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Thread: hole or no hole in kick drum?

  1. #1

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    Default hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Hi everyone,

    I have a Gretch New Classic Kit with a small 18 inch bass drum and I'm thinking of cutting a hole into it (I'm getting lots of complaints from sound guys about not having a hole). One of my friends suggested that I use a cd to trace around and then cut that size into the bass drum head. I'm just wondering if this may be too big of a hole because my kick drum is quite small?

    Also, I'm finding it hard to get a warm full bass sound. My sound at the moment is kind of slappy without any warmth. Does anyone have any tips on how to get a fat, warm kick sound? Your help would be most appreciated!

  2. #2

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    One word... KickPort

    (or is that two words? )

    Welcome to our family!

  3. #3

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Definitely port your reso, but for an 18" kick I wouldn't make too big of a hole. I'd say 4" or less.
    Matt

  4. #4

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    MN, porting your kick drum will give you the ability to mic more of the attack. BTW, the KickPort will definitely enhance the bottom end frequencies. It does require a 5" port, though.
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  5. #5

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    yes ,,,,,, kickport ... that should do the trick.
    Tamaholic

  6. #6

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    I just helped a guy kickport a Taye GoKit which is an 18" bass. It can be done and should be done. Just use the template that comes with the kickport and cut the hole. also had my first experience with an emad that day. regular clear emad plus kickport plus bass drum lift on an 18" x 7.5" BD = same sound as my 16"x20" before I ported it. totally a believer in both now.

  7. #7

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Quote Originally Posted by yohin View Post
    Definitely port your reso, but for an 18" kick I wouldn't make too big of a hole. I'd say 4" or less.
    +1
    No large holes. Thats a tiny kick drum. You wanna let some of the air out but you dont wanna kill the Boom effect by making too big a hole.
    A 4" Hole is good.
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  8. #8

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    One word... KickPort

    (or is that two words? )

    Welcome to our family!
    Does a KickPort really make that big of a difference? I have never heard one so I have nothing to compare.

  9. #9

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Quote Originally Posted by kickinit View Post
    Does a KickPort really make that big of a difference? I have never heard one so I have nothing to compare.
    Yes, for me it was very noticeable. Others swear by it and there are some that claim to not notice much of a difference at all. Then of course there are purists that cringe at the very thought of cutting a hole in your head and inserting a foreign object. LOL

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    Yes, for me it was very noticeable. Others swear by it and there are some that claim to not notice much of a difference at all. Then of course there are purists that cringe at the very thought of cutting a hole in your head and inserting a foreign object. LOL
    Well, the hole is already cut on my reso . Do you notice a difference from behind the kit, or only from out front?

  11. #11

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    It feels boomier to me. Since I'm all about "feeling" my drums when I play, it was a great plus.

  12. #12

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Quote Originally Posted by kickinit View Post
    Does a KickPort really make that big of a difference? I have never heard one so I have nothing to compare.
    I got one from Drum Bum, installed it in the reso, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the change in the sound. To me, there was a noticeable increase in the low end tones. I recommend them highly. As Drummer said, though, some don't hear as much of a difference, so it comes down to what your ears can hear.
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  13. #13

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Omg yes a sound question! (for those of you who don't know, im a noob drummer just reaching out to the drum community, but im primarily an audio engineer who loves micing drums and much more familiar on Gearslutz recording forum)

    Well this of course all depends on the sound your trying to acheive. 18" kicks are usually found on jazz kits for jazz bands. A jazz kick sound is usually a very rounded sound with quite a bit of mid-range frequencies and sounds closer to a really big tom than a kick. If jazz is what your shooting for then micing the kick with no port in the reso is good.

    But your saying that your sound is "slappy" with no warmth which im guessing means that there is some high end and some mids but no low-end which is usually not the case on a non-port reso unless they are micing the batter side.

    "fat, warm, kick sound" I'm going to take a stab at what I think you want.
    kickport can work, however it mostly just exaggerates the low end and can be too much or doesnt sit right with the other frequencies. Preferably, you could get a better sound by just buying a port reso (almost any reso works fine and doesnt make a huge difference on the sound as long as they are the same ply-count and same material).

    What I have been doing to kicks recently is taking the reso head completely off and place the mic center of the kick at about the same depth as the shell itself. (example: if the kick is 18" by 14" the mic will be 14" away from the kick batter.) For a warm fat kick sound with a little slap, the mic should be pointed halfway between where the beater hits the head and the shell of the kick. this should give you a good fat kick sound given that the mic they use is good enough (AKG D112, Audix D6, or Shure Beta52)

    If you dont want to take your reso off and rather get a kick port or a ported reso, just do the same thing with the mic except in the port it self and point the mic to taste (at center of batter for more slap, toward shell for more lows and mids.

    I hope this helps. If not you could tell more of what your looking for and i could zero in on it

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by atomcorr2 View Post
    yes ,,,,,, kickport ... that should do the trick.
    I Agree...kickport !

  15. #15

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    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Ok, who let the sound guy in?

    Hey, great post BG. You'd never get the reso off my head though. I wouldn't let cha. LOL The reso head gives it the "feel" I was talking about. While you may get the sound out front you want, it would suck "feel-wise" behind the kit. Unless of course you stack some 18 cabinets on either side and stick one of dem dere thunder boomers in my seat. I'll definitely feel it then!

