BillFitzmaurice.info

I got a new acoustic kick for which I was putting a new port in:



I wanted to dampen the inside a little with something more sophisticated that a pillow. I have seen foam mats which do the same thing, so I thought I would have a go at my own.

I found some of this in the garage, pipe insulation:



so I cut some to length:



a little bit of gaffer tape:



inside the drum:



and I placed the insulation



they needed a bit of a trim to be the correct length, but I put the skin back on



The end result is that it never moves, it dampens both the skins, it doesn't interfere with the kick mic, you can put in as little or as much as you need, it's dead cheap and not a permanent change.

The sound is great and I couldn't be happier.

You out did yourself!!

I have been thinking of what I could use other than my big stupid piece of sponge Styrofoam.
That would work for me.
Does it touch the heads at all and if so how much pressure?


again, Great idea Chris

Looks good also. Paint them black.

LelandCrooks wrote:Looks good also. Paint them black.

why? aren't they going to be behind a black head?
The operator is the only one going to be seeing it, unless you got up on it and looked through the port.
IMO I think the paint would flake, due to it being so flexible.

Try this stuff on your heads.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... 3TDRZMR3gl

It significantly lowers the resonant frequency and damps over-ring like nothing else. You can use it on all heads. Try a small 1x1" piece first.

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:Try this stuff on your heads.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... 3TDRZMR3gl

It significantly lowers the resonant frequency and damps over-ring like nothing else. You can use it on all heads. Try a small 1x1" piece first.

Is this to take the place of the pipe insulaters?
I got Moon gels for the top head.

Bill do you mean these 3M tape things would stay in the bass or would it have to be adjusted each venue?

It regard to the appearance, Scott's right, the audience can't see them, so why bother.

The overhang from the edge of the shell was around 3/8". Quite a pressure, but works fine. I cut them large so I could trim them but since there is no problem, I didn't bother.

Chris_Allen wrote:It regard to the appearance, Scott's right, the audience can't see them, so why bother.

The overhang from the edge of the shell was around 3/8". Quite a pressure, but works fine. I cut them large so I could trim them but since there is no problem, I didn't bother.

How do you tune your bass head each side?
I just take the wrinkles out of the res side and latley been flattening the batter side just bearly on due to the ringing in the pa when miced. I have to tune dead but hate the responce.

I love that idea, when I get out of work I am going to get some of them.

Scott Brochu wrote:

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:Try this stuff on your heads.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... 3TDRZMR3gl

It significantly lowers the resonant frequency and damps over-ring like nothing else. You can use it on all heads. Try a small 1x1" piece first.

Is this to take the place of the pipe insulaters?
I got Moon gels for the top head.

Bill do you mean these 3M tape things would stay in the bass or would it have to be adjusted each venue?

They're similar in concept to Moon Gels but denser. Very much permanent, that's why you want to use small pieces, adding more til you get the right tone.

Scott Brochu wrote:How do you tune your bass head each side?

I actually keep the resonant head quite tight and tune the batter for feel. Once it feels correct, I alter the reso for pitch, but still keep it tight.

Chris_Allen wrote:

Scott Brochu wrote:How do you tune your bass head each side?

I actually keep the resonant head quite tight and tune the batter for feel. Once it feels correct, I alter the reso for pitch, but still keep it tight.

I agree, I've fixed many a ringing resonant head at gigs by tightening it and moving the dampener so that it touches both heads. I've also found that the sweet spot for mic'ng is usually higher than the pitch used by many drummers. I found it helpful to use an analyzer while tuning to get a feel for the hz level. Somewhere from 60hz -80hz works well for most music.

In general, heads fairly tight and good damping on both. I'm using a piece of heavy duty eggcrate packing foam, in a similar size to what you show, in my home kit. It sounds really good in the mic. I started out with closer to 50% of the diameter and it was too much.

I finally built one and it works great, better than my large piece of styro foam.

Thanks Chris

I had better get it on YouTube to start a craze!

..or better still, pre-cut them and sell it as a product for 10x it cost to make

Go for it!
I am able to tighten up my batter side now vs leaving it so dead.
So I have improved response on batter side and I think better sound....well from at least behind the kit.
I would of got it in sooner but I would always leave it at my house and my kit is always in the trailer.

Anyone seen or tried one of these? Head damping plus low end enhancement for live use.
http://www.kickport.com/