Kickin' it

Kick

Your kick is the center of your kit and the low end driver behind most tunes.

Let’s have a look at what you need to consider when creating your own sound.

There are two schools of thought here those drummers that look for a thump without an identifiable note and those who want a tone or note out of their kick.

The thumpers out there are looking for the lowest sound their kick can produce and are looking for feel rather than a sound.

To get this out of your kick you are going to need a thicker head so look for a two ply head for both batter (back) and resonant (front). I always start with the batter head tuning my 2 ply head until its finger tight all the way around. I then switch to a key and tune until the wrinkles disappear and then add a quarter to half more turn to each lug. My reso head gets finger tightened then I carefully tune using the key until the wrinkles just disappear. This is as low as she will go brother.

If you find there is too many overtones add a pillow and let it touch the batter head slightly. Want more? Swap out the pillow for a folded blanket and fold it so it touches both the batter and reso heads. Don’t stuff your kick drum full of blankets, newspaper or pillows it just deadens all the overtones and your drum will be lost in the mix.

Personally, I like my kick to have a tone, so I tune the batter a little tighter, another ¼ to ½ turn on each lug. The front head I tune until I get a sound out of the drum I love. Remember keep the turns on each lug the same so you are not pulling the hoop down more on one side than the other as this is the cause of most tuning issues. I use single ply heads and add a Kevlar pad to prevent breakage. Remo, Aquarian and Evans all make great heads so pick a brand and go for it.

The reso head on many kick drums have a hole cut into them and many drummers think this is a necessary modification which just is not true. Kick drums only need a hole if you are planning to mic the batter head for recording purposes. Even when playing live gigs you don’t require a hole you can simply mic up the reso head and get a full rich tone.

As with any drum I suggest before taking any action that is irreversible like cutting holes you should have a friend play your kick while you stand back at least 20 feet. A well-tuned kick drum sounds like a canon at 20 feet because the wave length of the sound needs that much distance to “Bloom”. Standing too close does not give you the true impression of what the drum sounds like to your audience. This is also true for your bass player. He needs to do the same and step 20 feet or more away from his amp to get a true sonic image of his sound. You may be surprised that tuning your kit just a little higher many not sound quite so good from the drum throne, but awesome just a few feet away.

Bass drum technique has an enormous impact on your sound. If like me you mash the beater into the head and leave it there your sound will be different and probably worse than the drummer who removes the beater from the head quickly allowing the drum to vibrate fully with each stroke.

Switching from a felt beater to plastic or wood will also impact your sound. If I am playing funk I want that wood beater hammering out the dance beat. If it’s a Jazz gig the wooly beater gives it a warm mellow vibe. Lengthening the stroke, adding weight to the beater, adjusting the angle of your foot board, and changing the tension on the spring all add and remove subtle sonic signatures and make you sound like you.

When I played a 1960’s Ludwig I only used a felt stripe running between the shell and the skin on the front head. My DW kit sounds best with a Evans drum pillow, my Pearl kit likes a folded blanket and my Ayotte Custom Kit sounds huge completely empty. Experiment with your kit and try adding and removing material until you find the formula that works best for you.

Micing a kick also requires some fiddling. I like a small 5 or 6 inch hole in the reso hear into which I stick a Shure Beta 52. I love the round tone with just the right amount of beater click and fat bottom end. My drummer friends who play metal prefer the Audix D6 a clicky quick mic that captures each stroke with speed and accuracy. Some like the fuzzier woolly sound of the AKG 112.

For me it’s as much about placement as mic type. I have found placing the mic in the center of a 22” kick with the capsule pointed at the beater is my preferred placement. Many engineers place the mic half in and half out of the hole in the skin while others like the sound of the front reso head miced just a foot off the skin. I suggest you try them all and come to you own conclusions.