade:
What type of improvement do you expect from the riser?

How high off the floor will the riser be?
Just something to get it up like 3" (like 2x4 frame with 1/2" plywood lying on the floor) or perhaps a little higher so the sound of the riser can escape from underneath it as well as from from top.

Phil
 
i expect a pretty major improvement, really. any place i've played that's had a wood floor/stage instead of a concrete one has given a marked difference in the sound of my drums. they're a lot more open and "big" and dynamic sounding. in contrast, on concrete, they sound "dead" or "flat" and just all-around lifeless.

it's in the physics, really, if you think about it. wood on wood will emphasize the tonal qualities of the drums, since you've got some sympathetic vibrations in there, and the two work as a "system". concrete won't give you any "system" at all, and due to its rigidity, there's no sympathetic vibrations what so ever.


i'm thinking something more like 6" high, prolly 8x8 in size, so i can fit all my stands and me on it. i'm actually considering something hexagonal or octagonal in shape, just to make it look cool, b/c if you can get function AND form, it's a double bonus. :D


wade
 
Got new bass drum heads

I went down to Atlanta Pro Percussion and bought the Aquarian Super Kick 1 and the Aquarian black resonant with hole. Put them on the old Pearl Export 22", seated the head and tuned it a-la Professor sound's drum tuning bible.

http://www.drumweb.com/profsound.shtml

This does the trick. No pillows inside , just the Aquarian patch for the beater spot on the batter head.

thanks for all the good advice.

Philsaudio
 
Pearl Logo Heads

mrface2112 said:



FWIW, zeke, i believe that pearl logo heads are just rebadged evans heads. it's been a long time since i've heard either way......but fresh outta da box, they're really not too bad, if properly tuned.


wade

The guy at Atlanta Pro Percussion told me the Pearl Logo heads were Remo Ambasador Ebony heads.

Phil
 
<<The guy at Atlanta Pro Percussion told me the Pearl Logo heads were Remo Ambasador Ebony heads>>


i don't quite follow you.....how can clear pearl heads be remo ebonys?

hmmm......unless you're talking strictly about the front head on a kick drum. i could buy that.

fwiw, i was referring to the pearl badged heads that come on their toms. i've bought two new pearl toms in the last couple months and the heads they've come with are clear (and hence definitely NOT ebony :D) and their sound reminds me a lot of the evans heads i put on the rest of the kit. and i do remember hearing somewhere way back that they were rebadged evans, but geez, that's been ages.


wade
 
mrface2112 said:
<<The guy at Atlanta Pro Percussion told me the Pearl Logo heads were Remo Ambasador Ebony heads>>


i don't quite follow you.....how can clear pearl heads be remo ebonys?

hmmm......unless you're talking strictly about the front head on a kick drum. i could buy that.

fwiw, i was referring to the pearl badged heads that come on their toms. i've bought two new pearl toms in the last couple months and the heads they've come with are clear (and hence definitely NOT ebony :D) and their sound reminds me a lot of the evans heads i put on the rest of the kit. and i do remember hearing somewhere way back that they were rebadged evans, but geez, that's been ages.


wade
Yeah I am talking about the black resonant head on the kick drum.
 
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