Whats your Preference??

Drilled bass drum or undrillied bass drum!!!

when i bought my kit i was very keen on not having drilled bass drums!!!!

Should we assume you're talking about "virgin" kicks?

If so, bear in mind that the (slight) difference in sound comes from taking the weight of the (bass drum mounted) rack toms off the bass drum--not the absence of holes. You get the same improvement by taking the rack toms off of a drilled bass drum.

It's worth noting, though, that if you like to stuff futons in your bass drum for muffing purposes you're not likely to hear much difference between "virgin" and "non-virgin" (it's taking all my willpower not to employ a more colorful term here).

Even "virgin" kicks have holes in them for the spur mounts and lug screws.

I prefer a virgin kick if for no other reason than I can put it where I want without rearranging
other drums. I use a rack so everything else is over the bass drum and can be arranged to fit my needs.

I like a virgin just because it looks so cool, especially if you have a natural wood finished kit. And it makes sense for me cuz I just use one rack tom and put it on a snare stand.

I think that each method has its own advantages. . .for studio work, it's nice to have every drum isolated so that the full sound potential of the kit can be realized, but when I'm playing gigs around town, it's more convenient (for me) to mount the toms on the bass drum.

When I buy a new kit, I'll get a virgin bass and a May internal mic mount for the BD. However, here's my cheapo version. With my current Pacific CX's and Tama Rockstars prior, I was already using a rack and so the air coming out of the BD mount hole would make my 2nd rack tom ring (even with a small offset hole in the BD reso) because it hovered over the empty BD tom mount bracket. A coworker at a music store I used to manage found an old part (turned out to be a Gibraltar part, but mine's black rather than the chrome one here: http://gibraltarhardware.com/?fa=hires&mid=1246) and asked me if I wanted it. Turns out it's the same diameter as my old BD tom mount. So I got my memory lock from the tom mount, put the Gib. part inside my BD, hanging upside-down from the tom mounting bracket on the BD sticking just far enough out to put the memory lock on it, flush with the end of the tube- i.e. now the mounting bracket on the BD just looks like the memory lock is sitting on top of it. I then took an old mic stand boom arm, sawed it off about 5" from the threaded end, put it on the clamp of the Gib. part, put my cheapo Samson BD mic on it, and voila- instant internal mic mount. If it makes any residual noise through the mic, I can't hear it. (Maybe the plastic lining of the mounting bracket insulates it somewhat?) I only use the memory lock as a failsafe against the mic and hardware arm falling out and onto the inside bottom of the BD shell, in case the wingnut on the bracket loosens during play or transport.

So, those of you with BD's with a hole and bracket on the top, there's another use for it. Try it out! -Tim

RICHY-18 said:

Drilled bass drum or undrillied bass drum!!!

when i bought my kit i was very keen on not having drilled bass drums!!!!

Click to expand...

This is sort of like the wrap vs. lacquer question that used to permeate the internet a few years ago.
Its more about individual preference than anything else.

Personally, I find it really doesn't seem to make much difference, sonically, whether one drills their BD for a tom mount, or doesn't.
Aesthetically? Yeah, there can be a difference, but I like both looks.
Portage? I used to have a kit where the tom was mounted on a snare stand. It really wasn't a huge deal to have to pack around that extra snare stand.

I've played on kits where the BD was drilled and the tom mounted on the drum, the BD was drilled and the tom was not mounted on the drum, the BD wasn't drilled and the tom was mounted on the drum, the BD wasn't drilled and the tom was not mounted on the drum, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah.

No difference, or at least one so minute, it reallly doesn't make a difference. Sorry if that bothers anyone, but that's been MY experience.

These days, I prefer the tom on a BD mounted tom mount. It puts the tom where I prefer it, plus, it gives me a smaller footprint on-stage.



Elvis

drumtechdad said:

Even "virgin" kicks have holes in them for the spur mounts and lug screws.

Click to expand...

Unless that drum is single-tensioned and uses clip-on spurs...Maybe that's what RICHY-18 has?
(I'm asking, I don't really know)



Elvis