EmpireStateTroopers wrote:I've been playing on others' kits more than my own and I'm starting to get used to a bigger kick drum. My kick is a little 18 guy with no hole in the resonant head. It sounds good and full with a light touch, but if you lay into it and don't let the beater 'bounce off', it sounds shit. More like a 'bang' than a 'thud'. Playing on bigger kick drums, I'm finding I can kick a bit harder and it's more forgiving when I mash into the head. The batter head almost feels 'softer' or more cushiony and the kick sound is more consistent. Is there anything I can do to make my small kick more forgiving? Cut a port hole? Different batter head? (It currently has a pinstripe) I don't generally stuff pillows inside the kick or anything like that. What is the purpose of this fiberskyn thing that everyone seems to use?i think i've only used an 18 kick once so i can't help you there but fiberskyn heads are meant to simulate the sound of calfskin heads.

18" is a tough compromise. As Brian mentioned, you'll get the best sound out of it by hitting it as close to center as possible (I'll let someone else chastise you for "burying the beater"). The center of an 18" is probably not going to be the "best playing" position for your beater to be in, but hey everybody is different. I personally like the beater height on my pedal dead center for a 22" drum which puts it off center on anything smaller or larger.You might try some different tunings with what you've already got. Maybe try loosening the batter head. If it feels better but sounds too low tighten up the resonant head some.

phildotidiot wrote:long story short:about a year ago, i had a kick drum with a 6 (or so) hole in the front head. it sounded decent and played well. just for the heck of it, i switched it over to a head with no hole in it. it sounded great! a nice low end punch that wasn't there with the other head. but it played sorta funny... bounced back in ways i couldn't really control. so i ended up cutting a hole in the head, which basically brought me back to where i had started. the question is this:is it possible to get the best of both worlds? a solid head sound with the playability of the other?thanks!I've struggled with this, too. For me, a really open kick sounds great if I can get the beater off the head after hitting it, and not mash it in. But playing kick with a conscious upstroke like that is tough for me to change, and limits the stuff I can play, and generally throws me off. The compromise that works for me is to use a power stroke head on the batter side, a no-hole ambassador type head on the audience side, and a block of foam strapped in the bottom of the kick. The foam is around a 3x6 cross section and makes moderate contact with both heads. That's enough dampening for me so that the drum isn't bouncy, but still gets some oomph from the virgin front head. That's what works for me, anyway. Hope this helps!