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Thread: Bass Drum Tuning

  1. #1

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    Default Bass Drum Tuning

    Hey quick question guys:

    I have a 22" with no port in the reso head and an EMAD2 batter. When I tune the reso "just above wrinkle" it's relatively high in pitch. At least compared to the batter, I am getting about a minor thrid difference between the two.

    This way I am getting 2 sounds out of my bass drum; if I let the beater off the head quickly, I get a very low deep rumble. If I keep it pressed on the batter, it's all reso and I hear the higher pitch.

    Any advice if this is good/bad/normal? I know I could just try bringing the batter up to the same pitch as reso, but I'm being lazy. Since it took me long enough to get each head sounding nice, I'm not thrilled about messing that up.

    Thanks

  2. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Natman View Post
    Hey quick question guys:

    I have a 22" with no port in the reso head and an EMAD2 batter. When I tune the reso "just above wrinkle" it's relatively high in pitch. At least compared to the batter, I am getting about a minor thrid difference between the two.

    This way I am getting 2 sounds out of my bass drum; if I let the beater off the head quickly, I get a very low deep rumble. If I keep it pressed on the batter, it's all reso and I hear the higher pitch.

    Any advice if this is good/bad/normal? I know I could just try bringing the batter up to the same pitch as reso, but I'm being lazy. Since it took me long enough to get each head sounding nice, I'm not thrilled about messing that up.

    Thanks
    I would say normal. What type of dampening are you using if any?

    all the best...

  3. #3

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    I've got nothing in the drum, just the smaller foam ring on the EMAD and one moongel on the reso!

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Natman View Post
    Since it took me long enough to get each head sounding nice, I'm not thrilled about messing that up.

    Thanks
    Welcome to the forum Natman. I don't think you'll mess anything up with the reso and batter tuned a third a part from each other. The two different tones you described can work to your advantage hence allowing you to be more dynamic on the kick. Some drummers use this type of tuning (3rd separation), on their toms too.

  5. #5

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    Play to a song and see just how much of it you really notice.

    You can also take out any of the dampening rings and run it that way. The ring holder still performs some dampening effect.
    Signature here

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Natman View Post
    I've got nothing in the drum, just the smaller foam ring on the EMAD and one moongel on the reso!
    this will make a difference too.

    It's all about personal preference in the end though.
    If you like it that's all that matters.


    I like a shorter quicker thick thud type sound. So I also use the emad but I also use a gilbraltar bass drum pillow.

  7. #7

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    Ask 100 drummers about tuning, get 100 different answers. Just sayin.
    I recommend you trust your ears. If it sounds good to you, leave it alone.
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    I think I love to play the drums simply because you get to hit 'em!!!

  8. #8

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    If you bury the beater into the head then the pitch will go up. Try to hit the drum with a quick stroke. Lots of drummer bury the beater. I got used to playing with a quick stroke. I think it sounds the best that way because both heads can resonate freely. If the beater is pressed up against the batter, it won't be able to resonate.
    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    There is intelligent life out there. The problem is that there isn't any here.

    -Mike

  9. #9

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    This the way that I have tuned my bass drum for years. I have a 2 ply non ported reso tuned at 11/2 turn over finger tight. Single ply PS3 batter tuned at 1 turn over finger tight and have a small pillow about 2' thick and barely touches both heads. My beater is set at about 3-4 inches away from the center of the batter. This has worked great for me doesn't mean it will for you. You have to experiment.

  10. #10

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    ....And if your beater hits just below or above "center" you'll get a truer sound. Center is deader.
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  11. #11

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    Hi there! Welcome to DrumChat! Not answering your question, really, as I don't have a good answer for you, but i have found recently that I like the sound from my bass drum without any dampening at all. Prior to this, I had left the 'stock' setup alone. I have a 22"x16" DW Collectors Cherry bass drum, and it came with 2 DW pillows, with one pillow quite hard against each head. The pillows stayed in that position because the inside has a piece of velcro on each end of the wood, as does each pillow, so the pillows stay where you put them. I put an Evans clear EQ3 on batter side, but had left the pillows in place. A few weeks back, I took the pillows out, and put some pretty heavy tension on both batter and reso heads. I'm finding that I really like the bass drum with no damping at all. I think you may find that you get a greater range of tones when you don't do the kind of damping that is 'typical'.
    Last edited by cabasner; 07-31-2016 at 03:16 PM.
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  12. #12

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    I like my reso about 1-1/2 turns past finger tight on my ported head, and about 1 turn on my non-ported (same as the batter) for the type of music I play. The batter head is a PS3 in black suede. No laundry, no foam, and no moon gels. The drum is a 22x14 poplar shell with 8 lugs, and steel hoops.

