Bass drum depth

I'm looking into buying a new kit soon (most likely a Tama Superstar, as it fits my price range and seems to be what I'm looking for) and I'm wondering how bass drum depth will affect the sound of the drum. I play mostly rock and metal music, so I'd like a nice deep and powerful bass drum. What I've heard is that really deep bass drums, say, 20 inches or more, tend to sound muddy and lose tone because they are so deep. Is this true? Would I be better sticking with an 18" deep bass drum (which seems to be the standard), and then taking a 22" or 24" diameter to give me that deep sound that I want? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
20" deep kicks are mostly for a nicer visual appearance; the sound will not sound too too different, save for some possible unwanted resonance. Slap an EMAD on it and you'll be fine... although you might get a better rock sound out of an 18", simply because you'll get a punchier kick out of it.
 
There is a very strong bias on this board toward shallower kicks. Simple physics says that a larger air mass has a higher compliance and therefore a lower resonant frequency. So all other things being equal, a deeper shell will have a lower natural frequency. Now, another bias here is against ported front heads. If you are playing in places where you're not micing the kick and don't have a larger drum monitor set up (with a sub back there) then you can get that old school boom with a note. But if you are sticking a mic inside the drum, or into a front head port, there is no difference in the speed of the drum "speaking".

Now, there will be less reflection from the reso head so the feel will be different.

There have been recording engineers who stacked extra shells in front of a kick drum, or made a long tunnel with packing blankets to get an extra deep killer kick sound. Not practical live, but you get the idea.

Personally, I never really liked that 14 x 26 sound. I played in the 70's when folks wanted to be Ginger Baker and all. It was a bitch muffling those things so that they didn't create a wash of boom like a symphonic or marching bass drum. Guys with double bass drums sounded like tympani's and washed out everything down low.
 
I agree with Aeolian. In all honesty, longer kicks produce a somewhat lower note, but also resonate far longer. If you have a 20" deep kick and port, you'll have the note of a larger bass drum but still be able to control how long it sounds.
 
+1 on everything so far. I have one question for you, will your kick be mic'd most/all of the time? If so, the depth of kick drum is largely irrelevant. The difference in real world bottom end between say 18" depth & 22" depth is about +2 db on the bass eq, if that. Same deal when recording. If you're not planning on micing much, the extra depth will give additional shell resonance and a slightly greater perception of depth with an unported reso head. If you want more bottom end, especially subsonics, then bigger diameter is the way to go. Put simply, the bigger diameter head resonates at a lower frequency and also moves more air. Control becomes the issue but modern heads such as Evans Emad will sort that out nicely.
 
“Power” comes in the form of the column of air that causes the resonant head to vibrate. So just apply some logic. The longer the column of air, the more power required to cause the other head to vibrate. It also means that the duration of time from the time the stick hits the head, to the time the resonant head vibrates, is longer. This results in a “fatter” tone, a tone that takes up more space in time whereas shallow drums become more “articulate” and take up a shorter space in time.
 
I have played several kits with deep bass drums.
Perhaps Im, "Old School" but I wasn't impressed.
The deep drums sounded good, (slightly different tone) and everything was fine as far as playability goes.
I simply can't see the need for them.
A mic in a shallow bass drum works just fine for me when I need one.
To me it was just a larger heaver thing to transport and set up.
Also, I have never seen the need for a bass drum that is larger than 14" x 22".
I actually prefer a 20" or an 18" diameter bass drum.
 
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What Bob just mentioned may be a larger concern to you than the sound - the transport. Finding bags or cases for those larger, deeper drums can be a pain, and then it's more drum to haul in and out of everywhere. That's why I went with a 16x20... less drum to move.
 
What Bob just mentioned may be a larger concern to you than the sound - the transport. Finding bags or cases for those larger, deeper drums can be a pain, and then it's more drum to haul in and out of everywhere. That's why I went with a 16x20... less drum to move.
I agree, 16 x20 is a perfect size.
Great boom and/or thump. Low enough to set your toms on top just the way that you like them.
Easy to fit on a small stage or in a smaller car.
 
All a matter of opinion. I have a 22x16, 18x14 and a 22x20, my favorite is the 22x20. Very low, deep punch.. I play the 18x14 mostly because the people who live above me tend to get a little angry when I get the cannon out :)
 
I have played several kits with deep bass drums.
Perhaps Im, "Old School" but I wasn't impressed.
Also, I have never seen the need for a bass drum that is larger than 14" x 22".

