What Size Kick Drum for studio?

r0ck1r0ck2 · 31st October 2005

gotta 20x14"
Is there a more standard size for studio?

JohnDavisNYC · 1st November 2005

Like everything, it all depends on the song and the drummer. I have a 20x14, a 20x16, a 22x14, and the drummer in my band has a 26x14. i'm going to attempt to record the 26 tomorrow, and i'll see how appropriate that is.. it certainly sounds amazing in the room... time to see how well i can capture it. the 20x16 has been my bass drum of choice.. it's an early 80's Sonor Hi-lite and has the right combination of everything i generally look for in a bass drum sound. It all depends on the particular drum, of course, but i feel that 20 is the right balance between punchy and tone-y. 22's always seemed too mushy for me (except for the '59 Slingerland my roomate has), but maybe for the right guy in the right room it would rule.

my two pennies.

john

r0ck1r0ck2 · 1st November 2005

thanks!!!
good info from John Davis...
you get laid tonight....good karma you understand....

Jeff16years · 1st November 2005

old 70's ludwig 26x16

everything else is for fags

THE GEEK · 1st November 2005

for most professional productions this drum size is beeing used:
http://www.eastoxford.com/chest/carn...20drum%201.jpg
However I think u should get an even bigger one!

warhead · 1st November 2005

22"

War

Joel Hamilton · 1st November 2005

The 24" slingerland I have works really well. I have had good results with everything from 18" to 26" kick drums....

This is so case specific....

swankdoc · 1st November 2005

hey joel, miss you from ol' yellow.

RoundBadge · 1st November 2005

16[yes, a floor tom sometimes],18,20,22,24,26..in a lot of different configurations/heads/tunings/damping
whatever sounds good with that particular player.. in the room/on the song, on the day..
sometimes a 20" damped with no front head works for a fast punchy punk tune..
sometimes a big 'ol 2 headed felt stripped wide open ludwig 26" room mic'd for a big old Bonham thing [or new Secret Machines thing].
lots of variations available..
but a solid, well tuned 22" is a pretty good "All rounder".

Bishbashbosh · 1st November 2005

20"x14" worked pretty well on all Steve Gadd's recordings till about '87!!!

With drums there are SO many variables, with size being just one... I would say that for a kick then ,before size, I would suggest that damping, type of batter head, type of resonant head, hole or no hole, beater type, shell thickness and room all come into play BEFORE size!
A 20"x14" is on the small size so you'd probably struggle to get it to sound like Bonham (though not impossible). But for most applications a 20" is fine.
A 22" or 20" IMO will cover the most ground stylistically....

Personally I usually take a 20" and a 22" out if I'm not sure of the style of music (or sound of the room)... My 20" is set up fairly dry with a coated Ambassador batter, and a pillow inside, then my 22" is set up with an Aquarian batter and no damping. They cover most stuff, and it only takes a second to switch damping over if I need to. I also sometimes use one kick in front of the other (both miked up) to extend the sustain and/or bottom end.

Joel Hamilton · 1st November 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by swankdoc

hey joel, miss you from ol' yellow.

Old yellow is back. Hope to see ya over there!

C/G · 1st November 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff16years

old 70's ludwig 26x16

everything else is for fags

On my two kits they are 24" x 17". Lots of thump and I always get compliments on how good my kick sounds live, recorded, or just rehearsing with the band.

Jeff16years · 3rd November 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoundBadge

sometimes a big 'ol 2 headed felt stripped wide open ludwig 26" room mic'd for a big old Bonham thing .

is there anything else?

wait... before you answer, let me do it for you.

"no there isn't anything else"

good answer

r0ck1r0ck2 · 3rd November 2005

aaaw here comes my shaolin style....

dokushoka · 3rd November 2005

The thing to keep in mind is that with a big kick (say 26") you really need a big room for it to reach its full potential. Otherwise, something more conservative might be easier to work with.

tINY · 3rd November 2005

The Kentuky Head hunters used two bass drums like you would see in a marching band. They must have been about 36x18.

Big, thumpy - cool....

http://www.brotherdudley.com/7-16-05...auldrumkit.jpg

OK, maybe they wer only 26", but they were tuned low and sounded huge.....

-tINY

Fletcher · 3rd November 2005

If you're going to cut a hole in the front head then I've found 22's usually center best for the "big rock thing" [the small rock thing... a 20"], if you're doing it without a hole in the front head then I have usually found that a 24 or 26 can be tuned to have the best whack on the bottom.

As always... YMMV.

DirkB · 3rd November 2005

If I could only have one, it would be a 22" with something like a 6" hole of center cut in the front head. If you tune it right, you can have it nicely peaking at 63Hz in the mix...

Greetings,
Dirk

31st October 2005	#1
r0ck1r0ck2 Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Barcelona!! Posts: 1,618 Thread Starter	What Size Kick Drum for studio? gotta 20x14" Is there a more standard size for studio?