  13. #13

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    I normally use the felt side of the beaters, and they hit about 2" from the center (but centered vertically) My bandmates laughed at the little 14" deep drum at first (all young guys 20s/30s), but now everybody loves the little thumper!

  14. #14

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    What you're doing is pretty good technique. Most drummers don't know what a minor third is let alone how to achieve it. Drums are three things, the shell and heads, that need to work together in order to create a sound. The better they work together, the better the sound. My personal technique is to tune the bottom head to the shells fundamental note, and then tune the batter to a minor third. Like two strings on a guitar or two notes in a chord, the two drum heads must be tuned to work together, and not just two random notes. For the bass drum I do the same, only at the LPP or lowest possible pitch on the batter. If your heads "rumble" at this tuning you may want to tune it up slightly above LPP. If the drum "booms" then I would suggest some internal dampening material (I use a small piece of acoustic foam) to absorb some of the unwanted mid frequencies. Hope this helps and good luck.

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  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by SunDog View Post
    What you're doing is pretty good technique.
    Thanks for the encouragement! Since posting initially, I tweaked it some more. I figured I could afford to go tighter. The reso came down a bit without wrinkle and I brought the batter up a touch. Now I still get the pitch bend a little but it's about minor 2nd. I can't even tell if it's because the reso is tuned a 2nd above the batter or if the beater stretches the head bends the pitch up? I'll keep working on it. Far as I can tell, the bass drum is 1 octave lower than my floor tom.

    Quote Originally Posted by FlyByNight View Post
    If you bury the beater into the head then the pitch will go up.
    I am stuggling with this right now. I am only 3 months into drumming and not very serious; no lessons or anything (yet) and I have no technique to speak of! I feel more comfortable resting the beater on the head but like the sound better when I let it off quickly.

    Right now it sounds rather boomy to me behind the kit when I kick hard. I can get lots of volume actually. Playing more softly, I feel like maybe it's not loud enough. Eventually I'll get somebody in the room to guide me, maybe even a teacher so I don't develop bad technique which I can't correct later.

    Anyway for now I want to avoid internal dampening as I read that many EMAD users find it's not necessary. I currently have the large foam ring on and a moongel on the reso. I really don't care for the overstuffed bass drum sound, so I want to depend on good tuning. I just have a learning curve to get past, and that's what this forum is all about!

    Big thanks to all for helping me do that!
    Last edited by Natman; 08-04-2016 at 07:59 AM.

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by slinglander View Post
    ....And if your beater hits just below or above "center" you'll get a truer sound. Center is deader.
    I really notice that on my floor tom. I'm going to look into this! Thanks

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by cabasner View Post
    I'm finding that I really like the bass drum with no damping at all. I think you may find that you get a greater range of tones when you don't do the kind of damping that is 'typical'.
    Good points. I figure that since my shells are of lower quality, I should try and get the most out of them, not kill what little resonance they do have. We don't stuff our toms right?

    Case in point: I found that my floor tom was a bit less "alive" sounding than my mounted toms and it was getting on my nerves. Then I read someone here talking about not hanging his stick bag off the floor tom because the shells do resonate and contribute to the sound more than we realize. So I took my bag off and sure enough -he's right it was noticeably better! I can't find that post now but would love to thank him for that tip...

  18. #18

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    A few things one should consider about bass drums...

    It is the largest drum in cubic volume therefore can potentially be the loudest.

    Bass drums, unlike tom toms, are aimed directly at the audience.

    Unlike toms, which are generally used occasionally as in fills, the bass drums is struck repeatedly through out a song.

    Unlike toms, which are hit with tiny little wooden surfaces, a bass drum is struck with a mechanically operated mallet.

    All that to say...I believe a bass drum has a good reason to have some dampening. I've tried the wide open thing before only to have band members wince at the sound of the bass drum.

    all th best...

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Natman View Post
    Thanks for the encouragement! Since posting initially, I tweaked it some more. I figured I could afford to go tighter. The reso came down a bit without wrinkle and I brought the batter up a touch. Now I still get the pitch bend a little but it's about minor 2nd. I can't even tell if it's because the reso is tuned a 2nd above the batter or if the beater stretches the head bends the pitch up? I'll keep working on it. Far as I can tell, the bass drum is 1 octave lower than my floor tom.



