Tuning the Kick Drum to the Lowest Possible Pitch [Part 15 of 31]

by Travis Whitmore on 07/15/2011 · 3 comments

Kick Drum Lowest Possible Pitch

Welcome to Day 15 of 31 Days to Better Sounding Drums. We’re practically half way through this months blog series. In case you’re just joining, I’ve gone over everything from bearing edges and head choices to tuning the snare drum and toms. Like I’ve said before, the snare and kick drum are the two most important components to your kit’s sound. Let’s get into some specifics on how to properly tune that kick drum.

Tuning your kick drum begins in the same way that you tune your toms. The bass drum is nothing more than a huge tom turned on it’s end. Most bass drums come standard with a logo head for it’s resonant side. For the batter side, I would choose something that will define your sound the best. In my experience, the majority of studio sessions and typical live situations calls for a nice low end punch.

The Back Beat

The next time you’re in your vehicle or have your ear buds in, focus your ears on the bass drum. The kick drum is back beat of the entire track. It’s what makes that “ooomph” in your stomach. If the kick drum was thin and weak, the song would have zero life to it. The most seasoned mixing engineers in the industry today understand the importance of a great sounding kick drum. No amount of EQ or Compression will matter if the source isn’t great to begin with.

Lowest Possible Pitch

Like the snare, the kick drum requires a little more attention to detail. Muffling and head choices all contribute to the sound and feel of the drum. (We’ll get into this later). The more important aspect to a great sounding kick drum is the pitch. When it comes to tuning the kick drum I use one simple, proven method that I learned years ago: Tune to the Lowest Possible Pitch. No matter what size kick drum you have, achieving the lowest possible pitch is simple:

  1. Position and seat the head in the same way you tune your toms: Using a criss-cross pattern, tighten each tension rod until there is a noticeable tone, while seating the head.
  2. Once seated and centered on the rim – Simply press in the center of the drum head with your palm. While pressing on the head, begin turning each tension rod until a small wrinkle appears. Repeat this same step until you see wrinkles all the way around the head. (Notice the wrinkles in the picture above).
  3. Now, release your palm from the head and – Voilà! – the wrinkles disappear! This is the lowest possible pitch that you can achieve out of your bass drum.
  4. Repeat the same steps for the resonant or logo side of the drum. I typically keep the resonant side a bit lower in pitch that the batter side.
  5. Last, fine tune things by turning each rod every so slightly to make sure all wrinkles are smoothed out. Re-seat the head and repeat steps if needed.

That’s it! Tuning the bass drum to the lowest possible pitch is what gives it that bottom end that it was designed for.

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Tagged as: 31 Days to Better Sounding Drums