kick drum head, on/off/hole/no hole?

[Captain Ego]

My kick drum is a part of a beginner set (like guitar center $399 new with cymbals sort of set) and all I have is the heads that came with it. I took off the front and stuck a pillow inside to get ring of the ringy sound and it sounds good to me in the room. So far so good. I have seen drum heads with holes cut in them. Is this for recording, like sticking a mic in it?

I like how it sounds with the head off, but through a mic the sound is very different (not a good mic) and I wonder what the effect of putting the front head back on with a hole in it for the mic would accomplish, in general. I would rather know beforehand if this is advisable than destroy my only head cutting a hole in it just to experiment for myself, I don't even know if this is what the hole is for. I play the drums for recordings, but I am not really a drummer, don't know much other than how to put the kit together and tune it, and experiment micing it, I don't know much on the subtleties of drum sets other than playing it. Any help?

 

[guitaristic]

Yeah, a hole should help both for recording purposes and for overall tone!

 

[bouldersoundguy]

On a cheap kit I prefer the resonant head off because I get more flexibility placing the mic. I've had to put it in odd places to make the kick passable. At the very least have a hole in the head, and position it nearer to the top. With a high hole and a short boom stand you have the option of pushing the mic further into the shell.

 

[moresound]

Yeah, a hole should help both for recording purposes and for overall tone!

That Matt! He is so smart.

 

[bdenton]

I have a hole in my bass drum head, carefully placed by a drum technician at the 8:00 position cause that's where it looks cool...

 

[Minion]

Those cheapo skins that you get on new cheapo kits (and on expensive kits) should be replaced asap , A good quality skin properly tuned can make a cheapo kit sound not so cheap ......

 

[grimtraveller]

I would rather know beforehand if this is advisable than destroy my only head cutting a hole in it just to experiment for myself

At the very least have a hole in the head

I have a hole in my head, carefully placed by a drum technician at the 8:00 position cause that's where it looks cool...

What a bunch of psycopaths !

 

[leaningpine]

it all depends on the sound you want, but yeah replace those heads asap.
If you want a rounder, fuller sound keep the front head on but make sure you tune it properly. I tune the kick front and back just slightly above wrinkling and place the dynamic mic slightly off center about 3" away

If you want a solid, punchy sound, put a hole in the head and aim the mic at the beater. If you want it to have a clicky sound put the mic right in front of the beater, if you want a little more tone, pull the mic back a few inches, maybe half way.

Move the mic around a listen to see what sounds best to you.

 

[Bubba po]

What a bunch of psycopaths !

Agreed. I didn't realise trepanning was still done in the 21st Century.