hole or whole? bass drum heads

[daav]

I have come to terms with the fact that i need replace the stock heads on my kick, looking for opiinions. I have a sonor force 1001 (cheapie), 20 inch diameter.

What do you all reccomend for heads? From what iahve read, it would seem to be nice to have the reso head be without the hole, what are the pluses and minuses? Looking for a strong rock kick with punch and a bit of boom.

and any thoughts on tuning a kick this size? I have tuned pretty low, basically hand tightened the lugs then just tuned across the drum a bit tighter than that.
Thanks,
daav

 

[dkerwood]

My preference is to have a hole. It makes a big difference to the FEEL of the drum because air can escape. It also cuts back on resonant side head ringing. The reso head ring can be murder when/if trying to mic the drum. I like to stick the kick mic halfway into the hole. If I'm really having problems with ring, I'll put a small pillow into the kick and put the mic on that. Can't do it without a hole in the head.

Also, if you ever have something inside the drum (a pillow or something), it's much easier to adjust without having to take the entire head off the drum.

That's my vote, anyway.

Oh, and heads. Evans EQ3 and 4 all the way, baby. Try to get an Evans kick pad for where the beater hits the head as well.

 

[funkydrummer]

i use a remo powerstroke 4 head on the batter side and a remo coated ambassador head with no hole on the resonant side with both heads tuned to the same pitch. to control excessive overtones, i have one vertical felt strip on the batter head and two horizontal felt strips on the batter head. i dont use any pillows because i like a lot of ring on my drums. when micing, i place a d112 6 inches away from the center of the kick.

 

[orksnork]

it's mostly a manner of style and preference...

most rock-related music would have a hole...

other stuff...jazz persay...you'd leave it WHOLE

 

[bubbagump]

I have perosnally been using an Evans EMAD on the resonant and an Aquarian Superkick II with an Evans patch. I have no pillow or other dampening. To me, it gives a nice mix of slap and boom.

 

[RAK]

Get it without hole for live performances, and take the head off for recording.

 

[Farview]

If you want any attack at all, you need a hole. If you want nothing but boom, no hole.

 

[daav]

THanks all for the input. I think i got the "no hole" thing from some steve smith video or something.
If i got a reso with no hole, and kept the stock sonor head with the hole for recording, or as another option, would that just suck?

Daav

 

[Farview]

THanks all for the input. I think i got the "no hole" thing from some steve smith video or something.
If i got a reso with no hole, and kept the stock sonor head with the hole for recording, or as another option, would that just suck?

Daav

If you plan on playing jazz-laced avant-gard music, no hole is great. If you are playing modern rock, you really need the hole. (or an internal mic) There is no way to get the attack, without double micing, without the hole in the front head.

 

[dkerwood]

If you plan on playing jazz-laced avant-gard music, no hole is great. If you are playing modern rock, you really need the hole. (or an internal mic) There is no way to get the attack, without double micing, without the hole in the front head.

You could always mic the batter side...

 

[bongolation]

Get it without hole for live performances, and take the head off for recording.

This seems to be the most common "expert" opinion I've seen in my drum-tuning reading so far. Recording = no front head and pillow damping.

I think my problem will be keeping the cat out of the open bass drum with a pillow inside it. Stomping the pedal will just make her more stubborn.

 

[Farview]

If you plan on playing jazz-laced avant-gard music, no hole is great. If you are playing modern rock, you really need the hole. (or an internal mic) There is no way to get the attack, without double micing, without the hole in the front head.

You could always mic the batter side...

Like I said...

 

[Farview]

This seems to be the most common "expert" opinion I've seen in my drum-tuning reading so far. Recording = no front head and pillow damping.

Maybe I don't get out much, but I haven't seen that done as the norm in at least 15 years. Now that you don't have to use remo black dots for your kick head, there is no reason to put pillows in your kick.

I recommend and Evans Emad batter head and a decent reso head with a 6 inch hole on the snare side of the kick. Use the foam muffle that comes with the batter head that gives you the resonance you want. Tune the front head so it adds to the note of the drum but doesn't ring too long.

 

[dkerwood]

Like I said...

I'm not talking double miking it... Just mic the batter side. I've gotten some interesting results that way.

 

[RezN8]

I bought a new kit a few months ago - bass drum reso head came with no hole. Tuned it for that "John Bohnam" sound. It was a little awkward getting used to the "feel" of it - where the air bounces back at your batter head. Forget about using a double pedal - as the second beater is striking, the head is moving back at you. Very hard to get controlled double bass action. For me at least.

From behind the kit, with a single pedal, the bass drum sounded incredible. The rest of the band was not digging it though. Too much boom for the room, I guess. Out in front of the kit, it sounded more like a marching bass drum.

So I bought an Aquarian Superkick pack with both front and back bass drum heads. The kick sounds even better to me from behind the kit and I can use both double and single pedals. No pillows needed. The band is loving it too.

In all the years I've been at this, I think the Superkick is one of the best systems out there for both live and studio. I've turned several of my drum buddies on to the Superkicks and they all agree.

Good Luck ,Rez