Hey drummers

Harry Klippton

Harry Klippton

Not Interested
Do I want to take the front head off my kick?

I'm not a real drummer. my drum kit is mainly used for recording demos. I think I want to take the front head off (more likely cut it off and leave whatever it's called on the rim) but once that's done, it's done.
 
The resonant head controls resonance. :p If you want all attack and little to no low frequency response, do it! You can get a similar result by cutting a giant hole in the front head. The advantage being, you can leave the front hoop on to protect the rim. The disadvantage being, it's much harder to change your mind.
 
Yeah that's exactly what I'm getting at. What does resonance sound like? Do I want that? What are some examples or what sorts of applications. Every time I try to look into this, the answers don't seem useful or make sense in a way I can understand them. I'd love to spend a day experimenting to find out on my own but that's not happening any time soon
 
How deep is the kick and what kind of muffling do you have in it? Also what kind of sound are you looking for?

If you have a shallow kick that's stuffed full of pillows, you may as well pull the front head off. I try to use minimal muffling on my kit, and I just have a small hole on the reso head for ease of putting a mic on it.

If you aren't confused enough yet, there is also something to be said for different types of resonant heads. A thin single-ply head on the reso will have a different response than a thicker double-ply head.

Drums are my main instrument, I care a lot more about what my drums sound like than what my guitar sounds like.
 
If you're really looking for that late 70s rock drums in a fully carpetted room, wet paper bag getting slapped sound, go for it.

If this is for the sake of recording, work on mic technique first. Very small movements make a big difference. Don't be afraid to turn an inside mic off axis either. You can kind of fade between the beater and the shell/resonance by doing so. Also, moving the mic further in/out of the sound hole just a little, by little--half inch increments, can alter the air/energy/proximity relationship with the mic and provide a lot of tonal shift.
No head takes that away and you just have a rug being beaten by a guy with a handlebar mustache.
 
vigilante398 said:
How deep is the kick and what kind of muffling do you have in it? Also what kind of sound are you looking for?
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It's a 16x22. No muffling inside. Resonant head has a "normal" port hole. I'm not totally sure what the sound I'm looking for is, hence the question.

jwin615 said:
If you're really looking for that late 70s rock drums in a fully carpetted room, wet paper bag getting slapped sound, go for it.


No head takes that away and you just have a rug being beaten by a guy with a handlebar mustache.
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This seems to be in the right direction so maybe I do want it off.

Here are some drum sounds that I think sound really great and make me want to listen in on the drums. I don't always necessarily want these sounds but i'd love to know how to go in that direction at least. Make do with what I've got


 
You can always put the head back on. Mike Malone had a good video recently about modifying a bass drum resonant head by cutting out the main ply and leaving the little muffling ring around the edge so you can leave the head/hoop on to protect the bearing edges while still getting that dead kick drum 70s/80s recording sound.


 
It depends what kind of heads are on the drum and what sound you're going for. On both my kits I have Remo PS3's front and back and nothing inside, with the batter head tuned maybe 1 or 2 turns over wrinkle and the reso head a few turns tighter than that. I get a lively, open sound with a bit of punch and a good amount of projection. The front head is really about projection and tone. Without a front head the drum can sound dead and lifeless. I tune my front head tighter than the batter head and that's what helps the bass drum achieve the kind of volume it needs to compete with the snare and cymbals.

I used to use Super Kick 2's but they deaden the drum too much and aren't good live. I don't record drums so much anymore, but when I do I'll use an internal mic on a Kelly Shu mount and aim the mic just off where the batter strikes, and I get a good thumpy sound. You want to capture body as well as punch, and that's where the front head comes into play. But it really depends what heads you have on it or what you feel like buying. The most important thing is to have heads with some sort of muffling, like a Remo PS3
 
Yeah based on what you're saying I think reso head off may be the way to go for you. But I will second what @jwin615 is saying, mic selection and mic placement will make a huge difference in the sound you're getting, fortunately that's also a lot easier to experiment with than head removal. I struggled with getting a kick tone I was satisfied with for a LONG time and had gotten lazy and triggered it so I could replace it in recordings. Then last year at NAMM I came across the Kicktone mic, which blew my mind to the extent I bought one on the spot. Putting that on the reso head and an Audix D6 on the batter head gives me the best damn recorded kick sound I've ever had.
 
Keeping the reso head on also provides a bit more isolation for inside kick mics. As I assume you're recording analog, keeping some snare out of the kick mic may be of benefit.
I would try moderate to heavy baffling(big pillow) and work on mic placement before ditching it. You can also dampen either/both heads some. A little gaffer tape here and there will help deaden the heads.
I'll echo @vigilante398 The Audix D6 is great at capturing batter attack. I think Audix recently released an updated version with different EQ settings as well, but I can't speak from experience on it.

A crotch mic can be good in limited mic setups too. Two methods I've had luck with:
Omni between the kick and snare. Move around to get more or less snare shell/bottom snare/kick batter. Cardiod near the kick opposite side of the snare kinda pointed across the battery head toward the snare.
 
Alright so admittedly I'm a little nervous about taking the head off to put a pillow in and put the head back on but maybe that's my first step and then just mess with mic placement. Guess I should learn to tune the fucking things while I'm at it
 
Harry Klippton said:
Guess I should learn to tune the fucking things while I'm at it
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That would put you above about half the drummers out there. My band played a show with some other bands last month and one of the other guys backlined his kit, it was absurdly bad. I usually don't mess with tuning on backline kits, but it was clear this dude had zero clue.
 
I used my buddy's drum dial for a bit. Got a tune bot and never looked back. You can get yourself close then dial it in the rest of the way with the Tune Bot or just even go off their recommended frequency chart for different drum sizes. My drums sound way better now.
 
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