coffee can trick on toms

[EstateMatt]

just had this idea... wondered if anyone had tried it. maybe a can of peas instead?

[DaveUK]

[matt thomas]

narco

[chrisso]

[EM Productions]

[Chris Williams]

I've heard of putting a cigarette packet with seeds or beans in it on a snare but not on toms, wouldn't that turn the toms in to kind of deeper snares?

[Jax]

I'll make an educated guess at what he means by "coffee can trick" on toms. He's probably referring to the practice of heating up a metal coffee can enough to melt a hole in the front bass drum head, but trying this trick on the bottom heads of toms (using a smaller can).

For the uninitiated, the reason for putting a hole in a drum head is so that a mic can be placed inside the drum, which can cut down tremendously on bleed, but sacrifice some attack.

No, I haven't tried it. For larger floor toms (16-18-20), it might make some sense, but I'm fairly happy with the sound from the regular topside close mics. However, I do think it's worth a try.

[BLUElightCory]

Why not just remove the bottom head? What's left of a resonant tom head isn't going to add any isolation; might as well remove it.

[Nutmeg II.]

Originally Posted by BLUElightCory

Why not just remove the bottom head? What's left of a resonant tom head isn't going to add any isolation; might as well remove it.

If you don't put the hole into the middel you will still get some effect of the reso head.
Leaving heads on and putting holes in 'em (or even cut most of it, leaving only a small collar) does change th sound too, because it does stiffen up the shell.

This will have the benefits of keeping the shell in round (especialy when you transport or store them), it will save the bearing edge of a drum, prevents the lugs from rattleing and sometimes it might give a more even resonace from the shell.

Any way it also can bring up the pitch of the drum a bit, compared to no bottom head.