How To Choose A Bass Drum Head - Drumeo

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(NOTE: You will be able to hear the sound differences better if you watch the video with headphones on!)
In this video, Jared Falk tests and demos all the different bass drum heads in the Evans line-up. Each bass drum head is tuned to what we believe is its optimum tuning range, then we demonstrate the sound with close mics and room mics so you can hear exactly how it sounds.
Find out more about Evans bass drum heads here:
www.evansdrumhe...

[@twhdrummer1311]

For anyone wondering. 4:10 - EQ2 Clear 4:42 - G2 Clear 5:16 - EMAD Onyx 5:48 - G1 Coated 6:21 - EQ3 Frosted 6:54 - GMAD Clear 7:26 - Hydraulic Blue 7:59 - EMAD Coated 8:32 - G1 Clear 9:05 - G2 Coated 9:38 - EQ4 Frosted 10:10 - EMAD Clear 10:44 - EMAD Heavyweight 11:17 - EQ3 Clear 11:49 - EMAD2 12:24 - EQ4 Clear

[@drum2one93]

+TwhDrummer13 Thanks, very helpful!

[@EveryDayaCleanSlate]

+TwhDrummer13 thank you very much TD13. Very Helpful :)

[@blakegowan6623]

thank you

[@orpheustyx]

Very Helpful, Thanks :)

[@joesmith6151]

God

[@Lukas-kh5gu]

my god imagine changing and TUNING every single one of those heads for "just" the video. amazing work! very insightful indeed! - EMAD Coated sounds just about right to me.

[@infantrymanejb358]

easy if you use a tune-bot

[@Lukas-kh5gu]

takes a lot of time anyways. and for a video you want to have it spot on...don't know abput you but my tune bot gig fails quite regularly inbetween hits.

[@acuralee]

Yeah either a tune bot or drumdial makes tuning so much easier. After messing with the tensions on my resonant heads and batter heads for awhile. To get that perfect pitch, ive written down my numbers and now it takes me about 10 to 15 minutes to fully tune my 7 piece Mapex kit. You'd be amazed at how fast you can tune your kit if your swapping heads. The only downside is if you switch heads from say Evans EC2 batters and EC reso's to the Evans G2/G1 reso's then youll need to adjust your tension settings. Same goes for if you decide to change to Remo or Aquarian heads. Each company brings different sounds to the table.

[@Rockin_Ross]

Exactly! Just like what this guy did: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmevfaKIis9jpNk

[@botondpapp8650]

Close m. Room m. 4:13 4:22 EQ2 Clear 4:46 4:55 G2 Clear 5:19 5:27 EMAD Onyx 5:52 5:59 G1 Coated 6:24 6:33 EQ3 Frosted 6:57 7:06 GMAD Clear 7:30 7:39 Hydraulic Blue 8:02 8:11 EMAD Coated 8:39 8:46 G1 Clear 9:08 9:17 G2 Coated 9:41 9:50 EQ4 Frosted 10:14 10:23 EMAD Clear 10:49 10:56 EMAD Heavyweight 11:21 11:29 EQ3 Clear 11:53 12:00 EMAD2 12:28 12:35 EQ4 Clear

[@kicksomeazz9669]

Thanks man for putting the links up straight so everyone can toggle between type of head and mic with ease!

[@RobBeatdownBrown]

That was a pretty great and thorough demonstration, man. I'll betcha THAT took a while to shoot.

[@garyclark608]

I switched from Aquarian Superkick 3 (which sounded really good) to an Evans Emad clear Heavyweight and I could not believe the difference. With no internal muffling at all it has a solid deep punch with little to no overtones, by far the best sounding kick head I have ever used.

[@liamsumnicht]

I wanted time stamps with no clicks, so, hopefully, here’s that: 4:14 - EQ2 Clear 4:47 - G2 Clear 5:19 - EMAD Onyx 5:52 - G1 Coated 6:25 - EQ3 Frosted 6:58 - GMAD Clear 7:31 - Hydraulic Blue 8:03 - EMAD Coated 8:36 - G1 Clear 9:09 - G2 Coated 9:42 - EQ4 Frosted 10:15 - EMAD Clear 10:48 - EMAD Heavyweight 11:21 - EQ3 Clear 11:54 - EMAD2 12:27 - EQ4 Clear Thanks to @twhdrummer13 for making the original list, which made this 1,000x easier.

