Birch kick

yes usually it will be, thats what ive learned from my experiences. and if you are going to play funk, go for one of those 20x18's and tune it how we have said and jack it up a bit with the spurs and bingo . if you have the money consider buying a pearl vision VSX kit, they are nice drums and very well made. and i think they would suit you if you got some good heads for em and tuned them right .

MadJazz said:

Some time ago there was an in depth article on kicks in modern drummer, and 20x18 came out as the most interesting size.

Does a coated reso actually influence the sound since the coating is applied on the outside of the head? Will the sound difference between coated and black be audible?

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A coated head is warmer, period...so yes....

Drumrunner said:

Yes it will. With probably any head you want. And if you get a 22" kick the superkick 1 would be my first choice in a head. Punchy with good volume.

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I second this. I would opt for a 22" over a 20" if I was trying to maximize low end. From my experience, a maple kick drum seems to have a little bit more of a "full" sound than the birch but as for the deep sound, I would put birch right alongside maple. I've messed around with some different heads on my Starclassic performer kicks and the Aquarian superkick II, tuned medium-low tension with very little to no dampening inside sounds really nice. I prefer a low snappy sound but where there is still some "body" to the drum. I tried the powerstroke3 and it had good volume but there seemed to be certain frequencies (the annoying ones) that the powerstroke3 let ring out while the superkick seemed to control them, giving a bit smoother low-end.

Every single time I am in a recoding situation that I have had a choice in kick drums, I have ended up using birch ones. I favor maple toms, but I love a good old birch kick. Maybe it's just a peach, but I have a Tama starclassic performer kit from 1995 in 22x18. Evans Emad (1 ply). It is absolutley soul crushing. I wish I could say that for the toms. I wouldn't get caught up in the maple or birch thing if I were you. Just A/B the kits and pick what your ears like.

Just adding on to what drumac just said...I wouldn't get too hung up about maple vs birch (generally). I realize this is a gear forum, and the purpose is to dissect the details around gear, choices, etc. That said, nothing beats good tuning...good heads...and knowing where and how to hit the drum (kick, toms, snare, etc.) I have a birch Yamaha RC 22x18 from 1988 (HOT RED) that sounds just as thunderous as my new DW 22 Maple. In fact, I often record with the maple toms and the birch kick...guess I just learned that's reverse Gadd. BTW...I use SuperKick I on both kicks. Love those things! A good bass is a good bass!

drumac said:

Every single time I am in a recoding situation that I have had a choice in kick drums, I have ended up using birch ones. I favor maple toms, but I love a good old birch kick. Maybe it's just a peach, but I have a Tama starclassic performer kit from 1995 in 22x18. Evans Emad (1 ply). It is absolutley soul crushing. I wish I could say that for the toms. I wouldn't get caught up in the maple or birch thing if I were you. Just A/B the kits and pick what your ears like.

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That's interesting you say that about your Tama kick. I have a 20" junker from a Tama Rockstar that I have absolutely loved. I bet its from the mid-late 90's as well. It looks like crap, but has beef and punch! Mmmmmm beef....