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How To Tune Your Bass Drum (The Basics)

Category Archives: Drumming

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How To Tune Your Bass Drum (The Basics)

Posted on November 26, 2018 - 8:38 pm by
how to tune your bass drum

Fact: your bass drum sounds different to you than it does to your audience. You (on one side) and the audience (on the other side) have a different experience. That’s just one reason why it’s important to keep your bass drum in tune. So we’ve put together a basic step-by-step guide on how to tune your bass drum.

Get A Good Drum Head

To use a hole or not to use a hole — that’s the debate. Some drummers love ‘em, some don’t.

If you do get a drum head with a hole, the general rule is that it shouldn’t be any bigger than 5 inches and there shouldn’t be more than one hole. But typically, a no-hole head will project more low-end.

Choosing the right drum head is crucial to the sound of your kick. Whatever the case, we can make you a custom drum head — hole or no hole. We also offer 4 different Bass Drum Port Hole choices if you decide you need one.

Start The Tuning Process

Now you can start tuning your bass drum. The best way to do this is to tune the batter head first without the resonant head on the drum. Obviously, if you’re tuning in the middle of a gig, that’s not possible.

Start by pressing the center of the head with your palm to get out all the wrinkles, then start to finger-tighten each rod. Just tighten each rod a little bit as you work your way around the drum — half-turns should be sufficient.

That should get your kick drum tuned, although some drummers may go a step further and tighten another half turn on each rod. This gives the kick a bouncier feel.

Then tap gently around the head of the drum to make sure the pitch is generally even in each spot.

Dampen It

Putting pillows or a small blanket inside of your drum head can help dampen the sound, but the environment in which you’re playing depends on whether or not you need them.

If you’re playing live, there may be enough bodies in the room that dampening isn’t needed. However, you may need to grab some pillows from home before heading to the recording studio. If you have a smaller kick drum, you still may not need the pillows. And even if big kick drums, you’ll want to go easy on the fluff.

Tweak It

Now that you’ve gotten the wrinkles out of the head and dampened (or not), it’s time to tweak the head until it’s just right. This is where the actual tuning happens.

Set up your kick in the playing position and attached your kick pedal. If no other band member is around to play the kick for you while you stand in front of it, there’s a trick you can do.

Lie on the floor next to your kick drum and get your foot on the pedal and your head on the front side. Keep a slow and steady rhythm with the kick pedal and start turning the rods so you can get a more accurate sound of what you want the audience to hear.

Play It

Now you should have a tuned drum head and you can set up the kit for your gig or recording session. As you go through soundcheck, you may continue to tweak the tuning rods or any dampening that you used.

So you can see why it’s so important to get a good-quality drum head to begin with. It will make this whole process so much easier and rewarding.

Here’s Why Drummers Are Crucial To A Band’s Success

Posted on November 9, 2018 - 11:10 am by
Drummer

Drummers are the butt of way too many jokes. The truth is, they hold a band together.

People say drummers are not real musicians, or they’re not as intelligent as the other band members. Well, nothing could be further from the truth.

John Coltrane’s drummer, Elvin Jones, says drummers need to know the song just as well as the bassist or pianist, showing how the drum set is a musical instrument.

“After knowing this kind of musical information one can then begin to construct and orchestrate a musical drum part that has some substance along with a musical shape to it,” he said.

Here are three big reasons why drummers are crucial to your band’s success.

If the drummer goes down, the whole band goes down

Even if the bassist misses a note, the song still moves along. If the lead singer forgets a lyric, the band keeps playing. If the guitarist loses his spot, he can easily wait for a beat or two and jump back in.

But drummers? They have to be perfect, or else the whole band gets screwed up.

If you’ve ever played with a sub-par drummer, you know what I’m talking about. When the rhythm section misses a beat or two, the whole song starts to teeter on the rails like a runaway train. It’s near impossible to right the vehicle.

To use another metaphor, the drummer determines whether a song stays afloat and moving or if it sinks to the ocean floor.

So if you have a solid drummer who can keep the band above water and cruising, thank her or him. Every day.  

Drummers are crucial — it’s scientific

Drummers matter — science says so.

Researchers in Stockholm showed that there’s a link between rhythm-keepers and problem-solving. And drummers typically have more white matter in their brains, and that can help them solve problems, plan, and manage time. Plus, they’re usually just all-around complex and thoughtful people.

In other words, drummers are smart – maybe smarter than the other band members.

So maybe your drummer has thoughts about what show you should play next and why that might be good for the band. Maybe your drummer should be in charge of rehearsal sessions time is managed better.