Agreed! 14x22 is a perfect size for rock or jazz (Joe Morello used one with Dave Brubeck, after all). It's super-responsive in terms of sound and it's easy to carry; I can't imagine trying to haul a 20x22 out of the house regularly for gigs. Ain't no way!
 
As Aeolian said before, there's a strong bias here for shallower bass drums. Honestly, I think it's mostly because folks are enamored with Bonham and 70s rock.
 
As Aeolian said before, there's a strong bias here for shallower bass drums. Honestly, I think it's mostly because folks are enamored with Bonham and 70s rock.

HA! That and double bass. I'm waiting for a use to adopt the name DoubleBassZep and all will be complete.

I like deep drums. The Western trap set is maybe 70-80 years old. People have been playing drums for tens of thousands of years and from what we can tell, the drums were usually deeper than wide.

I play an 18 by 18 kick. I love the chomp you get with a deep drum, correctly tuned with thicker heads. Lots of attack, lots of depth and resonance.
 
I like em all. The shallower ones are faster, more immediate. I play a 22 diameter x 20 deep, muffled, ported. I love it. It's got a deep punch that hits you right in the chest. It all depends on how you set the drum up, you can get many different tones.
I could go to a 14" depth kick no problem. As long as it's a 22 or 24" diameter, that's the frequencies I like. 26 is too much boom for me. To my ear, diameter is the more important measurement.
 
As Aeolian said before, there's a strong bias here for shallower bass drums. Honestly, I think it's mostly because folks are enamored with Bonham and 70s rock.
If I get another kit built to order, it'll probably be square sizes. I fully subscribe to the deep drum feel. Deeper drum means more shell involvement in the sound. The further the pressure waves travel back & forth in the shell, the more confused they become. Call it a chorus effect if you like. Either way, the result is a fatter, less defined tone result. I'm not saying it's the way to go for everyone, I just like the whole effect. To be honest, mic'd up, it makes little difference. Certainly nothing a bit of eq can't sort out. Same with recording. The biggest difference is offered by diameter, head choice & tuning. The moment you tune the reso & batter heads differently, you negate almost all depth effect anyhow.

Each to their own. Certainly don't go with fashion. If forum concensus was the driver, we'd all be playing tambourine depth drums.
 
Am I the only one who would rather make sure I have nice shells that feel best for me to play on too? A nice kit is going to give me a nice sound as long as it has decent heads and is tuned well...

I like smaller drum sizes in general because of the response and feel I get from it (and the general sound, but that's besides my point here). As much as I would love a little bit more low end from a couple extra inches on a tom sometimes, having deeper toms is more of a pain to set up and the difference in feel bothers me much more than the relatively small difference in sound within the same diameter.

I've yet to play a smaller diameter kick that's square sized, but I'd like to just to see. The one 22x14 I played sounded pretty awesome and I absolutely adored the response, quite comparable to my 20x17.5... That's leading me to believe that by sacrificing just a touch of resonance and getting a slightly shorter depth bass drum I can get an even better response/feel without completely changing the sound I'm looking for too.

That's just the way I look at it I suppose.
 
Just to play oddball I wouldn't mind trying out a 20" or a 22"x19" kick :p
 
As Aeolian said before, there's a strong bias here for shallower bass drums. Honestly, I think it's mostly because folks are enamored with Bonham and 70s rock.

I think that's a ridiculous generalization....

I prefer shallower bass drums (never owned anything deeper than 16) because I like the way they sound and feel. I also prefer not to take up half the stage with my equipment at shows... and half my car with the bass drum.

It has nothing to do with "Bonham" and "70's rock"... it has everything to do with experienced drummers knowing what the pro's and cons are. Did you ever think there might be a reason for that bias beyond fashion?
 
I prefer a 20" depth on the bass drum, no matter what the diam is.

I just like the sound and the feeling better.

I like 18" deep bass drums also, but for what I want out of a bass drum, how I muffle, how I play, I like the 20" depth the most.

I wouldn't tell anyone what size to get because it's all in what you want from the drum.

If you wanted a slightly lower tone, then a deeper shell will give you that. If you want the deeper sound but not as slow a feel, then a 20, 22, or 24 will do that.

And, how "slow", or "boomy", or whatever a larger drum may be, it all depends on how you tune, play, and the heads you choose. That goes for any diameter, not just 24 and up IME.

Even though most of my bass drums are big, I can play any volume I want with them, and they sound great no matter how light or hard it's played.

A big (or deep) bass drum doesn't have to be slammed all the time to sound great.

Everyone digs something different, so just play on as many different size and depths as you can.

Good luck!
 
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