DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

I Have been wondering how to get a particular sound from my bass drum. I have tried several different tensions and a few different heads and I can't quite get the sound I want. I am not exactly sure how to describe the sound. It is not a deep resonant sound, it is more of a sharp slapping sound. I have heard it on the bass drums of bands such as Through The Eyes Of The Dead, Carnifex, Elysia, and Winds of Plague. If any of you are familiar with the sound I am talking about it would be greatly appreciated if someone could explain how to get that sound. I am not sure if it is the type of head, tuning/tension, impact pads, beaters or what. Thank you in advanced.

I would recommend some thick, two-ply head, like a Remo Pinstripe (or an similar sort from Evans or Aquarian--EQ2 and Superkick II?) and rather tight tuning.  For playing metal, the increased bounce will probably help will speed, too. 

Then again, the real "slappy" sound you described may be the result of triggers--I used to trigger my kick and got a sound I struggled to achieve with an acoustic drum.

 
I can hardly fancy what sound you'd like, but maybe I can say this:
As for the batter head, I think a two-ply head would fit you better, and as for the beater, if you have a dual-side beater, its harder side may be your choice.
You might also try letting the batter head looser than normally, and perhaps using no reso head.
 

 

That’s a triggered sample m8, to get that sound for the sample itself it sounds like it’s recorded, with a D112 with the diaphragm just inside the sound hole pointing at the beaters. (it could have been recorded any old way in reality, but that’s what it sounds like to me…)
Wooden or hard plastic beaters, click pad, double ply batter head, no laundry except a little head dampening, then scoop the heck out from 150 – 600, if it needs it, add attack with a couple of separate tight bell boosts wherever the click jumps out usually 5k – 6k and then again a small amount (2-3db) at double the first frequency. If it lacks low end add a little at 64...

That will get you somewhere near…

Cheers

 ;)

N

Wow, you're an expert in this... :)
 

Another way of saying you can't get that exact bass drum sound just by using [insert drumhead brand here] drum heads.  There are dozens of other factors responsible.

Thanks alot everyone. It is greatly appreciated. So triggering isn't exactly an option for me, but I had planned on getting a new aquarian super kick 2 but like many of you said it is not dependent on that. I am also getting axis xl2 longboards and im not sure what those beaters are made of. I also will try the impact pad. Any specific brand anyone has in mind?

yeah, Nick is really good.  I will vouch for him  ;D

I think an impact pad will do exactly what you want.

The kit that I ordered on eBay came with a coated Powerstroke 3 on the batter, and an ebony Powerstroke 3 on the front. It also had a Remo "Falam Slam" patch on it, and I'd never tried an impact pad on my kick before, and what I realized right away was how much slap I got out of the drum. I tested it next to the pad where the regular head was, and it sounded much more mellow. By the way, it's a 24" Ludwig Classic Maple kick.

I tuned both heads a little above a wrinkle, and used the felt side of my pedal. Also, I just used a small blanket inside the drum.

Definitely check those patches out. They are really cheap, so if it doesn't work, than it's not that big of a deal.

Hope this helped.

I just picked up a set of Evans EMAD heads (great heads!) An EMAD resonant black and a EMAD2 batter head... Just a good amount of click/slap to it.... Really what I was looking for... But I really like it, I tune the batter just a little over wrinkle, and the resonant jus about a 1/3 above that.  I also have a small hand towel in the kick drum to add a bit more punch and control...  I don't have a imact pad yet, but maybe later I'll try adding a Falam Slam to it for more attack.

But they're great heads none the less... And they're pleased many drummers everywhere, just check the reviews on MF about it.

And if you want a more dry sound, you can try a Remo Powersonic, which was my former head before the EMADs.  It had a good attack and focus as well... And maybe a bit more focus since it had a pad at the bottom of the head for control. 

But I think, in my opinion, if you wanna get that "sharp" slap, then you just want to put a good bit of muffling up against the batter of your kick, and maybe the resonant too.

Tae,

Like Nick said, the sound youre talking about (and on any recording for that matter) is simply dialed in in the studio.

I know what you're asking though, you want to hear the clicky sound when you're playing acoustically.  Either an Emad or a SKII should get you close to that, just make sure you tune it good. 

As for the pad, an impact pad would be fine, but don't be fooled by that Damnar Metal thing.  It makes the head response sluggish, and it feels like youre pedaling onto a brick wall.  I've used it before, took it off pretty much immediately. 

Not to argue here, but my experience with the D112 has it about halfway inside the drum.  On mine, when I had it just inside the sound hole, the sound was way too boomy.  It cleaned up when i moved it inside further.