Tuning kick drum

ManInMotion711

ManInMotion711

New member
I feel completely ridiculous asking this question cause theres so many different ways but im at a loss. How Do you tune and or EQ your kick drum to give it alot of punch and good tone. Again i know this is a very dumb question but ive been at it for days and i cant seem to get it right. Ive tried every mic placement idea i can think of, ive tried different ways of tuning my kick, ive tried various forms of eqing it and i cant get anything close to the sound im looking for, I know alot of it has to do with the room im in and the heads i use and the mic im using as well. Im using a Chad Smith custom Pearl. So a 22x18 maple bass drum. batter head an aquarian Super Kick 2. and for the mic a CAD D10. Playing in a carpeted room with a couch and some beds. Room isnt sound proofing treated ( or how ever you say it ). Any help would be greatly appreciated, and i love me some sarcasm :guitar:
 
There are many ways to skin the kit. Sorry for the bad pun. If you gave us a reference track of how you want the kick to sound that might be helpful. What is currently the issue with your kick sound?
 
Sooooo many variables. Your equipment and heads should yield good results. The room doesn't matter if you're inside miking the kick. It does matter for the overheads. How much muffling do you have in that kick drum? That's usually where kicks die. Over-muffling.

Put up some clips of what you're getting and a clip of what you'd like it sound like.
 
Tune it like you would a tom. Are you putting anything inside it? I see people putting in pillows and even sleeping bags to deaden it, but I think a little boom in the kick makes the drum track sound more natural. Try to get it sounding right before trying to fix it with EQ.
 
JG96- still a good pun haha.

Greg- all i have inside the kick is a small pillow. Similar to a pillow that you would put on a couch. not a cushion but a pillow.

View attachment kick drum.mp3 I know im banking on an amazing sound but yea. idk why i cant get my kick drum to sound right anymore. Its driving me crazy.
 
ManInMotion711 said:
JG96- still a good pun haha.

Greg- all i have inside the kick is a small pillow. Similar to a pillow that you would put on a couch. not a cushion but a pillow.

View attachment 84270 I know im banking on an amazing sound but yea. idk why i cant get my kick drum to sound right anymore. Its driving me crazy.
Click to expand...

So is the first half of that clip your sound and the second half what you want it to sound like?
 
a few weeks ago i was getting a good kick sound. And now i cant even get it to eq to a semi decent sound. All i get is alot of rumble and i cant seem to do anything with it
 
Boost 2-4khz a lot for that attack, scoop the mids - 200(ish)hz to 800 the 800s. Then boost some of the really low end somewhere between 40-100 depending on how it's tuned.
For a sound like that, it depends more on the processing than the tuning, but somewhat dead and low tuning will help.

Edit: Also, you can mess with the microphone position. Put it further into the drum and closer to the batter head for more attack.
 
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Fancypants806 said:
Boost 2-4khz a lot for that attack, scoop the mids - 200(ish)hz to 800 the 800s. Then boost some of the really low end somewhere between 40-100 depending on how it's tuned.
For a sound like that, it depends more on the processing than the tuning, but somewhat dead and low tuning will help.

Edit: Also, you can mess with the microphone position. Put it further into the drum and closer to the batter head for more attack.
Click to expand...

Thanks FancyPants. . and btw the pants you are wearing are quite fancy
 
Fancypants806 said:
Boost 2-4khz a lot for that attack, scoop the mids - 200(ish)hz to 800 the 800s. Then boost some of the really low end somewhere between 40-100 depending on how it's tuned.
For a sound like that, it depends more on the processing than the tuning, but somewhat dead and low tuning will help.

Edit: Also, you can mess with the microphone position. Put it further into the drum and closer to the batter head for more attack.
Click to expand...

I disagree entirely. I use no muffling and I tune high, and I get an amazing bass drum sound.

I think people hear what they sound like on recordings, they hear "punchy" and "deep", so they muffle and tune low. And then it sounds like beating a dead horse. People often refer to Bonham's bass sound...he tuned his bass drum way the heck high (granted, it was a 26", but still). I get much better tones that way. And aside from the muffling that already comes on the head, I never put anything in the drum. Ever.
 
Seafroggys said:
I disagree entirely. I use no muffling and I tune high, and I get an amazing bass drum sound.

I think people hear what they sound like on recordings, they hear "punchy" and "deep", so they muffle and tune low. And then it sounds like beating a dead horse. People often refer to Bonham's bass sound...he tuned his bass drum way the heck high (granted, it was a 26", but still). I get much better tones that way. And aside from the muffling that already comes on the head, I never put anything in the drum. Ever.
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Does the type of wood my drum is made out of have a large effect? Its made out of Poplar. Ive honestly never heard of it before
 
Seafroggys said:
I disagree entirely. I use no muffling and I tune high, and I get an amazing bass drum sound.

I think people hear what they sound like on recordings, they hear "punchy" and "deep", so they muffle and tune low. And then it sounds like beating a dead horse. People often refer to Bonham's bass sound...he tuned his bass drum way the heck high (granted, it was a 26", but still). I get much better tones that way. And aside from the muffling that already comes on the head, I never put anything in the drum. Ever.
Click to expand...

That's the sound he's going for. Did you listen to his example at all?

That's not how I tune or process my kick at all, but he gave an example of how HE wanted it to sound. So I told him how to get his sort of sound.

Does the type of wood my drum is made out of have a large effect? Its made out of Poplar. Ive honestly never heard of it before
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Sort of yes, but I think tuning and head choice play a bigger role.
 
Fancypants806 said:
Sort of yes, but I think tuning and head choice play a bigger role.
Click to expand...

Btw i have an Aquarian super kick 2 on it. im debating on getting an Evans EMAD battar head. ANy suggestions on the evans EMAD? ive never tried it. and I actually brought my kick back to a bare minimum. i completely retuned it and im gonna give it a go tomorrow. Ill post something up when i get it recorded.
 
ManInMotion711 said:
Btw i have an Aquarian super kick 2 on it. im debating on getting an Evans EMAD battar head. ANy suggestions on the evans EMAD? ive never tried it. and I actually brought my kick back to a bare minimum. i completely retuned it and im gonna give it a go tomorrow. Ill post something up when i get it recorded.
Click to expand...

I think the the Superkick rapes an EMAD. I've used both many times. I want the EMAD to be as good as a Superkick, it never is.
 
I bought a pearl export exr kit back in the day that was poplar shells. I wanted a cheap kit to gig with that I wouldn't care about if it got dinged or dropped etc... let me tell you "poplar" is latin for, sounds like shit. I sold it.

Anyhoo, is that dudes bass drum sounding better? I was wondering if maybe he was having phase cancellation or something?
 
dreib said:
Anyhoo, is that dudes bass drum sounding better? I was wondering if maybe he was having phase cancellation or something?
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This dude is rerecording as soon as he gets back on thursday and hopefully ill be able to get the sound im looking for
 
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I can't speak for the Superkick since the last time I changed bass heads I was a Remo guy, but it will be my next head! As for the EMAD, never really liked it personally, but that's just me. And let us know once you get a chance to record, dude! :thumbs up:
 
I like the EMAD okay, but it's muffling ring and plastic groove setup is shitty. Seems like a neat idea - swap out different thickness muffling rings. But it's a stupid design and the plastic holder thing breaks really fast.

A Superkick kills it.
 
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