Bass Drum Head Combo

TheArchitect · 20th July 2008

What head combo works best for a bass drum that is not using a port on the reso head?

The single ply heads seem to have no low end and the heavier heads tend to choke the drum. I haven't found a good combo yet

jbsg02 · 28th July 2008

I think Powerstroke 3's are where it's at, atleast for me. I used aquarian superkick for a while, but the powerstroke sounds more natural to me. I still have the aquarian on the front head.

arizonadrum · 1st August 2008

I second the powerstroke 3 notion, but i always use coated powerstroke 3. on the port side, i typically use a coated emperor.

Nutmeg II. · 2nd August 2008

Have you checked the lowend with a analyzer?
Single ply hads should have plenty of lows, but it get's out of focus becaus you get somuch mids and topend from them.
With a bit of cutting on the tops and mids you should get a good balance.

I am a PS3 fan. Because you get the the single ply with less of the mids and topend.
Changing the reso head is always worth it.
Very thin resos give you more topend in the attack.
Thicker resos can give you more mids, but can also get your lowend to a to deep region and it tends to kill the sustain to much (Think Evans EQ4 frosted as reso).

And once again if you don't like what you get out of the head combination on your drums.... go and move it to a different position in the room.
More than often that is more of a problem than the difference between different heads.

There are rooms that realy can suck the live out of drums!

dankin · 9th August 2008

Another PS3 fan. I've tried Superkick 1's and 2's and emads but I always come back to a PS3. It seems to have more life to it than most of the other pre muffled heads while still being focused and punchy. I will say that it depends on the drum though as to what head sounds best.

20th July 2008	#1
TheArchitect Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 1,131 Thread Starter	Bass Drum Head Combo What head combo works best for a bass drum that is not using a port on the reso head? The single ply heads seem to have no low end and the heavier heads tend to choke the drum. I haven't found a good combo yet

2nd August 2008	#4
Nutmeg II. Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2003 Location: GEARmany Posts: 985	Have you checked the lowend with a analyzer? Single ply hads should have plenty of lows, but it get's out of focus becaus you get somuch mids and topend from them. With a bit of cutting on the tops and mids you should get a good balance. I am a PS3 fan. Because you get the the single ply with less of the mids and topend. Changing the reso head is always worth it. Very thin resos give you more topend in the attack. Thicker resos can give you more mids, but can also get your lowend to a to deep region and it tends to kill the sustain to much (Think Evans EQ4 frosted as reso). And once again if you don't like what you get out of the head combination on your drums.... go and move it to a different position in the room. More than often that is more of a problem than the difference between different heads. There are rooms that realy can suck the live out of drums! __________________ "Any recording engineer who uses a tube U47 is obviously not a professional" Stephan Temmer 1979

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28th July 2008	#2
jbsg02 Gear addict Joined: Mar 2008 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 411	I think Powerstroke 3's are where it's at, atleast for me. I used aquarian superkick for a while, but the powerstroke sounds more natural to me. I still have the aquarian on the front head.

1st August 2008	#3
arizonadrum Gear Head Joined: Oct 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 51	I second the powerstroke 3 notion, but i always use coated powerstroke 3. on the port side, i typically use a coated emperor.

9th August 2008	#5
dankin Gear addict Joined: Aug 2008 Location: Nashville, Tn Posts: 435	Another PS3 fan. I've tried Superkick 1's and 2's and emads but I always come back to a PS3. It seems to have more life to it than most of the other pre muffled heads while still being focused and punchy. I will say that it depends on the drum though as to what head sounds best.