Ever used just a drum head for kick?

Exmun · 9th November 2004

Ok, I gotta share this. Over the weekend, I went to a wedding and reception with the wife and kid. There was a live reggae band at the reception. These guys had their stuff together. Drum set, bass, guitar, keys... they all sang vocals. Instead of a whole kit, the drummer was using just a drum head clamped somehow to stay in it's normal position, but with no wood cabinet. They put a mic on the kick and I presume they added some EQ at the mixer. Let me tell you the kick sounded surprisingly good... a really solid sound with a lot of snap and quite a bit of tight low end.

I've never seen this before and would have never thought to do a kick like this. Even though this wasn't in the studio, I could see trying this. Anyone ever tried this?

Chris Parsons · 9th November 2004

I would assume that it's the same as micing a speaker cone. Very interesting....

jbuntz · 9th November 2004

You would need some type of hoop to maintain the tension of the head. I guess if you can stick a mic right up to the head and get decent sounds, the shell isn't massively crucial to the drum's sound like on a snare.

Fleaman · 9th November 2004

Many years ago in here in L.A. there was a bluegrass band called "Cousin Lovers" playing around and I finally saw them at a house party. No Amps, no mics, they sang right into the air (god forbid!). The drummer had a suitcase drum kit. Consisted of a real suitcase, the oldschool fiber type ones. He carried only the suitcase to the gigs. In the suitcase he had everything he needed: Snare, 1 cymbal, kick pedal, couple stands, sticks.

Once everything was out of the suitcase he locked the case back up, stood it up, fastened his kick pedal to the case with some sort of attachment he had fabricated and the band started playing (drummer playing standing up).

Let me tell you, not only was the kick sound perfect for the band and songs they were playing, but the whole band had a perfect mix balance amongst themselves and they just sounded great. In fact, when I first walked into the party, I thought there was just a stereo playing....really sounded just like a stereo. But in the corner was this band and I was just floored.

Never was really into bluegrass that much being a rocker in a sense, but they truly floored me in many ways.

Although they did play some funk tunes and that suitcase kick had the perfect amount of dead thud needed, it was awesome!

And one of these days, as a drummer myself, I'm gonna try and replicate that suitcase kick

Fleaman

max cooper · 9th November 2004

http://www.arbitergroup.com/flats/flats_lowdown.htm

covert · 9th November 2004

You can still occasionally find the Remo PTS (pre tuned system) heads. These are tensioned at the factory, and were designed to clip onto shells that were less than normally solid. Some of the kits were essentially cardboard.

joeq · 9th November 2004

I used a PTS kit once, it got wet and the cardboard swelled up. tutt

I have also used the old Purecussion drums- similar to the Flats. considering they had no shell, they sounded surprisingly good, but still it was a compromise. You are trading off portability for tone, resonance, IMO.

Gotta love that portability. You can fit the whole set into a bag you sling over your shoulder.

9th November 2004	#1
Exmun Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2003 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 613 Thread Starter	Ever used just a drum head for kick? Ok, I gotta share this. Over the weekend, I went to a wedding and reception with the wife and kid. There was a live reggae band at the reception. These guys had their stuff together. Drum set, bass, guitar, keys... they all sang vocals. Instead of a whole kit, the drummer was using just a drum head clamped somehow to stay in it's normal position, but with no wood cabinet. They put a mic on the kick and I presume they added some EQ at the mixer. Let me tell you the kick sounded surprisingly good... a really solid sound with a lot of snap and quite a bit of tight low end. I've never seen this before and would have never thought to do a kick like this. Even though this wasn't in the studio, I could see trying this. Anyone ever tried this?

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9th November 2004	#2
Chris Parsons Lives for gear Joined: May 2003 Location: Santa Cruz, CA Posts: 710	I would assume that it's the same as micing a speaker cone. Very interesting....

9th November 2004	#3
jbuntz Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,716	You would need some type of hoop to maintain the tension of the head. I guess if you can stick a mic right up to the head and get decent sounds, the shell isn't massively crucial to the drum's sound like on a snare.

9th November 2004	#4
Fleaman Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Los Angeles, Silverlake Posts: 4,074	Many years ago in here in L.A. there was a bluegrass band called "Cousin Lovers" playing around and I finally saw them at a house party. No Amps, no mics, they sang right into the air (god forbid!). The drummer had a suitcase drum kit. Consisted of a real suitcase, the oldschool fiber type ones. He carried only the suitcase to the gigs. In the suitcase he had everything he needed: Snare, 1 cymbal, kick pedal, couple stands, sticks. Once everything was out of the suitcase he locked the case back up, stood it up, fastened his kick pedal to the case with some sort of attachment he had fabricated and the band started playing (drummer playing standing up). Let me tell you, not only was the kick sound perfect for the band and songs they were playing, but the whole band had a perfect mix balance amongst themselves and they just sounded great. In fact, when I first walked into the party, I thought there was just a stereo playing....really sounded just like a stereo. But in the corner was this band and I was just floored. Never was really into bluegrass that much being a rocker in a sense, but they truly floored me in many ways. Although they did play some funk tunes and that suitcase kick had the perfect amount of dead thud needed, it was awesome! And one of these days, as a drummer myself, I'm gonna try and replicate that suitcase kick Fleaman

9th November 2004	#5
max cooper Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2004 Location: tx Posts: 8,802	http://www.arbitergroup.com/flats/flats_lowdown.htm

9th November 2004	#6
covert Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2002 Location: capitol district NY Posts: 522	You can still occasionally find the Remo PTS (pre tuned system) heads. These are tensioned at the factory, and were designed to clip onto shells that were less than normally solid. Some of the kits were essentially cardboard.

9th November 2004	#7
joeq Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 9,924	I used a PTS kit once, it got wet and the cardboard swelled up. tutt I have also used the old Purecussion drums- similar to the Flats. considering they had no shell, they sounded surprisingly good, but still it was a compromise. You are trading off portability for tone, resonance, IMO. Gotta love that portability. You can fit the whole set into a bag you sling over your shoulder.