[@ZShenlong1]

Every bass drum I've heard on KZbin is a lie lol

[@ethanmarsingill]

ZShenlong1 if you have good headphone AND the mic could capture the full bass then you can hear a great bit of the bass quality.

[@acuralee]

Ethan: i think what ZShenlong is trying to say is if you went out and purchased anyone of these heads your not going to get the sound you hear on this video. Mainly because they are using mics both inside and outside of the bass drum. Plus his bass drum looks like an expensive one. You wont get the same sound due to wood thats used to make the bass drum. If your bass is made of basswood or poplar wood it wouldnt sound as good if your bass drum was made of say Maple, birch, mahogany, etc... so this can be a bit misleading. Which is why I wanted to know what type of drum set he has or what company his bass drum is made from as that will have a great impact on tone. Ive played a basswood kit using Evans EC2 batter and Evans EC resos. Then using the same heads put them on a Tama starclassic bubinga 4 piece kit and I got lovely warm tones and the bass drum boomed. But once you add mics and start messing around with eq and compression you no longer are listening to just the drums and the drum heads. Your altering the sound to fit your needs so us drummers that are hearing these "different types of drum heads" arent really getting the real sound that they produce.

[@davidperez5089]

Fake bass drum sounds.

[@mitchellstokes_MFS]

Exactly 😂

[@Kasey_PVKD]

Triggers are a great alternative when you program Them right.

[@brown9671]

It’s crazy how much the mics change the sound, I always think without my ear protection my drums sound like ass, but with them on they sound pretty good. It’s just like mics, picking up differnt sounds

[@noahranieri5315]

You should do a video like this for toms

[@Marauder623]

I have the EMAD onyx with the thick ring. It is great for metal.

[@thewutitizband]

The biggest factor to any drum head will depend on WHERE you perform. Indoor/outdoor what size or shape of the room,height of ceiling,plaster walls wood walls,concrete walls,wood floors,carpeting,reflective objects as maybe lots of mirrors or metal objects etc.... but all you folks already knew this,I'm just reminding you,thanks !!

[@Andreas-yt9wv]

This is the approach of testing I was looking for for years. Thank you very much for your work.

[@SteveGames24]

This video is utterly fantastic. The most interesting thing I've learned about sound waves. None of these sound the same close up AND at a distance

[@logancasper9909]

I enjoyed the EMAD2 the most, but its so hard to choose! Thanks for putting together this video, im sure it took forever to setup!

[@ji3g4j6jo3p]

The input source of GMAD head (7:17) was wrong I think.. It's still using the close mic when it's supposed to be room mic

[@BCSchmerker]

Thanks for this overall perspective on interaction of heads, damping pillow and beater. The Evans®/D'Addario® EMAD Heavyweight™ in the batter position is capable of driving any other head this video in the resonant position; the REMAD front head might become a hit for recording engineers with a "tone-selected" batter for a particular session (especially with the broad foam on the REMAD to arrest movement under batter impact to mitigate depletion at the kick microphone). On my own Tama®/Hoshino® New Imperialstar™ kit, the BD22EMADHW proved the perfect batter for any need I may be asked to fill, especially driving the Tama®-branded Remo® Ambassador Ebony replacement reso (Hoshino Gakki P/N BH22B, from Remo ES-1022-00). Were I specifying a Ludwig®/Conn-Selmer Clasic Maple "Bellsie" kit for big-band (viz., dual LC-B884/LAP-15FP pedals, LC-F846 and LC-F868 floors, LC-T882 rack, LC-S484-DX snare with P87/P34/L1108 guts package), my first choice for kick batters would be the Evans®/D'Addario® BD24EMADHW with narrow foams, no pillows, and Vic Firth® VKB-1 beaters. (The Evans® BD24RGCW-NP's would be useful for replacing the stock Ludwig® LW-4224-V Weather Master® Heavy crimplock resonants when the need arises.)

