Affect of kick port holes on sound
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Chris Whitten
Platinum Member
I'm not sure about that.
It focusses the sound and removes a lot of extra resonance and boom, so maybe that makes people think it's added low end.
I prefer a port myself.
It focusses the sound and removes a lot of extra resonance and boom, so maybe that makes people think it's added low end.
I prefer a port myself.
TK-421
Senior Member
Many years ago I played with a solid reso head. When I finally decided to port it, I immediately noticed the increased bottom end. I later added a Kickport, which added even more bottom end, though it was a bit more subtle than when I initially cut the port hole.
In addition to the enhanced low frequencies and mic placement advantages, a port also changes the feel of the bass drum, as it instantly releases internal air pressure with every stroke, making the batter head feel more giving with less bounce back. Whether that is an improvement is up to you, but I went from playing heel down to heel up and now I can’t really even play a kick without a port.
In addition to the enhanced low frequencies and mic placement advantages, a port also changes the feel of the bass drum, as it instantly releases internal air pressure with every stroke, making the batter head feel more giving with less bounce back. Whether that is an improvement is up to you, but I went from playing heel down to heel up and now I can’t really even play a kick without a port.
jda
Diamond Member
need a word for Concert tom when applied to Bass drum with either a port or no head at all.
Of all the language we've developed.. Would a Bass Drum with no front head be called "Ported Bass"..
and with No front head " Concert Bass?"
BITD My shin didn't like "concert bass" (no front head) and is why I won't use a "ported" front bass head today.
It's too stiff on my Leg bone.
(connected to the ham bone
Of all the language we've developed.. Would a Bass Drum with no front head be called "Ported Bass"..
and with No front head " Concert Bass?"
BITD My shin didn't like "concert bass" (no front head) and is why I won't use a "ported" front bass head today.
It's too stiff on my Leg bone.
(connected to the ham bone
Odd-Arne Oseberg
Platinum Member
Size and placement can change sound a lot. Try it with no reso and you'll definitely feel it.
Not that commone these days, but David Garibaldi has the hole in the middle.
Personally, I've just stuck with the standard hole one the aside. I've cut a few myself, but most often it's just a come ready PS3.
Nothing wrong with doing something different. It's just a common thing. The average soundguy is used to it, I know how to get a good sound from it and of course, I have easy access to adjust the dampening inside which is nothing special inside. An old square sleeping bag of mine that I cut in two. One piece for my cay and one piece for my bass drum.
Not that commone these days, but David Garibaldi has the hole in the middle.
Personally, I've just stuck with the standard hole one the aside. I've cut a few myself, but most often it's just a come ready PS3.
Nothing wrong with doing something different. It's just a common thing. The average soundguy is used to it, I know how to get a good sound from it and of course, I have easy access to adjust the dampening inside which is nothing special inside. An old square sleeping bag of mine that I cut in two. One piece for my cay and one piece for my bass drum.
dboomer
Senior Member
A ported head will result in less beater rebound. Probably good if you bounce your beater and not if you bury it.
It doesn't increase low frequencies but rather it converts the lowest frequencies up a bit. So you get stronger mid bass but not low bass. This depends on the exact size of the port hole in relationship to the internal volume of the drum. One size does not fit all (also a problem with kickports). It is called Helmholtz resonance and it is the same bass speaker cabinets.
For me, a ported head gives more attack but less sustain and less tone. If you are micing a drum you have lots of ways to modify that. But when you are acoustic only it results in a dead drum for my money. YMMV
It doesn't increase low frequencies but rather it converts the lowest frequencies up a bit. So you get stronger mid bass but not low bass. This depends on the exact size of the port hole in relationship to the internal volume of the drum. One size does not fit all (also a problem with kickports). It is called Helmholtz resonance and it is the same bass speaker cabinets.
For me, a ported head gives more attack but less sustain and less tone. If you are micing a drum you have lots of ways to modify that. But when you are acoustic only it results in a dead drum for my money. YMMV
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Rock Salad
Silver Member
It doesn't A/B well. Tensioning the resonant side has different sweet spots for ported vs not. The port lets me tune the reso up high for some tone, unported at that kind of tension turns the drum in to something like a tom tom
Out of Round
Well-known Member
Agreed. The sweet spots for tuning are in different places and tough to find if you are mostly used to one or the other.
I recently played around with the unported reso on my new kit. I was getting used to the pedal feel, but couldn't really find a tuning solution that I loved. I ended up porting the reso, which was my plan anyway.
On different sized kicks over the years I've cut a 4" hole in the reso, basically as small as I can get away with when considering most mic sizes.
I've noticed a sweet spot by tuning the reso a lot tighter and backing off tension as soon as that basketball "sproing" starts to be heard. I've found a nice cavernous tone that still has thump. I can consistently replicate it on different kits and it works for me.
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Larry
"Uncle Larry"
I couldn't get a sound I liked with a full front head with no muffling recording in my studio, try as I might. I had to cut a hole and muffle.
The full front head, tuned boingy tight, lightly muffled with a king sized sheet inside, and rebounding the beater...that's my tone for unmiced.
I can't do the bury the beater thing with a full front head. I get the dribbles. To my ear it doesn't optimize the bass frequencies either compared to the bass frequencies that a full front head makes. Again, to my ear there's very little if any boom in a ported head. But in the studio I'm guessing they use ported heads 99% of the time.
I like a big, boomy bass drum for live unmiced. But that doesn't fly in my studio, so ported and muffled heavier for any recording. The head choice and tuning idiosyncracies also makes a marked difference in the resolved timbre
The full front head, tuned boingy tight, lightly muffled with a king sized sheet inside, and rebounding the beater...that's my tone for unmiced.
I can't do the bury the beater thing with a full front head. I get the dribbles. To my ear it doesn't optimize the bass frequencies either compared to the bass frequencies that a full front head makes. Again, to my ear there's very little if any boom in a ported head. But in the studio I'm guessing they use ported heads 99% of the time.
I like a big, boomy bass drum for live unmiced. But that doesn't fly in my studio, so ported and muffled heavier for any recording. The head choice and tuning idiosyncracies also makes a marked difference in the resolved timbre
