Kick Drum Tuning Guide - 16 Inch Kick Drum Tuning

-In this kick drum tuning guide, I teach you how to tune up a 16-inch kick drum that's a part of my Pearl Midtown drum kit. Learn a super fast and easy way to get your kick sounding great.
I also share the kick drum heads I recommend for drummers playing many styles of music. At the beginning and ending of the video, I play for you to hear my kick drum and kick drum tuning in action.
👉🥁Here's the link to the Remo Ambassador Fiberskyn drum head: amzn.to/3CkCvdL
👉🥁Here's the link to the Evans G2 drum head: amzn.to/3CoPOtu
I'm using some affiliate links. Buying your drum heads through me is a convenient way to get your drum gear and an easy way to support my KZbin channel. Thank you 🤙
👉🥁Here's the link to my video review of the Pearl Midtown Drum Kit: • The Best Cheap Compact...
👉🥁Here's the link to my video about drum tuning: • Tuning Up A Cheap Comp...
👉🥁Become a member of the Jazz Drum School KZbin channel and get access to many more videos and other perks to supercharge your drumming. Join now:
/ @jazzdrumschool
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[@Tomlink]

very useful video, I Iove your sound drumming so perfect for me ;)

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks so much for watching and for your kind comment! I'm really glad the video was helpful. Be sure to check out the other 2 videos I mentioned. I think they'll also help you. Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@shawnbruce6934]

Nice Video!

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks for the kind words and for watching! Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@jarrahdrum]

thank you

[@jazzdrumschool]

My pleasure and thank you for watching! You might also enjoy my other video about tuning up the entire kit here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4XKoGiwepeFe9E Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@alejandrosuarez2290]

Hello, I would like to ask you about the bass drum lifter, I use a 16 x 16 inch bass drum, and I currently do not use the lifter, I like the sound like that. What do you think, have you tried it? thank you very much for your videos.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks for the question and for watching the video! I have tried it without the bass drum riser but a 16-inch drum is a little bit small for me to play that way. The reason is because the beater strikes so close to the rim of the drum that it doesn’t give much tone. I find that on smaller drums, a riser works really great to place the beater closer to the center. That being said, an 18-inch bass drum works really good without a riser in my opinion. The sweet spot on an 18 inch bass drum seems to be just a little bit off center which is exactly where the bass drum beater strikes without a riser. All of this of course is up to your own personal preference. I say, if you like the sound, then go for it! I hope that helps and keep swinging my friend🤙

[@najnacisi]

another question. did you ever try the EMAD calftone on the batter and original calftone 56 on the reso? the emad has this built in dampening - but would it work on a 16 bass drum?

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks for the question! Yes, I have tried the EMAD on the Calftone and other heads for my kick drums but found that it created a vibration sound that was unacceptable in the recording studio. I suppose for live show or practice, it would be no problem. Hope that helps!

[@najnacisi]

@@jazzdrumschool i am very thankful for you time and answers. did you ever play a 16x12 bass drum and how it would compare with a 16x16?

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks for the question! I have not played one that size but I think it might be a bit thin in sound for important gigs. A good compact kit kick drum or practice kit size though. If you ever need a hand with your Jazz drumming, I'd love to help you at Jazz Drum School: jazzdrumschool.com/ Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@najnacisi]

excelent! What drum-pedal are you using with these small drums Von? I am a heel-down player. Today i bought the Gretsch Brooklyn Micro

[@jazzdrumschool]

I'm using the Yamaha Direct Drive Pedal: amzn.to/46vtife It's an affiliate link. Thanks for your support of the channel 🤙 Congratulations on the purchase of your new kit! That's a cool drum kit. I'm also mostly a heel down player but also use heel/toe sometimes. You might also enjoy this 1-minute video I did about heel/toe technique: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIbIo2qrg7OXZqs Feel free to also join my Jazz Drum School email list and I'll send you 2 free 1-minute lessons a month like this one. You can sign up here: eepurl.com/hMm9zn Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@najnacisi]

thanks@@jazzdrumschool . Do you maybe know whats the difference between your pedal and the FP9500D (direct drive)? thanks.

[@jazzdrumschool]

I believe that's the model number for the same pedal. Hope that helps 🤙

[@najnacisi]

hmm@@jazzdrumschool . on the forums they say that this is the higher series of the pedal. like for example dw 5000 or dw 9000. and it costs more, thanks anyway. i was just curious why you did not try it.

[@jazzdrumschool]

@@najnacisi the model number you shared with me looks exactly like mine. So me thinks they are the same. It's very smooth and yes it was pricey when I bought it a number of years ago. Hope that helps!

[@boristomakic5995]

How do you deal with resistance on your foot pedal leg? Nobody thalks about that. Without hole in front head the air can't escape and I have troubles playing the same kick, especially after long time. My leg hurts and also bass pedal beater tends to rebound on the head and double hits. If I change front head to one with a hole I found out the hole can't be less than 4" to have feel of standard ported 20" or 22" kick under the leg. Of course hole of 4" on the 16" kick is too big and the sound becomes flat. So how do you deal with it?