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    Ok, who let the sound guy in?

    Hey, great post BG. You'd never get the reso off my head though. I wouldn't let cha. LOL The reso head gives it the "feel" I was talking about. While you may get the sound out front you want, it would suck "feel-wise" behind the kit. Unless of course you stack some 18 cabinets on either side and stick one of dem dere thunder boomers in my seat. I'll definitely feel it then!
    Haha thank you. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "feel". Maybe you mean it reduces the kick rebound perhaps?

  17. #17

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    I don't know this from experience, but I've read and heard that with a kick under 20" in diameter, you should be utilizing a kick riser, which allows your pedal beater to strike your head at the sweet spot. With the smaller diameter, and to get your beater to strike the head as flush as possible, that means that your beater has to be hitting high on the head. maybe that could be part of the problem as well. Or maybe not? Kickport + laundry + riser + emad pad = desired sound.
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  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by bgomez15 View Post
    Omg yes a sound question! (for those of you who don't know, im a noob drummer just reaching out to the drum community, but im primarily an audio engineer who loves micing drums and much more familiar on Gearslutz recording forum)

    Well this of course all depends on the sound your trying to acheive. 18" kicks are usually found on jazz kits for jazz bands. A jazz kick sound is usually a very rounded sound with quite a bit of mid-range frequencies and sounds closer to a really big tom than a kick. If jazz is what your shooting for then micing the kick with no port in the reso is good.

    But your saying that your sound is "slappy" with no warmth which im guessing means that there is some high end and some mids but no low-end which is usually not the case on a non-port reso unless they are micing the batter side.

    "fat, warm, kick sound" I'm going to take a stab at what I think you want.
    kickport can work, however it mostly just exaggerates the low end and can be too much or doesnt sit right with the other frequencies. Preferably, you could get a better sound by just buying a port reso (almost any reso works fine and doesnt make a huge difference on the sound as long as they are the same ply-count and same material).

    What I have been doing to kicks recently is taking the reso head completely off and place the mic center of the kick at about the same depth as the shell itself. (example: if the kick is 18" by 14" the mic will be 14" away from the kick batter.) For a warm fat kick sound with a little slap, the mic should be pointed halfway between where the beater hits the head and the shell of the kick. this should give you a good fat kick sound given that the mic they use is good enough (AKG D112, Audix D6, or Shure Beta52)

    If you dont want to take your reso off and rather get a kick port or a ported reso, just do the same thing with the mic except in the port it self and point the mic to taste (at center of batter for more slap, toward shell for more lows and mids.

    I hope this helps. If not you could tell more of what your looking for and i could zero in on it
    Welcome back, I see you've been a DC member for quite some time now ! . Thanks for this post and please keep on sharing !!
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  19. #19

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    I just bought a Custom Classic Pro Jazz kit with a 18 inch kick. The first thing I did was to buy a E-Mad batter. That was a huge improvement. Then I debated "to port or not to port". I noticed with the unported head I was getting alot of bounce from my pedal which I didn't care for, so I decided to port.

    I would suggest to burn the hole in the head instead of trying to cut it. I found a tin can about 4" in diameter and heated it and placed it where I wanted the hole. Two things before you do this.
    1. Take the head off of the drum first, and place it on a nonburnable surface.
    2. Make a mark where you want the hole. Then I took duct tape and made a square where the hole is going to be. This will help reenforce the head so it won't tear when you are putting a mike in the hole etc.
    Burning a hole makes a much neater hole than trying to cut it out.

    After you do this it is just a matter of experimenting with different head tensions and mic placement to get the sound that you want. Hope this helps. John

  20. #20
    Larrysperf Guest

    Default Re: hole or no hole in kick drum?

    Quote Originally Posted by drummer View Post
    It feels boomier to me. Since I'm all about "feeling" my drums when I play, it was a great plus.
    Totally agree. In my studio a box never moved now with Kickport it moves lol. plus I had to turn kick down on mixer

  21. #21

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    Well, first off I'll have to say I'm no expert on this matter.

    All of the above is pretty consistent with what I've heard of other drummers. The hole in the kick drum reso not only provides you with the sound you're after, you probably find playing the kick drum to be a bit easier than without the hole. The beater (is that the right word?) doesn't tend to bounce as much off of the batter head, so you won't need as much technique in your right foot to make the bass drum sound good.

    Cheers,
    S&S
    Last edited by Sugar-and-spice; 09-29-2010 at 02:45 PM. Reason: forgot a word :P
    Erik

  22. #22

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    doooooo eeeeet
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  23. #23

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    I just think an 18" kick is too small to port for most applications. You need that resonance on the front head. I might go with a two mike approach - one for each head. I'm wondering about how often you mike your kick. If it's close to 100%, well then, port it, I guess. If it's occasionally, go no port and two mikes.
    And the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, axe, and saw. . .

  24. #24

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    I have an 18" ludwig kick, unported, with pedal riser to have the beater hitting centre, and i mounted the mic permanently inside, drilled some holes etc.. sounds great, has a little bit of bounce to it by the end of the night, mostly 'cause i'm tired by then. I feel 18" is indeed too small to port. ( i wouldn't be drilling holes into my DW kit btw but it is the best solution!)

  25. #25

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    Personally I say no hole. I had it both ways and like it better with no hole.

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