Maybe it’s time to acknowledge and welcome the fact that drummers are crucial to a band. Just look at the science.

Drummers are a huge part of the band’s brand

When you’re performing live, the drummer’s energy can either fuel the rest of the band or suck the energy right out of the whole room. This is not a good look – for them or for the rest of the group.

The way a group looks onstage – their image, excitement, demeanor – can make or break how their music resonates with people. Another way to say this is their “brand.”

One thing that can help a band’s brand is having their name prominently displayed in a design that matches said brand.

And, you guessed it, we can help with that. We offer custom bass drum heads that can help bands look their best.  

And if the drummer looks (and feels) their best, that’s good news for everyone involved.

The 5 Best Rock Drummers Of All Time

Posted on November 5, 2018 - 11:34 pm by
best rock drummers

It’s time to place honor where honor’s due — on the shoulders of drummers. A rock band is nothing without a good drummer. So it’s time we talk about the best rock drummers of all time.

Some of these drummers you may expect to see on this list, and some you may not…

John Bonham

Thunder. Power. Authority.

Those are the words you typically think of when you think of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham. His drumming was revolutionary and carried the band to success. Even his band members say that Zeppelin wouldn’t have been nearly as good as they were without him.

And this fantastic skill showed during live performances especially. The band would go on long ad-lib jam sessions on stage and Bonham would get to blow people’s minds with his solos. His solos became so famous that people started nicknaming it “Moby Dick,” which would sometimes last up to half an hour.

Sadly, he passed away on September 25, 1980, forever keeping him a legend.

Phil Collins

Phil Collins’ name is synonymous with epic drum fills.

He got a successful start with the 70s band Genesis as their drummer and, shortly thereafter, their lead singer (taking over for Peter Gabriel). In 1981, he released his first solo album, Face Value, which included the hit song “In The Air Tonight” (it was a No 2 hit in the U.K. and in the Top 20 in the U.S.). That album ended up being bigger than any Genesis album was at that time.

But he wasn’t close to being done.

From 1984 to 1990, he had 13 straight songs be Top Ten hits in the U.S. And he did all this while continuing to front Genesis.

See, music world, drummer’s ain’t stupid.

Neil Peart

Neil Peart is considered by many to be the best rock drummer of all time. The Canadian-born lyricist and drummer helped make the band Rush one of the most successful rock bands of its time. They’ve played together for over 35, sold over 27.5 million records in the U.S., and created their own sub-genre of rock.

This is, in large part, thanks to Peart’s unique and intricate drumming style as well as his long and complicated drum solos. Canada even decorated him with the highest honor possible for a civilian, making him an Officer of The Order of Canada.

Truly one of the best.

Alex Van Halen

Alex Van Halen formed the band (you guessed it) Van Halen, formerly called Mammoth. In the late 70s, the band signed a record deal — not long after Alex almost lost one of his fingers in a machine shop accident.

The power behind Van Halen is thanks to Alex’s in-your-face yet dynamic drumming style. His style even got a nickname — the “brown sound” — which refers to how warm his snare drum sounded.

And on top of being an amazing drummer, Alex also sings and plays piano very well. And whether he’s on drums, singing, or piano, he knows how to play what’s right for the song and not take the whole thing over.

Buddy Rich

Buddy Rich wasn’t a rock drummer, but he could’ve easily taken on any of the other drummers on this list in a duel.

Many people consider Rich to be the best drummer of all time, or at least in the jazz world. Gene Krupa, a jazz legend, said Buddy was “the greatest drummer ever to have drawn breath.”

If you spend seven decades drumming and performing as Rich did, you’re bound to be considered one of the best.

Starting his career at just four years old, Rich played regularly on Broadway, showing audiences that his forte was speed and precision. He went on to play with Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, and many more well-known performers.

Here’s A Challenge…

Do you strive to be half the drummer these guys were/are? Then try this (you may already have): play along with a John Bonham solo, try to drum as powerfully as Neil Peart, or attempt to keep up with the speed of Buddy Rich.

It’s a great way to push yourself to improve!

Quick Custom Drum Head Turnaround Time – VintageLogos.com

Posted on October 10, 2018 - 9:48 am by

Your gig is next week and you need a custom drum head fast. Vintagelogos.com is your place to get it made.

We ship out most printed drum heads within a 2-4 business day turnaround (plus shipping days). VL has a proven rotating system that works to get your custom drumheads made quickly. We offer a high quality made product with a quick custom drum head turnaround time.

Your band will stand out from the crowd in no time!

