Bass drum heads?

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smittyboy63

smittyboy63

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Hey all,

Refurbishing my kit. Brought it home from storage the other day and it still has my old band's artwork on the resonant head. That definitely needs to go, so I need new bass drum heads. Also, one of my bass drum batter heads was getting ready to have a hole in it. Way back when I was playing, I was using electrical tape as a kick pad in hopes I wouldn't punch a hole with the beater. It worked for the time being, but the drum really needs a new batter head, and I've decided I'm just going to get new batter and reso for both bass drums. That being said, I'm not sure what to get. You should know I play rock'n'roll...not metal, but classic hard rock.

I would love to not have to ever put pillows in my bass drums again. In the past, I'd take a dinner plate, put it in the center of my bass drum, trace around it with a Sharpie, then cut a hole out of the center of my bass drum reso head. This allowed me to position pillows as was necessary for the sound I liked. I don't like bass drums that ring at all, but I don't want something that sounds completely dead either. Think hard rock, not metal.

I have a black Ludwig kit and I saw that Aquarian often gets good reviews, and has black heads...that would look sharp, but how do they sound? So many choices...not sure...
Aquarian Bass Drum Heads

BTW, my old bass drum batter heads were usually clear with black or silver dots.

Feedback?
 
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I recently got a mid 50's RB kit, 20, 12, 14, that had been used as a rock kit by its last 3 owners, for about 30 years of its life. So, it was set up for playing rock and has an Aquarian Super Kick I for the BD batter head. It sounds fantastic. (No pillow, no other muffling on the drum, regular head on the front.)

I play jazz mostly, but I've resisted replacing that head because it sounds so good and is so much fun to play getting 'that' rock sound. I might just have to find another RB kit for jazz set up.:D
 
jabrams said:
I recently got a mid 50's RB kit, 20, 12, 14, that had been used as a rock kit by its last 3 owners, for about 30 years of its life. So, it was set up for playing rock and has an Aquarian Super Kick I for the BD batter head. It sounds fantastic. (No pillow, no other muffling on the drum, regular head on the front.)
Click to expand...

This thing? I have a 24" bass drum...
Super Kick I Clear

Aquarian has the Super Kick I, II, and III.
Does anyone know the differences?

Also, how would one of these sound on the front?
Regulator RF Resonant Gloss Black
Regulator RSM Offset Hole Gloss Blackor RSM Offset Hole Gloss Black
Regulator RPT Center Port Resonant Gloss Black
 
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To further what @bpaluzzi said, I is probably going to the most relatively open sounding version, III the one with the most attack/punch but least resonance. II somewhere in the middle.
Superkicks would be great for what you’re looking for I think.
If you’re thinking your BD would often be mic’ed, I would get a resonant head with a bit of muffling on it as well. Or avoid a full pillow but bring a towel that you can put inside the drum and adjust to taste depending on the room and your micing situation.
 
smittyboy63 said:
This thing? I have a 24" bass drum...
Super Kick I Clear

Aquarian has the Super Kick I, II, and III.
Does anyone know the differences?

Also, how would one of these sound on the front?
Regulator RF Resonant Gloss Black
Regulator RSM Offset Hole Gloss Blackor RSM Offset Hole Gloss Black
Regulator RPT Center Port Resonant Gloss Black
Click to expand...
Correction, my 20 BD has an Aquarian Super Kick II , and a Remo Flalam Slam (something) patch where the beater hits.

I have zero experience with a 24 BD but I think you won't go wrong with a Super Kick III , as mpd_utoronto says.
 
jabrams said:
Correction, my 20 BD has an Aquarian Super Kick II , and a Remo Flalam Slam (something) patch where the beater hits.

I have zero experience with a 24 BD but I think you won't go wrong with a Super Kick III , as mpd_utoronto says.
Click to expand...
I have a 24” SuperKick III on a 70s Premier Elite. Smooth white Ambassador with a 10” center hole reso.

You can feel the thump in your chest even through the walls of my house haha.
 
I personally prefer a kick with laundry. Always Aquarian Superkick I or Remo Powerstroke 3. I also like black dot (CS) Powerstroke 3.
 
smittyboy63 said:
What about the Super Kick 10?
Click to expand...
That's an ultra-thick 2-ply.

SuperKick I and Super Kick III are one 10-mil ply (like an Ambassador)
SuperKick II is two 7-mil plies (like an Emperor)
SuperKick 10 is two 10-mil plies
 
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The Superkick 1 is very controlled. The Superkick 2 even more so. I used a Superkick 1 and a ported Regulator reso head on my 22" Yamaha Stage Custom bass drum. That combination doesn't need any kind of extra muffling inside the drum. It's a tight sound, but also quieter. If you google Superkick quiet you'll find plenty of people talking about how it's not as loud as an unmuffled head. Whether that works for you or not is up for you to decide.

On my Ludwigs I've been using the Full Force 1 and 2 (unported) on the batter and reso, along with an Evans EQ pillow that barely touches both heads, because I was tired of the more muted sound from the Yamaha kick drum. Those are both single ply heads with vented control rings on the inside, so there is a slight amount of dampening like a powerstroke 3, but nothing like a Superkick.
 
It depends on your type of music and the type of sound you’re looking for. Most companies offer multiple levels of pre-muffled heads. Personality I prefer the first level, like the REMO PS3’s. I recommend any style of head that is a PS3 muffled head. If you are a gigging drummer and play multiple types of music I would start out with a PS3 type head. You can always add muffling as needed but once you progress to a more heavily pre-muffled head you can’t back up. I play Classic Country and Big Band so the PS3 and a hand towel work for me.

I use a Clear PS3 batter head and a PS3 Fiberskyn, Coated, Smooth White and I used a Ebony PS3 years ago.

sherm
 
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