I know that the hole in the bass drum resonance head is mosting for recording purposes but how many of you actually have one? Do you think the sound is changed at all? I'm considering cutting a hole myself but don't want to risk anything if it's completely useless.

[gyutae]

well it really depends on what you're looking for. If you're doing it just for looks then it might be a bit risky to cut it out and make it look perfect. On the other hand, if you're doing it for micing purposes or you want to change the sound of your bass drum, then it might be something to consider. With a small hole, some of the resonance of the drum is taken out and you wont have as much response from the head as most of the air flow out of the drum

if you don't want to do it yourself you can always buy a custom reso head with a hole already in it. They also have hole reinforcement things that make it a bit sturdier. It's a lot like those reinforcement stickers they use for loose leafed papers in binders only for the drum head

[michaelpops]

I know exactly what you mean, I was nervous too. I cut a hole in my reso head by tracing a large soup can and using an exacto knife. The sound is a lot clearer and it also looks pretty cool. Im very glad I did it.

[Qwerk]

On my old set the previous owner had cut the entire resonating head, leaving about an inch or two around the edge. No idea why one would do this.

[skinslapper]

I too was unsure of being cut or uncut, but seriously it takes some ugly overtones from the sound and improves the feel of the beater against the head.

[mind_drummer]

The best advice I did receive from someone who owned more than 30 kit was the best clean sound coming from the bass drum was without reso port...

Reso port was mostly used for recording when sound engineer wasn't good enough to get sound to the recording equipment. With todays technology, recording without port hole is possible, easy and you'll get a rich textured sound.

[full metal]

IN neal pearts video he was saying that a lot of sound guys want to take the front head off of the bass all together because that is just the easist way to get the sound right but he hated the sound that he got from that so he went and pot a hole in the top of the shell and ran a mic from the inside.

but I also agree that with the technolidgy now that it shouldnt even be an issue for a good sound guy.

I have no personal exsperince in the studio so I really dont know.

[Davenhurst]

I personally like to have a reso hole, it seems to give the most options in terms of attack and tone. But that's just me.

A good sound guy will let the drummer set up exactly as they feel comfortable and work with it. If you're getting a decent sound off the kit as you record, you'll be more likely to play confidently. Of course beer helps too.

I did a session a couple of years ago where I was asked to change the sound of the drums quite severely to accomodate a pre-conceived idea of how a kit should sound. I didn't like the feel of the snare at all and I think it changed the way I played some of the parts, I listen back to it and think it sounds a bit flat, performance-wise. (Actually, I admit the drums didn't sound that great to start with, I've changed my setup a lot since then).

Last week I did a session and we got a friend on board to engineer, it was a totally different story and the drums sound amazing. My playing was confident because the kit sounded how I wanted it to sound, and I knew it was coming across in the mix.

So back to the point: we used 2 mics on the kick, one inside towards the reso head and off-center to pick up low end, then one outside the drum about 6 inches from the reso head, pointing through the hole directly at where the beater strikes the head - this mic picked up more attack and some sound from the wood of the drum. A mixture of the two mics sounds just incredible, I recommend trying it - you can add or subtract attack or low-end as you feel fit.

	Attack Drumheads Shop for Attack drum heads at Musician's Friend

[DrummerMom]

I had a 6" holz in my last bass drum. I am getting ready to put a 4" on in my current bass drum head using a holz ring and holz cutter.



http://www.vintagelogos.com/michole_chart.html

http://www.vintagelogos.com/holz_instructions.html