[@pawelmorrison]

I think they all sound pretty much the same with closed micing. Thanks a lot for the time you invested in recording and editing these videos, it must be realy long and tidious job if you dont have a tunebot. I hate the thought of having to tune one drum, talk about over 10 bass drums in one day lol

[@mytec23]

not even close.

[@jangobango2847]

Hope youve learned to enjoy tuning more over the years

[@djentlover]

4:13 - EQ2 Clear 4:46 - G2 Clear 5:19 - EMAD Onyx 5:51 - G1 Coated 6:24 - EQ3 Frosted 6:57 - GMAD Clear 7:29 - Hydraulic Blue 8:02 - EMAD Coated 8:35 - G1 Clear 9:08 - G2 Coated 9:41 - EQ4 Frosted 10:13 - EMAD Clear 10:47 - EMAD Heavyweight 11:20 - EQ3 Clear 11:52 - EMAD2 12:27 - EQ4 Clear

[@philipplampert2075]

4:13 EQ2 Clear 4:47 G2 Clear 5:19 EMAD Onyx 5:51 G1 Coated 6:24 EQ3 Frosted 6:57 GMAD Clear 7:29 Hydraulic Blue 8:02 EMAD Coated 8:35 G1 Clear 9:08 G2 Coated 9:41 EQ4 Frosted 10:13 EMAD Clear 10:47 EMAD Heavyweight 11:20 EQ3 Clear 11:52 EMAD2 12:27 EQ4 Clear

[@dagb7271]

Thank you. This was really helpful. My preferences are the EQ4 frosted and the EQ4 clear.

[@MrSchmidtypop1]

Loved both this and the snare drum videos. Is a how to choose tom heads in the near future??

[@DrumeoOfficial]

YUP!

[@pikachew340]

Drumeo Awesome I'm totally looking forward to that. Thanks for the great "how to chose" videos :)

[@tyler4girlz]

Drumeo Is there a certain date/time when that video will be out?

[@twhdrummer1311]

Ty Ty Taking off and putting on heads (not to mention tuning them) takes a long time. This and the snare drum video probably took a long time to film, but if they're doing the same for the toms it'll take even longer.

[@migueltremblay9440]

+Ty Ty Seems like never

[@chiphammond1623]

Thanks Jared. Everything you do is great - really helpful. I'm surprised in close-mic'ing how little difference there is. There are differences but the real differences are in the live sounds - thanks for mic'ing with a room mic. Most such "tests" only include close mic'ing.

[@XeRo333]

EQ2 Clear 4:10 G2 Clear 4:43 EMAD Onyx 5:15 G1 Coated 5:48 EQ3 Frosted 6:21 GMAD Clear 6:54 Hydraulic Blue 7:26 EMAD Coated 7:59 G1 Clear 8:32 G2 Coated 9:05 EQ4 Frosted 9:40 EMAD Clear 10:10 EMAD Heavyweight 10:43 EQ3 Clear 11:16 EMAD2 11:49 EQ4 Clear 12:22

[@MrJacoby2011]

I love Drumeo! These are very committed guys which makes watching the a lot more enjoyable! Keep up the good work!

[@kicksomeazz9669]

Jared thank you guys so much for this video! There's no better way to preselect a drumhead because it will give you an initial idea of which direction to go. Great effort!

[@MichaelTNewell]

I'd much rather if you guys did the video without stuffing in the bass drum so we can get very genuine idea of what the head sounds like. You didn't dampen the snare drum heads in any way in your "How to Choose a Snare Drum Head" video and I thought it was great! Thanks nonetheless for going through the trouble of making this still quite helpful video.

[@kungfuninja55]

Coated Emperor on the batter head with a small kick pad purely to protect the head and a coated ambassador on the resonant side. I use 2 felt strips on both heads and that's it. I developed a big band sound on my drumset early on and I've stuck with it no matter what I play. I love the technical definition and the cutting sound of my snare and the jazz-ish but more thumpy toms that fit big band playing.

[@ronaldroll2239]

I like EMAD Onyx ....

