20" Kick

[J Wald]

As a reward to myself for making a little progress with my drum
lessons, I change out my practice kit. I've been using a 80's
Tama Superstar kit, but decided to put a set of Rogers that I
bought about 10/11 yrs ago into play. I have never played this
kit, I just bought 'em and they got put away. Anyhoo....., WOW. I
didn't know a 20" kick drum could make that much noise; BOOM,
BOOM. I tuned up the same heads that were on them when I got 'em,
and they sound pretty good, considering. I can't wait to hear
what they sound like with new heads.

[j***@yahoo.com]

I have a Rogers vintage set (60's probably) with a 20" bass drum too.
You're right ... it's a phenomenal sounding drum for its size. I took
it on a gig recently (a jazz trio gig), and after the first tune the
piano player turned to me, smiling, and said, "Man, that is a great
sounding bass drum!".

Once you get some new heads on it I wouldn't muffle it up too much; I
play mine wide open, but pay carefull attn to the tuning. Congrats on
your rediscovery!

~ peace, Kevin J.

[J Wald]

Kevin,
My kit is a Holiday model from the mid 60's I beleive. I put an
Emad on it for now, with the old reso, and it's kinda' boomy. I'm
still playing with the tuning, but I'm not there yet. I find that
the beater is really bouncing. It's tough to control any rebound.
What heads did you chose? Tension? Tom heads?
--
J Wald
"Can't do it Sally"
Tom Hagan - Godfather I

Post by j***@yahoo.com
I have a Rogers vintage set (60's probably) with a 20" bass drum too.
You're right ... it's a phenomenal sounding drum for its size.
I took
it on a gig recently (a jazz trio gig), and after the first
tune the
piano player turned to me, smiling, and said, "Man, that is a
great
sounding bass drum!".
Once you get some new heads on it I wouldn't muffle it up too
much; I
play mine wide open, but pay carefull attn to the tuning.
Congrats on
your rediscovery!
~ peace, Kevin J.

[Pete Pemberton]

Post by J Wald
Kevin,
My kit is a Holiday model from the mid 60's I beleive. I put an
Emad on it for now, with the old reso, and it's kinda' boomy. I'm
still playing with the tuning, but I'm not there yet. I find that
the beater is really bouncing. It's tough to control any rebound.
What heads did you chose? Tension? Tom heads?

Is there a hole in the front head? That will help with the rebound
issue. All the 20's I have ever had like to be tuned up front and back
more than you think. I always had great luck with P3 batter, and
whatever pre-muffled rez with a hole.

PP

[j***@yahoo.com]

Re heads: I've got Evans G1's on both the batter and resonant sides.
I'm playing mostly jazz and latin, so my preference is for a lively,
non-muffled sound. And yes, the beater rebound is active, but I've
been playing with this head and tuning setup for so long that I've
become accustomed to it.

Tuning: As Pete said, you might try tuning both heads up a bit more
than you might think is workable. But I've been tuning my Rogers BD
pretty low...it really has a wide, forgiving tuning range. I tune the
batter head to slightly less tension than the resonant head...works
for the music I'm playing and doesn't clash with the bass player's
range. The sound I'm getting sorta reminds me of the old Motown bass
drum sound ... not too boomy and not too dead.

Tom heads: On the Rogers set I use either Evans G1's, top and bottom,
or Aquarian Modern Vintage.

Good Luck!
~ peace, Kevin J.

[Russell Lane]

"I find that the beater is really bouncing."

That's a feature, not a bug.

Either a Rogers or a Gretsch kick from that period of time will give
you that full, wide, spready tone. You feel it as much as hear it,
and it sounds full and round at all volume levels. It's a beautiful
thing.

Unless you're playing a gig that requires some kind of close miking,
I'd suggest playing with no hole in the front head and making that
beater response work for you.

If the tone is too boomy, try a PS3 front and back. That won't kill
the tone, it'll just take the "boing" out of it.

Enjoy!!

[Sam S]

Post by J Wald
Kevin,
My kit is a Holiday model from the mid 60's I beleive. I put an Emad on it
for now, with the old reso, and it's kinda' boomy. I'm still playing with
the tuning, but I'm not there yet. I find that the beater is really
bouncing. It's tough to control any rebound. What heads did you chose?
Tension? Tom heads?

Evans makes some vented resos that don't have a large hole in them. They
help control rebound a bit. If you want a non-ported front head, the best
thing is to learn to play it properly. It sounds to me that you like to
bury the beater and a non ported 20" drum would give you problems. Learn to
use the rebound and lighter pedal control.

Sam S.

[Sam S]

Post by Sam S

Post by J Wald
Kevin,
My kit is a Holiday model from the mid 60's I beleive. I put an Emad on
it for now, with the old reso, and it's kinda' boomy. I'm still playing
with the tuning, but I'm not there yet. I find that the beater is really
bouncing. It's tough to control any rebound. What heads did you chose?
Tension? Tom heads?

Evans makes some vented resos that don't have a large hole in them. They
help control rebound a bit. If you want a non-ported front head, the best
thing is to learn to play it properly. It sounds to me that you like to
bury the beater and a non ported 20" drum would give you problems. Learn
to use the rebound and lighter pedal control.
Sam S.

I also have a 60's Rogers set with a 20" bass drum. You don't need very
much muffling with these. I think the Emad is too much.

Sam S.

[J Wald]

--

J Wald
"Can't do it Sally"
Tom Hagan - Godfather I

Post by Sam S

Post by Sam S

Post by J Wald
Kevin,
My kit is a Holiday model from the mid 60's I beleive. I put
an Emad on it for now, with the old reso, and it's kinda'
boomy. I'm still playing with the tuning, but I'm not there
yet. I find that the beater is really bouncing. It's tough to
control any rebound. What heads did you chose? Tension? Tom
heads?

Evans makes some vented resos that don't have a large hole in
them. They help control rebound a bit. If you want a
non-ported front head, the best thing is to learn to play it
properly. It sounds to me that you like to bury the beater
and a non ported 20" drum would give you problems. Learn to
use the rebound and lighter pedal control.
Sam S.

I also have a 60's Rogers set with a 20" bass drum. You don't
need very much muffling with these. I think the Emad is too
much.
Sam S.

It's all I have for the time being. I'll go shopping soon.