Front Bass Drum Heads?

**drmaybe66** · April 27th, 2005, 02:57 PM

Hey all,

My front head tore the other day and before I went out and bought a new one, I wanted to ask if anyone has experienced any difference between a standard plastic factory front head and another batter head with a homemade hole.

Thoughts?

**drmaybe66** · April 27th, 2005, 04:14 PM

Thanks guys! I forgot to mention that part of it: it's a 20" Maple bass drum, with only a thin towel ("borrowed" from a bar we played!) to keep the front and batter heads from being too tonal. I really like the clean, open sound it gives me.

Most engineers are pretty surprised that it's only a 20"!!

**sjj123** · April 27th, 2005, 05:12 PM

I've been setting mine up like Steve Smith does....Power Stroke 3's front & Back....no hole....felt strip on each head. Good resonance...nice rebound, great sound and feel

**drmaybe66** · April 27th, 2005, 07:09 PM

I tried the no-front-head-hole route for a while, but got really tired of engineers whining when they went to mic the kick!

Have you recorded without the front hole? How do you keep it from being too tonal? Do engineers mind?

**Suspiria** · April 27th, 2005, 07:44 PM

Originally posted by sjj123:
I've been setting mine up like Steve Smith does....Power Stroke 3's front & Back....no hole....felt strip on each head. Good resonance...nice rebound, great sound and feel

Are the vertical line on your picture the felt strips you are referring to?

[ April 27, 2005 04:45 PM: Message edited by: Suspiria ]

**troutbrooke** · April 27th, 2005, 08:04 PM

Originally posted by Canarsie:
I tried the no-front-head-hole route for a while, but got really tired of engineers whining when they went to mic the kick!

The only way you'll get away with no hole in the resonant head is if you're doing your own thing. Otherwise, every engineer (live or studio) will laugh first, and then rip it off.

**FlamTriplet** · April 27th, 2005, 08:13 PM

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**drmaybe66** · April 28th, 2005, 12:21 AM

Originally posted by drumming sort of person:

Otherwise, every engineer (live or studio) will laugh first, and then rip it off.

That's exactly right! One particularly grumpy soundguy actually deflected my canned half-assed excuse of "just haven't had time to drill one yet" by saying "we'll fix that" while kneeling in front of my kit and pulling out his pocket knife!!

The next time I saw him, I had drilled the hole....

=)

**CLWarunki** · April 28th, 2005, 03:19 AM

The batter heads are almost always much thicker than a front resonant head... so it would dampen the overtones a bit, I tried it and it didn't make much difference, unless you play a wide open bass drum with NO padding inside... if you muffle your bass drum with pillows, then it becomes a "kick drum" and the type of front head is almost irrelevant. It also depends on what kind of vent hole/holes you have put in as well.