[@ClaytonRegoMusic]

I loved the sound of the Hydraulic Blue, but these drums need to stop eating away my paychecks!

[@EdenPorterMusic]

Genuinely, extremely helpful video. I appreciate y'all a lot. The GMAD segment has some mic-switching errors, just so you know ;)

[@wilddrum78]

wow I really like that low end sound and punch from the EQ3 clear.

[@tacobob891]

Thanks for the Video Jared and Drumeo team. I always watch your videos and hopefully will be able to become a member one day. I really like at the end where you talk about playing what sounds good to you, and not just copying your favorite artist. Drums are a great way to express yourself, So be yourself, and dont worry about what other people are playing. Rock on guys!!!

[@mattvdh]

Very good video! It's a pretty clear way of demonstrating and comparing the sounds. The room mic was the true test because the close mic always sounds great.

[@Hellseeker1]

What a pain in the ass to go through all the head changes, you sir are a bad ass and a gentleman!

[@Haytasan]

I'm somewhere between EQ3 Clear and EMAD2.!!!

[@damianbernard3974]

Yea i dont know which one to choose lol

[@DannyTOG]

Remo P3

[@serdiezv]

OP Minecrafterz That's not even in the same ballpark, the PS3 is a single ply

[@DannyTOG]

I know, I do like the powersonic though or the ps4

[@serdiezv]

OP Minecrafterz Our drummer's second hand PDP came with a coated PS4, it's cool, but it's not an EMAD2

[@kieranoregan4009]

I normally don't like drums in solid colours, I'm more into wraps, exotic woods and sparkly kits. And while red is my least favourite kit colour (aside from black) that bass drum is gorgeous.

[@amador97caa97]

Well.. I'm grateful for the effort the hard work put in making this video. Every head sounded amazing to me. Although my kit is not like he's, she still sounds amazing when I use the Evan Heads. I have a Yamaha Stage Custom and she still sounds sooo beautiful. Everyone here has their own kits as myself and everyone will get different results due to the type of wood your kit's made of. NOW LET'S HAVE FUN DRUMMING Y'ALL !!!!! 👍

[@a.m.creativ]

Depends on what I'm playing or recording. My two go-to setups are EQ4 with an EQ3 or Remo Coated Emperor with a Smooth White Ambassador and felt strips. The Coated G2 and Smooth White Evans just don't quite sound the same, I have tried! LOL A great bass drum resonant head is the EQ1 Resonant. Full front head, with a felt strip kind of sound. Yum!

[@Gitarzan66]

I have an EMAD2 and I dig it but the EMAD Onyx really boomed to me in this vid. I will try that next time. I play rock and metal.

[@VinceAnity]

Can you do the same with Evans Tom Heads ? G1, G2, EC2, TT & EC Resonant control ?

[@fivepiece]

Excellent reference demo, thanks for this! In the future, maybe turn off the snare since we're really focusing on the kick sound.

[@thebarak]

Kudos for this tedious work. All the info in the first three minutes is correct, but the test is flawed because having the hoodie inside the drum narrows the differences between the heads and makes them sound less different.

[@nicholaswood821]

When you put a dampener in the bass, you got rid of the beautiful overtones and imperfections that make up the differences between the heads. We can’t here the heads in the flesh when they’re dampened.

[@drumboy1956]

I know this is an old post, but I could not agree more, Nicholas Wood. Although I can appreciate the work and time put into such a comparison, it really wasn't a comparison at all since all the heads were muffled the same. The heads that proport to offer their own muffling were not given their fair chance to shine. All in all, a disappointing comparison. Unless you want all bass drum heads/tunings to be whatever Drumeo thinks is best.

[@ScottKDrums]

Opinion time! Commenters! What was the best Metal Bass drum head? I really liked the Emad Clear.

[@michaelb9370]

Never gave Evans drum heads a chance. After watching these and the snare vids I'm willing to try them.

[@TheStudioDrummer]

I've been going through the Evans line and your videos have been a fantastic help. As always, fantastic job- Thank you!

