Bass drum head

[StevieD]

Can someone explain the pros and cons of having the hole in the bass drum head or not?

Thanks!!

[Lucius]

Sound guys go nuts if you dont have one is one reason... hehe :D

[StevieD]

so I'f I'm not playing anywhere where I'm mic'd is there a better way to go??

[mauricio]

A hole in your front head will allow more air to come out of the drum upon impact, thus changing the way your stroke feels. If you decide to cut a hole in your head, start small and gradually go up.

If you´re not going to mike the drum, then I strongly suggest you don´t do anything to the head - no hole. That will force you to have better foot technique (you´ll have to control the rebound a little more)

[OB1Drums]

Stevie D,
We put holes in our bass drum heads to allow for a microphone. Holes also release air causing the drum to decay faster and produce more of a "thud" sound. A resonant head with no hole tends to produce more of a boom sound. You can tune either type head to produce "boom" or "thud" using different tuning techniques. You can buy heads with holes such as the Aqaurian Regulator. This head comes with the hole and a felt muffle on the backside of the head. Remo sells a "hole template kit" with different sizes to chose from. Make sure you pull the bass head off the drum before attempting to cut it. Hope that answers your questions.

[StevieD]

all right, I got the new head on, and I'm getting to like it, (I also bought one of those new Evans heads with the external dampning but haven't put that on yet,) and Now I am looking for advise on tuning the Bass drum, It seems that the only way I can get a good low tone that I am happy is by having both heads quite loose. any other thoughts??

By the way Thank you to all that have been so helpful!!!!

[Lad.]

I just thought of this...maybe that's why my bass drum isn't producing the sound I want it to? Maybe if I had a front head with no hole, it would have more of a boom to it...then again, without a hole in the front it just cramps my style...hmm

[MaltBuddow3]

I was just playing with my bass drum tuning too. I have a 22x18, and I had the heads loose, but to really get that big "PHAT" sound I tuned both heads up a good bit, and that increased its volume by about 50%! Now it has that great attack you want on recordings, but with a lot of body, so maybe you should try tuning both heads a little tighter.

Be sure to post your results!

[StevieD]

I don't know, I tried tuning them up a bit, but it sounds too hight now, so I'm dack to tuned down, and almost getting ready to cut a hole in it, or put the old (holed) Head back on....