kick beater in wrong place??

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jmorris

jmorris

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I dont drum but I just noticed my drum set in my studio had its beater not centered in the bass drum. It is a 22' kick and the pedal is a bit too tall for the drum. The beater as I said is about 2/3 's of the way to the top. I would think it should be in the middle for most air pressure movement. I get a real good sound out of it.I bought it just to have a 'STUDIO" kit that recorded good in case some real shit walked in the door. I'm not a drummer and honestly I never paid attention to anyones kick before. I can with a little alteration move down the beater. Thoughts???
 
Foot pedal is absolutely supposed to be in the direct center.
 
thanks

Thanks Crystal,I figured as much but its funny,no drummer has ever said a thing about it!!!!! I just assumed. And we know what that does! Thanks. I think being in the center will add some punch and fattness.
 
CrystalStudios said:
Foot pedal is absolutely supposed to be in the direct center.

Says who?

Most of the experienced drummers that I know, actually play with the mallet "shortened" (i.e., farther down into tghe pedal) so that the mallet's travel is shorter, which means the strikes are faster.

The center of the kick drum is a "dead spot" to some degree, while if you strike below center, you'll get a bit more musical sound. (Similar to Tympani I guess, where you play in the 3" to 6" from the Rim range.)


Tim
 
plus, just do what sounds good and works. In reality physics has no place in music. Well, you know what I mean.
 
Plcement is a key factor, but its whatever feels most comfortable to the payer. To each his/her own.

Peace,

Bert

P.S. Slide on over to www/mp3.com/mannnazen (Check me out and let me know what you think of my style, PLEASE give construtive criticism (but if I suck, let me kow), I need any info, more tunesto come in the very near future).

P.P.S.
Check out the song Can I Begin? (that's more of what I'm about)
 
I think you put one too many ns in your url there. But I found it anyway. It's not too bad. I don't particularly like the sound of the kick drum, but that's kind of a minor quibble. I like the heavy phasing on the clean guitar. The style of music doesn't do it for me, but it's fairly well done.
 
Whoopy,

Thanks for checking it out. I think the bass drum sound was either a result of the mixdown or my mediocre mastering of the track (still learning this whole mastering deal, pretty crazy).

Peace,
B.
 
CrystalStudios said:
Foot pedal is absolutely supposed to be in the direct center.


really? ???????????...:rolleyes:

I completely agree with tim here.....

a statement like this is absolutely absurd...what if you were playing a 26" kick drum? I don't think that they make beaters long enough to get to the center of the drum head.... that's like saying that must always strike the toms dead center...which would be as absurd a statement as the kick drum one..

jmorris - if it sounds good and it feels right playing then I'd say that your beater positioning is just fine. Doesn't mean thought that you can't fool around a bit to see if there's something better...
 
I don't think it matters a great deal where you place the beater on the bass drum. It's a matter of taste. Can you imagine if they had told Bill Bruford, "You're striking the snare too close to the rim. It sounds like chop stick drumming. Stop That!" Or if your instructor smacked your hand everytime you used matched stick drumming instead of traditional?
There is no right or wrong way to place a bass drum beater. However, be aware of the various overtones that can be produced depending on where you place the beater. Dead center has the sound waves travelling in equal distance while off center has the sound waves cancelling each other out at some point.
 
Well, now that we know CrystalStudios was just a troll and is banned, I think we can disregard his shitty advice.
 
I asked my drumer this past weeked and said the center of any drum is a node,a dead spot. He is a very highly schooled drumer besides being a great drummer. He said a bit off center for the most desirable result. The play aroung with it sugestion is also the best comment.That seems to work with eveything in this field of recording. Ya never know till you try it!!! Im going to alter my kits beater a bit though because I think its a bit high. Thanks,Jim
 
4-Man Takedown said:
In reality physics has no place in music. Well, you know what I mean.
This has got to take the "stupidest thing ever written by a home recorder" award.

Dude get a little education. Music is little more than math physics and a sprinkle of emotion.
 
MannaZen1 said:
Plcement is a key factor, but its whatever feels most comfortable to the payer. To each his/her own.

Peace,

Bert

P.S. Slide on over to www/mp3.com/mannnazen (Check me out and let me know what you think of my style, PLEASE give construtive criticism (but if I suck, let me kow), I need any info, more tunesto come in the very near future).

P.P.S.
Check out the song Can I Begin? (that's more of what I'm about)
Way to hijack!
 
CrystalStudios said:
Foot pedal is absolutely supposed to be in the direct center.
So...I guess we'll be ignoring any "absolute" advice from you in the future pal.
 
What size kick do you use?


I use a pair of 28" (yes, that is TWENTY-EIGHT) diameter kicks.

I'd like to see you get a mallet in the middle of that.

And no, the Mallet is not supposed to hit dead center.
 
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