22x20 kick playability

Atlas

Junior Member
Hey whats up everybody,

I'm thinking of ordering a new kit, and was interested in a 22x20 kick. I've read quite a bit on it, and was wondering if anyone has hands on experience playing one? From what I've read some people claim that it is harder to play than say a 22x16-18..Is that true? I talked to a fairly knowledgable dude at a music store and was saying a 22x20 can sound pretty big almost like a 24 if tuned properly.

I Figured I could muffle it also, but I'm just concerned with the playability of it. If it really is "harder to play".
 
You're going to get less response (feedback) from the resonant head, since it's so much further away. This can be good or bad, depending on how you play your pedal. If you like to take advantage of the rebound, you'll have to work harder. If you tend to get beater "flutter", you'll probably benefit from the longer depth.

Also, the longer bass drum will be difficult to transport and may not fit on many stages.
 
I think your biggest problem is going to be getting cases and loading onto a stage. A 22"x20" cannon-shaped drum is more than a little impractical. It would be more practical to actually buy the drum with a bigger diameter and a shorter length.
 
I talked to a fairly knowledgable dude at a music store and was saying a 22x20 can sound pretty big almost like a 24 if tuned properly.
I know it's not your main enquiry, but I can't help but reply to this point. You can tune most 22" drums to sound almost like a 24", but it's depth has very little to do with that. Unless the drum is very specifically designed to be that depth, a 20" deep bass drum will typically produce more overtones & accordingly, less useable deep bottom end than a more standard depth drum. Muffling it to reduce those overtones will further greatly weaken the low end tone projection.
 
I think anything deeper than 18" is just overkill. Sonically it may seem that it's bigger sounding but in actuality it's just not that much of a difference. If you want that dark & wet "oof" then use the proper drum heads and treatment of the drum. If you're going to be recording with the drum then having a good mic designed for lower frequencies such as a Shure Beta52 or AKG D112.
 
I talked to a fairly knowledgable dude at a music store and was saying a 22x20 can sound pretty big almost like a 24 if tuned properly.

two different animals. One is a deep drum in which you hear more overtones, less fundamental. The other (if 24 x 14, or 24 x 16) not so.

To get to your question though 'feel' is very personal. For me a shallow bass drum always feels better. I'd never get deeper than 16 even.
 
Thanks for the help everyone.. Im just looking for a nice big, yet punchy kind of kick, thats responsive..Would a 24x14-16 be a better alternative? For toms I'm getting 8x12 rack tom, and 16x16 floor tom..Would a 24" sound alright with these other sizes?

LOL at BacteriumFendYoke
 
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Thanks for the help everyone.. Im just looking for a nice big, yet punchy kind of kick, thats responsive..Would a 24x14 be a better alternative?

LOL at BacteriumFendYoke


You'll find a difference in feel more with the diameter of the drum than of the depth. A 24" drum will feel far different than a 22". The thing is to play them, see what *you* like.
 
IDK, I played a 22 dia x 20 depth DW for about 4 years. I rebound the beater fully so it makes no difference what the depth is as far as feel goes IMO. Some people don't like kicks that deep (Caddy springs to mind) but I never felt like I was working too hard or anything. I like all bass drums. From a 20" depth down to a 12. If you bury the beater, I'm not sure if a shallow would have better playability than a deeper drum. If you do rebound it fully, depth really shouldn't matter for feel, just guessing there. Tone would be different than from a shallow drum, but that's another subject.
 
If you do rebound it fully, depth really shouldn't matter for feel, just guessing there.

If you use little, to no dampening, the deeper shell will negate the effect of the resonant head helping to rebound the beater.
 
If you use little, to no dampening, the deeper shell will negate the effect of the resonant head helping to rebound the beater.

A couple of things aren't adding up. Now this is just a theory...but I'm pretty sure I get the beater off the head before any bounceback of the air column. I don't rely on the air column to get my foot out of the way. It's all about me getting my foot out of the way before the strike. I let the built up inertia of the beater do the last 10% (guess) of the stroke while I get my foot the hell out of the way, so the natural progression of the sudden stopping of the beater on the head... then the bounceback of the air column from the inside of the resonant head to the inside of the batter head...combined with the spring on the pedal... I want to say that's what makes the beater fly back.

A deeper bass drum might technically slow the air column rebound but really, if you think about it, with sound waves travelling at around 1100 ft a second, another few inches of bass drum depth isn't going to mean diddly squat.

You've been in a multi story house and felt someone shut the front door. You've seen it pull barely open doors closed upstairs. It's suction acting over a distance of about 10 feet, sometimes a lot more. In a funny shaped, non closed environment. A non ported bass drum is almost a perfectly sealed chamber. It's close to perfect.

If anything, I would think muffling, especially restricting the inside movement of the head with blankets and pillows, that will put the parking brake on head travel at least where it's touching. That would negate stuff more than a wide open drum would. I think.

Sorry to disagree dsop. Any thoughts?
 
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My Saturn Bass drum is a 22x20. I have had shallower drums in the past and to me there is no discernible difference in the feel from the depth. How much tension you have in the head and whether the drum has a full reso or a port will make much more difference. The difference in sound I have is purely down to the different construction of the drum, the lower amount of damping that I use in the drum (just some acoustic foam to stop the tennis ball sound, no blankets or pillows for me) and the tuning I now use over the other drums I had before.

The size is a pain in the rear however at times in narrow corridors and on smaller stages. Those extra 2 inches really do make a big difference....
 
two different animals. One is a deep drum in which you hear more overtones, less fundamental. The other (if 24 x 14, or 24 x 16) not so.

I'm a little confused here. I haven't played a wide enough variety of kicks to comment based on personal experience but this seems counter to something like Octobans. They're all the same diameter and the depth of the shell is what gives it bottom end (longer yields more bass). Granted, the resonant head plays a major role here (Octobans are single headed) but it seems if all other things are equal, the deeper shell should give a deeper sound. Someone please explain why this is not the case. Like I said, it's confusing.
 
Sorry to disagree dsop. Any thoughts?

Yes. Try it out and see if you honestly find no difference.

Two bass drums. One 22 x 14, and one 22 x 20. No dampening, no holes, same tension on single ply heads.

Now play a samba pattern.

The shallower drum will sound better, but the deeper drum will be easier to play.

Power toms vs. regular toms have a similar difference.
 
Yes. Try it out and see if you honestly find no difference.

Two bass drums. One 22 x 14, and one 22 x 20. No dampening, no holes, same tension on single ply heads.

Now play a samba pattern.

The shallower drum will sound better, but the deeper drum will be easier to play.

Power toms vs. regular toms have a similar difference.

I will try this.I have unported drums in both these exact sizes. How does a samba go again lol?

I'm sorry, why is the deeper drum easier to play? I'm not understanding.
 
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