Click sound

Idgeit

Idgeit

New member
Hey all,

This has been i topic before i think but i cant seem to find it!, I want to get more a of click off the bass drum instead of the regular bass thud im getting. Anyone got any basic tips for this?, I changed to a wooden beater, and seemed to help a fair bit.

Thanks

- Idgeit
 
I use a Tama plastic beater (the one that's kinda squared off on one side and has a felt strip on the other) and a plastic kick pad on the head. Great attack sound.
 
I also read some article where someone used a wood beater and also taped a quarter where the beater hit the head.

Now, I've never heard the record on which this was done...but it might sound kinda cool.
 
Idgeit said:
Hey all,

This has been i topic before i think but i cant seem to find it!, I want to get more a of click off the bass drum instead of the regular bass thud im getting. Anyone got any basic tips for this?, I changed to a wooden beater, and seemed to help a fair bit.

Thanks

- Idgeit
Click to expand...

I've seen some images of a beaterhead with a 14" head taped on it, center 14" = where the beater hits.. the 14" head will whack against the basdrum head and create a high-pitched 'tic' into the total sound..

And eq-ing could help.. depending on all variable factors somwhere between 2.5 an 5 kHz eq-ing with a narrow band should bring up the click that's in the recorded sound.
 
A wood or plastic beater can provide more attack (click). Taping a half dollar was a trick we used back in the 60's, but these days there are various items on the market that can both reinforce the batter head and serve to increase the attack. Other options are taping vinyl or leather patches to the batter head.

If you are recording, some eq adjustments can help. While I'm not a fan of large eq adjustments (it's always best to get the correct tone from the instrument rather than the board) I can often get much better attack by rolling off the lows and adding some highs.
 
Mic placement. Make sure that you've got a mic next to the beater pointing to the place where the beater hits the head.

Definitely get more attack that way.
 
Loosen your batter head so loose that the metal "jingles" (i.e., the T-screws) - then just tighten them enough so that they no longer jingle, then put a light amount of muffling against the batter head.

Sure, the head will be totally loose, floppy, and wrinkled - but it will record extremely "thick" and it will definitely have a good clicky attack.
This will also build up your legs big time if you play heel down, because there is NO rebound off of the head.



Or another option is tighten the head extremely tight and pack it with muffling material.

I've gotten to the point where I don't like using a hard mallet these days.
 
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Well i think the easiest solustion is a d6 which seems to easily produce that clicky sound. I would second the idea of mic'ing where the beater strikes the head. My set up is a d6 about 5 inches from the beater inside the drum and an sm57 about 3 inches from the place where the beater strikes the head on the outside of the drum. Then I boost the highs on the 57 to bring more click out. Thats pretty much all i need for that clicky metal sound.
 
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