    I am stuggling with this right now. I am only 3 months into drumming and not very serious; no lessons or anything (yet) and I have no technique to speak of! I feel more comfortable resting the beater on the head but like the sound better when I let it off quickly.

    Right now it sounds rather boomy to me behind the kit when I kick hard. I can get lots of volume actually. Playing more softly, I feel like maybe it's not loud enough. Eventually I'll get somebody in the room to guide me, maybe even a teacher so I don't develop bad technique which I can't correct later.

    Anyway for now I want to avoid internal dampening as I read that many EMAD users find it's not necessary. I currently have the large foam ring on and a moongel on the reso. I really don't care for the overstuffed bass drum sound, so I want to depend on good tuning. I just have a learning curve to get past, and that's what this forum is all about!

    Big thanks to all for helping me do that!
    Are you playing heel up or heel down? I started with heel down and buried the beater a lot. When I started getting into double bass, I switched to heel up and had no problem burying the beater into the head.
    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    There is intelligent life out there. The problem is that there isn't any here.

    -Mike

  20. #20

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    Ok guys I brought the batter head up to the same pitch as the reso and now I can bury the beater without the annoying change in tone. This helps a lot! Overall it sounds fine, I may experiment with internal dampening but no hurry.

    I play heel down fwiw, learning tons here - thanks everyone!

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Natman View Post
    Hey quick question guys:

    I have a 22" with no port in the reso head and an EMAD2 batter. When I tune the reso "just above wrinkle" it's relatively high in pitch. At least compared to the batter, I am getting about a minor thrid difference between the two.

    This way I am getting 2 sounds out of my bass drum; if I let the beater off the head quickly, I get a very low deep rumble. If I keep it pressed on the batter, it's all reso and I hear the higher pitch.

    Any advice if this is good/bad/normal? I know I could just try bringing the batter up to the same pitch as reso, but I'm being lazy. Since it took me long enough to get each head sounding nice, I'm not thrilled about messing that up.

    Thanks
    So, this doesn't sound like a problem to me. Playing the drum two different ways is supposed to sound two different ways. It's one of the beautiful complexities of drumming, and it's part of why electronic drums sound so dead and boring compared to acoustic. And the differences is part of what makes really simple beats sound cool. It's not just the rhythm, it's the subtle tonal complexities. If I were you I would not change a thing.

    Also, if you're only listening to it from behind the kit, you're missing out on how it really sounds. Make sure you're hearing it from across the room. Have a friend hit the kick and listen from a distance. Otherwise you might be hearing something that sounds "bad" from behind the kit, but is actually awesome from an audience perspective.

  22. #22

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    Good last point, when I play they sound not to bad and when my son plays it sounds really nice, thought it was style, going to get son to hit them while I'm in front when tunning from now on thanks newlin

  23. #23

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    I stopped going nuts with trying for a "perfect or at least a really good sound" over 50 years ago. Drums are at the mercy of the acoustics of where you are playing so you have to deal with that. A club that can hold 200 people will make you drums sound different (to a point) then when you did your sound check with maybe 30 people in there, the "Happy Hour" people. A club with all hard surfaces will sound way different than a club with drapes carpeting, and more "soft" areas.

    Tuning: Something I learned a long time ago was that when tuning a drum, any drum, tune it "ON THE SET" and tune for 10-15 minutes and take a walk, have a beer, and leave it alone. When you go back, it will sound a bit different than it did 15-20 minutes ago.

    The snare: That is a different creature altogether. It's a harsh sound, not this warm, trashy, soft sound that I hear thrown around. Warm is a puppy, trashy is a girl I knew decades ago, soft is my couch. It's a loud sound, not unlike my ex-wife, and your ears adapt to it. I'll tune mine to where I think I want it and then leave it alone for 1/2 hour (give or take) then go put the finishing touches on it.

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  24. #24

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    If you just want to take a little boominess out of the bass,roll up a tee shirt and put it between bass drum pedal posts and the batter head.
    Rick


    Mapex Sabian Ludwig Saluda Assorted Snare Drums

  25. #25

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    Lucky I didnt use any of those words to describe my brass snare in other post. I like it loud!!! What you say I'm a bit deaf

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