1st November 2005	#7
Joel Hamilton Gear maniac Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 299	The 24" slingerland I have works really well. I have had good results with everything from 18" to 26" kick drums.... This is so case specific.... __________________ http://www.joelhamiltonrecording.com http://www.myspace.com/thebookofknots

3rd November 2005	#15
dokushoka Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: San Francisco / L.A. Posts: 1,092	The thing to keep in mind is that with a big kick (say 26") you really need a big room for it to reach its full potential. Otherwise, something more conservative might be easier to work with. __________________ San Francisco based Mixing and Production http://www.sfrecording.com

3rd November 2005	#17
Fletcher member no 666 Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 9,464	If you're going to cut a hole in the front head then I've found 22's usually center best for the "big rock thing" [the small rock thing... a 20"], if you're doing it without a hole in the front head then I have usually found that a 24 or 26 can be tuned to have the best whack on the bottom. As always... YMMV. __________________ CN Fletcher Professional Affiliations: R/E/P Professional Recording Engineer and Producer forums - serious hobbyists welcome TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik SoundPure.com mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33 We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid Roscoe Ambel once said: Pro-Tools is to audio what fluorescent is to light

3rd November 2005	#18
DirkB Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,703	If I could only have one, it would be a 22" with something like a 6" hole of center cut in the front head. If you tune it right, you can have it nicely peaking at 63Hz in the mix... Greetings, Dirk __________________ -progress takes away what forever took to find- Dave Matthews

1st November 2005	#2
JohnDavisNYC Gear interested Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: crooklyn Posts: 29	Like everything, it all depends on the song and the drummer. I have a 20x14, a 20x16, a 22x14, and the drummer in my band has a 26x14. i'm going to attempt to record the 26 tomorrow, and i'll see how appropriate that is.. it certainly sounds amazing in the room... time to see how well i can capture it. the 20x16 has been my bass drum of choice.. it's an early 80's Sonor Hi-lite and has the right combination of everything i generally look for in a bass drum sound. It all depends on the particular drum, of course, but i feel that 20 is the right balance between punchy and tone-y. 22's always seemed too mushy for me (except for the '59 Slingerland my roomate has), but maybe for the right guy in the right room it would rule. my two pennies. john

1st November 2005	#4
Jeff16years Lives for gear Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Weymouth, MA U.S.A. Posts: 1,224	old 70's ludwig 26x16 everything else is for fags

1st November 2005	#5
THE GEEK Gear Head Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 55	for most professional productions this drum size is beeing used: http://www.eastoxford.com/chest/carn...20drum%201.jpg However I think u should get an even bigger one!

1st November 2005	#6
warhead Jai guru deva om Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: South Carolina Posts: 11,910	22" War

1st November 2005	#8
swankdoc Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 2,133	hey joel, miss you from ol' yellow.

1st November 2005	#9
RoundBadge Lives for gear Join Date: May 2004 Location: Los Angeles ,Ca. Posts: 8,754	16[yes, a floor tom sometimes],18,20,22,24,26..in a lot of different configurations/heads/tunings/damping whatever sounds good with that particular player.. in the room/on the song, on the day.. sometimes a 20" damped with no front head works for a fast punchy punk tune.. sometimes a big 'ol 2 headed felt stripped wide open ludwig 26" room mic'd for a big old Bonham thing [or new Secret Machines thing]. lots of variations available.. but a solid, well tuned 22" is a pretty good "All rounder".

1st November 2005	#10
Bishbashbosh Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: London Posts: 599	20"x14" worked pretty well on all Steve Gadd's recordings till about '87!!! With drums there are SO many variables, with size being just one... I would say that for a kick then ,before size, I would suggest that damping, type of batter head, type of resonant head, hole or no hole, beater type, shell thickness and room all come into play BEFORE size! A 20"x14" is on the small size so you'd probably struggle to get it to sound like Bonham (though not impossible). But for most applications a 20" is fine. A 22" or 20" IMO will cover the most ground stylistically.... Personally I usually take a 20" and a 22" out if I'm not sure of the style of music (or sound of the room)... My 20" is set up fairly dry with a coated Ambassador batter, and a pillow inside, then my 22" is set up with an Aquarian batter and no damping. They cover most stuff, and it only takes a second to switch damping over if I need to. I also sometimes use one kick in front of the other (both miked up) to extend the sustain and/or bottom end.

3rd November 2005	#16
tINY Gear Guru Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Orygun Posts: 10,206	The Kentuky Head hunters used two bass drums like you would see in a marching band. They must have been about 36x18. Big, thumpy - cool.... http://www.brotherdudley.com/7-16-05...auldrumkit.jpg OK, maybe they wer only 26", but they were tuned low and sounded huge..... -tINY

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