[@drummer1234100]

Awesome video, helps a lot :) Now tom heads next ;-) seriously though, if you covered tom heads to, that would be awesome. I do appreciate how much time these types of videos must take though, which is even more a reason why you guys are so awesome! P.S. currently loving my Drumeo Edge membership, will be getting a full membership soon now my student loan has come through ;)

[@DrumeoOfficial]

Tom heads is next on my list. It's just the most time consuming one as I have to change 3 heads per video/section. These took a LONG time to do. I'll get to it though... must.... complete.... videos ;)

[@MrThrashMetal23]

Drumeo that would be very awesome jared. thanks man! :D

[@michaelb9370]

Drumeo Can't wait!

[@FalseLi3s]

Drumeo hey jared, im a beginner drummer and i always have trouble replicating your lessons. i am 12 but do you have any tips? love the videos and could you do a best drum set using the best snare from these videos and the best base and so on? then try playing it. it would sound amazing! keep up the great work, your my drumming idol. :) P.S Iv been watching these videos a long time and commented on most of them. Love em!!

[@goranlizdek7551]

You don't have to change all three, I think most of us would hear the difference just by listening to 12" and 16" toms :) If not, then even the 14" alone would do it :)

[@brenthoskins8436]

Great vid man, very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.

[@swccbakersfieldca2076]

Wow I know that was a lot of work to put all that together. I just wanted to say “ thanks and it did help” keep those awesome vids coming.

[@yummusic8058]

What resonant head did he use?

[@acuralee]

Edit: from what i can tell he is using a Yahmaha kit with a black Yamaha logo that actually doesnt have any hole cut outs.. but he could have the sidekick bass drum in front. I do know those have a way of delivering mad deep bass when placed in front of your kick drum. Yahmaha is about the only company I know of that makes them which would make even more sense that he's playing on a Yahmaha bass drum with the sidekick in front. Unfortunately he never shows it... although Im sure its a single ply with a hole cut out for the mic thats shoved inside. Or he could be using a kickport. That would explain why some of the heads have a nice deep tone. I'd personally like to know what wood his bass is made out of.. it looks rich and dark in there.. you can see it when he puts a clear drum head on the kick drum. Leads me to believe its an expensive bass drum. Either a walnut mixed with birch or something. Unless its been treated with some sort of finish (which isnt too uncommon). But its a solid looking bass drum. I went to the drumeo website but was unable to find his drum kit. But there are TONS of other drum kits and of course they are all high-end kits.

[@332nd_collectibles]

there is no way I would have the patience to change the head that many times

[@huey216]

Thanks for a great demo and a lot of effort. I really needed this.

[@blakegowan6623]

Im gonna try the Gmad clear...sounds great to me..

[@EAHMusic]

I love all of your lessons! You explain things so well. Thanks for all of this awesome content!

[@kenmackell1323]

This and the snare head video is fantastic. Very helpful.

[@lilamontoya5609]

Amazing ! Very helpful ! Thank you !

[@dgnwd]

Something about the G2 Coated just makes sense to me. My bass drum came with an emad 2 when i got it used. Been on there for so long that the part that holds the foam ring on it has cracked and peeled off. All of my toms have the G2 Coated and im seriously contemplating making the bass batter match the set. The next thing is to decide what res head to get because that one is many years old too.

[@undergroundjohnny]

Coated always sounds best to me. Great job guys!

[@RelaxNoHacks]

Is it just me or does anyone else not like the Evans level 360 heads? Bring the old Evans heads back!

[@itemps]

I'm a huge evans fan love em. bout to make a evans drumhead video tonight! thanks for this @drumeo @evans

[@Mart_402]

Thanks for helping me out with this video! It helped me a lot choosing my bass drum head!

[@raykos4257]

Thanks so much for the phenomenal video!

[@mattcoen]

Thank you for making this video. It's immensely helpful!

