Goki wrote:
FANTASTIC set Greg...
So, how do You like the bass drum head combo? I see You don't stuff the drum, nor have the reso head ported...
Details please...
Goki, in some way, I am one of the worst people to ask about drums sounds. I can thrive on one sound for years ( twenty years on my Sigs before being driven by the music to look for alternatives), and then one day, after accommodating a different sound, go back to the first one and be unable to understand why I liked it.
And then, I love a drum sound but take it out to play, and grab for the key to change the tuning to work in the new location.
That bass represents one of the greatest efforts I've ever made to understand the boundaries of tuning of a specific drum I've ever made, so a little intelligence has been applied.
Probably twenty-five head combinations were tried with various tunings. I settled on this combination because:
I like bass to have a distinct attack, and then a controlled purr of about 3/4 of a second duration; when playing at 100 BPM, the bass struck on One will have died just about the time a snare is struck on Two.
As delivered, the Remo PS3 on both sides was overly constricting, didn't allow for a long sustain.
Tried Evans combinations, but the Classix thin birch has enormous attack, and the Evans spiked the attack, creating a brittle characteristic.
Heads with active muffling (I tried several types of Aquarian) made the drum sound constipated... what does that mean? Not generous with tone, restricted. Probably good for really fast bass figures but not what I think of as bass.
So the stock PS3 is back on the batter side for softer attack, while the Remo Fiberskyn allows the bass to purr in a way that the PS3 reso did not. The Fiberskyn coating is probably muffling enough, although I didn't have the courage to leave the felt strip off.
On my Designer bass, that same Fiberskyn reso - without felt strip - is combined with an Evans EQ4 batter (more attack for the maple shell), and it sounds great there, too. Quite different, though: The purr is less distinct on the Designer but the sound is softer and warmer. That may be as much a quality of the shells as it is a result of the felt strip, but one day I'll remove the strip from the Classix to see what happens. Of one thing I am quite certain; if fast, repetitious bass licks are your thing, the felt strip would have to be there, as the sound can begin to fall apart if the drum is wide open and under assault. But for the way I play, open is better.
Head porting... I've not done that to any drum in the last twenty-five years. If miking, I'll mount a mic inside. I love the feel and tone of a closed bass drum.
Hope that begins to answer your question, Goki. Thanks for enjoying the pictures!
Login
Register
FAQ
