John Q. Drummer
Active Member
(Not looking to trash any of the providers of these items. Simply looking for potential affirmation on my suspicions.)
I’ve ordered custom front bass drum heads for current gigging kit from both VintageLogos and DrumArt. I’m very pleased with the price, turnaround time and durability of the heads I’ve purchased from either place, except for one tiny issue…
Man, they just don’t make my bass drums sound as good as I know they can. I’ve discovered the hard way that I have to tune those front heads differently than I would if I wasn’t using a custom head.
My bass drums are predominately 20”, but I have ordered and used a couple of 22” heads in the past. All custom front heads are non-ported and have full artwork. My bass drums are usually minimally muffled. (Meaning that most times there is a pad installed but not touching either head. Simply there to focus the sound, reduce to the airiness or get rid of the “basketball” sound.) All of my gigging kits have the Kelly Shu installed.
Based on my experience, I’m thinking that the artwork is adding substantial mass to the head, which in turn deadens the head to a point that I have to tighten it up much higher to get the bass drum to sound “acceptable”. I’m not, nor have I ever been a JAW tuner for my bass drum. It’s always around a half turn higher than that with regular, non-artwork heads. (Which is usually a Remo Smooth White PS3.)
Anyone else ever observe something similar with your custom front bass drum heads? Got any tips?
I’ve ordered custom front bass drum heads for current gigging kit from both VintageLogos and DrumArt. I’m very pleased with the price, turnaround time and durability of the heads I’ve purchased from either place, except for one tiny issue…
Man, they just don’t make my bass drums sound as good as I know they can. I’ve discovered the hard way that I have to tune those front heads differently than I would if I wasn’t using a custom head.
My bass drums are predominately 20”, but I have ordered and used a couple of 22” heads in the past. All custom front heads are non-ported and have full artwork. My bass drums are usually minimally muffled. (Meaning that most times there is a pad installed but not touching either head. Simply there to focus the sound, reduce to the airiness or get rid of the “basketball” sound.) All of my gigging kits have the Kelly Shu installed.
Based on my experience, I’m thinking that the artwork is adding substantial mass to the head, which in turn deadens the head to a point that I have to tighten it up much higher to get the bass drum to sound “acceptable”. I’m not, nor have I ever been a JAW tuner for my bass drum. It’s always around a half turn higher than that with regular, non-artwork heads. (Which is usually a Remo Smooth White PS3.)
Anyone else ever observe something similar with your custom front bass drum heads? Got any tips?