[@Pericles777]

I started with an EQ4 that came with the kit, I switched to the EMAD2, I wanna go back to the EQ4, or mabe the EQ2, sounds AMAZING

[@christianlaosantos9199]

I am your number one fan here in Philippines. I always watch your clips here on your channel. I love your grooves, drums techniques tutorial, and also the way you drums. I've learned a lot! Thanks :) PS: I want to have EVANS drums for my better future drumming, hope you appreciate and agreed upon my request :)

[@ManiacFitness]

I always went for EMAD2 mostly because it was the only one that I woukdnt put a hole thru in a few days and they are like $50. I'll get the sound I want out of it and put a patch to even ads to the durability.

[@brendancooke8364]

Good idea putting a hoodie in the bass drum to muffle it!

[@Eltargrimm]

You are a lifesaver dude! Loved this.

[@honeygirlkellie]

Jared will probably hate me for suggesting this, but what about some Paiste cymbal demos?

[@timbulb]

Evans sure seems cool. I'll try them out soon, based on all these videos.

[@josiahvadeboncoeur3164]

7:59 is what rdavidrs bass drum basically sounds like. Almost exactly. He uses a EMAD coated.

[@chucktouchton398]

Aquarian Superkick II or 10...all the way!

[@Not_Andrew_Huberman]

That left foot keepin that right foot in check

[@SaW906AC]

Thank you very much for this awesome video! Especially the room mic and cloce mic comparison is sooo helpfull! Thank you very much again!! :) Helped me a lot :)

[@davidjero6441]

Why did the stop making my favorite head. The EQ2. Thanks for this video. After hearing this I’m going to settle for the EQ4 as it sounds closest to the EQ2 that works so well with my bass drum and music I play.

[@richardliles4415]

That was quite interesting. Thank you.

[@telsonalves8060]

Thanks a EVANS and thanks for you Greatest DRUMMER !

[@W4RD1N8ER]

I use the Evans hydraulic red on my Mapex Mars kit every drum. I switch my snare with an Evans HD dry when I want certain tones and better feel, hydraulic for the snare feels thick and not as responsive.

[@BenjaminBeak]

Your super good at your job dude. keep it up.

[@BHBdrummer]

Sounds like the less bells and whistles you put on a head (extra plyes, coating, muffling) the more low end it gets. G1 Clear sounds the beefiest of them all, at least on my speakers. G1 Coated also has a lot of low end.

[@charlesdominic8542]

A big thanks Jared

[@chiphammond1623]

That was great - wish you had done it without any muffling so that we could hear the "pure" drum heads.

[@elterrorax]

Nice video Jared (Huge fan)

[@nautica7084]

I like Deep and Bassy sounding so the EQ series and the EMAD's but not the clears. That's my style

[@Prhim05]

Thank you guys! This is helpful!! God bless you!!

[@Iamjosueescobar]

It would be nice if you could do these videos with other manufacturers, Like Remo and Aquarian. Evans tend to change the sound of your drum to much and take away the drums own character and sound. I have found that I can make a cheep kit and an expensive kit sound fairly similar. So For this reason I’ve not ventured to much into other Evens heads. But still very interesting. Thanks. For doing these.

[@seikansawaki8328]

Thanks for the awesome reference!

[@m7488]

Such a specific video! Like it!!

[@karlgiese6100]

11:53 12:00 12:26 12:33

[@BeastMode-ch6ig]

The G1 Coated is bae.

[@timhurst72]

Wish you would have done this without the sweatshirt in there. A lot of them are very similar and the internal muffling by the sweatshirt kills their characteristics.

[@martonkardos8094]

why did you put muffling in there?

[@pedrorodriguez319]

Thank you

[@MrLiamV1994]

Very helpfull video. Thanks guys!

[@caetanoperez8804]

You should do this kind of vídeos but with drumsticks

[@zachmillerdrums]

Great job! Thanks for this!

[@azyrr288]

This just proves how nice drums sound miced up compared to from a room mic

[@alexandrepiche5609]

The EQ4 sounds amazing! I kinda guess you are sponsored by Evans (or not), but if you could do the same with Remo and Aquarians, that would be so awesome.

[@HenkJanDrums]

Great. Please a tom head video.

[@DrummerNishalGohain]

i m using the EMAD 2 .. these drumheads already have muffling ... its sounding inferior here due to the extra muffling on the kit ... try without the extra muffling and tuning it a little loose ! its sounds much better !