[@jazzdrumschool]

Great question! Let the beater bounce off of the drum head every time. That will open up your bass drum tone and eliminate that stuttering. Here's a quick lesson about one of the kick drum techniques I use where I cover this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIbIo2qrg7OXZqs Keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@richwilson5969]

Hello ! It’s been a while since I posted to you. I am buying a small bebop kit same sizes as yours. Sonor jungle. I’ve played it before. Great little kit. I usually play 20,22 bd in the past when I played in church or home. Thing is for home in a small space in one of our rooms wood floors no carpet. How can I make this bass drum the loudest as I can? I don’t port holes in reso ever. I’ve never miked a kit ever. I don’t have any of that stuff. This is for enjoyment not playing out. I’ll mention I thought of researching diff bass drum beaters. You would be really surprised how many diff ones they have. Plastic, wood , felt. Diff weights. Diff sizes. And shapes. I narrowed it down to the one I think will help make the volume of drum to be louder. What else can I do?? I like all my drums to sing thru. I don’t muffle anything except bd head. Like a remo power stroke pre muffled. That might even be too much for this size. I don’t mean to say so much. Looking for a way to make this 16” bd loud as possible. Thx so much. I love all your videos. Your very pleasant to listen to. Your a great drummer.

[@jazzdrumschool]

Rich thanks for the great comment and connecting again! Sounds like you've got a good little kit. My advice is to find the sweet spot for the drum. Every drum resonates best within a specific frequency range. For example, we can't tune a 16-inch kick down to a 20-inch frequency. Experiment with tuning until you find the ideal frequency range for your kick. That'll be the loudest or most resonant spot too. Heads also make a difference. Some kind of one-ply resonant head for the front (no hole) and a two-ply head for the batter side work well for me. My recommendations are below in some affiliate links. Thanks in advance for your support of my channel! Resonant: Calftone 16" amzn.to/4aNeT0E Batter: Evans G2 Clear amzn.to/4438vAc (this is a tom head. couldn't find the bass drum version) I put a little bit of external dampening on both the resonant and batter side heads. Like the size of a folded paper towel with some gaffer's tape. Hope that helps my friend 🤙

[@richwilson5969]

Is Von your first legal name? Just wanted to know so I can address you correctly, just wanted to apologize for such a long text about bass drum beaters. I have a tendency to get a bit over excited w drums. I’ve been playing since about 10 yrs old. I started private lessons. Only could go so far with reading. So I used my ear and my God given gift and practiced for hours and hours every day. I’m sure my mom loved that 😊. I think I can learn with your videos , I was watching the one on ride cymbal pattern today. You broke it down so I can understand. I learn pretty well by listening and watching. The only thing I wish I had done is dive into jazz 45 yrs ago. I live jazz drumming. Anyone can play a rock beat. I live the independence and feel of jazz drumming. I find it absolutely amazing to listen to guys like you and others. I just amazed is best word I could describe, and think why didn’t I try. Imagine 45 years of practicing jazz. My hand technique is not good. I have pretty big hands and kinda stiff. Not a loose technique. Something else I should get into. Anyways I think your. An amazing player and plan to dive in as much as I’m able. Take care , Rich

[@jazzdrumschool]

Rich! I just figured out how to filter new reply comments and found yours. Sorry for the delay! Thanks for sharing your experience and love for drumming. We drummers share a common bond that runs deep. I totally get where you are coming from. If you ever need a hand with your Jazz drumming, I'd be more than happy to help you out at Jazz Drum School: jazzdrumschool.com/ I have many lessons there that don't require you to read notation and you can just use your ears. The Brushes Mastery Course for example is set up like this for many of the lessons: jazzdrumschool.com/course/brushes-mastery-course Reading is just a means to an end. Not an end. In my Intro To Jazz Drumming Course: jazzdrumschool.com/course/intro-to-jazz-drumming In there, I also teach how to read musical notation in an easy-to-understand, no-stress way. I hope to see you at the School my friend and keep swinging 🤙

[@brent3760]

What cymbals are you using Von?

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks Brent for the question! I’m using a 20” Zildjian Kerope on the right and a 20” Zildjian K Constantinople Flat Ride on the left. I’m also using mixed 14” hi-hats, Top: K Constantinople, Bottom: K Custom Dry. Hope that helps and keep swinging my friend 🤙

[@RustyKnorr]

That light in the background should be behind the camera. Super distracting and blinding. Excellent video otherwise!

[@jazzdrumschool]

Thanks for watching Rusty and for the feedback. Because I use 4 camera angles, it's impossible now for my lights not to end up in some camera shot. Believe me, I've tried. At any rate, keep swinging my friend 🤙