VL is a privately and family owned business strategically located in Cincinnati, OH. Thanks to our location, we can ship products fast.

We can ship 1-day FedEx ground/home delivery to:

  • Kentucky
  • Indiana
  • Ohio
  • Chicago
  • Nashville
  • Parts of Michigan

We can ship 2-day ground to:

  • New York
  • Boston
  • Atlanta
  • Dallas
  • Florida

It takes 4 days to ship to:

  • Los Angeles
  • Seattle
  • Portland

Not to worry — if you need your drumhead faster, we offer RUSH services.

Wonder what your custom drum head turnaround time is for your state? See the FedEx map below for the number of shipping days to your location.

We can virtually ship to any address in the world including International countries. We use the most reliable shipping companies to make sure your order gets to you on time. Refer to our Shipping & Turnaround page for more info about shipping time frame on certain products.

Want to know what our customers say about our turnaround time? Here is some feedback from our Facebook page:

David Foust
reviewed VintageLogos — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ October 26, 2017 ·
Their product is awesome and the delivery was quick. I’m not sure what else one could ask for. 🙂

Brock Landers
reviewed VintageLogos — ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ August 31 ·
A huge thank you Jen and everyone at Vintage Logos. We were asked to open for a National Act last minute and I placed my order. As promised it showed up a few days later and looks amazing!
You Guys Rock!
#bossnova

StĂŠphanie DorĂŠ
reviewed VintageLogos —⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ March 27 ¡I’m so glad I found Vintage Logos to create an incredible bass drum head for my husband’s band… Train Gate 66 will look awesome on stage for their next shows!!
It just came in today, only a few days after I made my order…
You made an excellent job, thanks a lot!!!!

Try Our Online Design App
Start Designing by choosing a drum head size and brand. Select your background color. Use your photos, logos, and graphics. Type text, place manufacturer logos. Add Mic Holes, Ports Rings, Kickports and more. Save your designs to our server and reorder at any time. Our online Drumhead Builder ROCKS and so will you. We offer efficient one-on-one customer service with a fast custom drum head turnaround time. Give Vintage Logos a try today.

One Simple Way to Improve Your Marching Band

Posted on August 28, 2018 - 8:20 am by

If you were to think of a way to improve the appearance of your marching band, what comes to mind first: practicing better and tighter formations? Selecting new and improved uniforms? Is there even one simple way to improve your marching band?

What about improving the look of your band’s instruments? What if your instruments could create a powerful image that is specific to ONLY your marching band?

Let’s consider bass drum heads, for example. Usually, these are plain and generic, but if what we told you they’re actually a blank canvas – a canvas for you to feature your school’s name and mascot?

Improve Your Marching Band With MarchingHeads

Enter the MarchingHeads from Vintage Logos! These are bass drum heads that are fully customizable, allowing you to revolutionize the look of your marching band. Let’s explain…

First off, MarchingHeads help your band be identified better on the field since the school’s name and mascot is printed on each of the drum heads. This, in turn, helps increase the exposure and publicity of your marching band.

Additionally, MarchingHeads add a competitive edge to your band since they’ll have a unique look that won’t be matched by any other marching band.

These thoughts are reflected by Harold J. Fooster Jr, Assistant Band Director at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Here’s what he said:

The … drum heads were great. We got a lot of compliments on their look and sound. When we performed at the Honda Battle of the Bands in Atlanta, GA in front of 65,000 fans, the drum heads were the talk of the event. People loved them and asked me about them.


If you’re looking for one simple way to improve the look of your marching band, we think this is it!

Some may wonder, however, are the MarchingHeads worth the cost? Our school has a limited budget and we can only afford to spend money on what really matters? The answer is that custom drum heads are an investment and they improve your marching band.

If funding is tight, consider raising support from parents, band boosters, or local businesses! Remember to tell them about the impact that MarchingHeads will have on your marching band and how it’s one easy way for them to improve their look on the field.

How to Design a Custom Drum Head (Part 2)

Posted on July 24, 2018 - 12:01 am by

In our last post, we provided an overview of the basic steps needed to design a custom drum head. Those steps included adding text, shapes, and artwork to your design, as well as configuring portholes and other design elements unique to drum heads. All of these steps were done using our free online designer app here at Vintage Logos.

Today we will look at the more advanced features of the designer app, as well as provide you with some design tips. This will help ensure that the design of your custom drum head looks just the way you want it: absolutely stunning!

The Vintage Logos Designer App: Advanced Features & Design Tips

To begin, go ahead and launch the designer app as before. You’ll initially have to select the desired drum head size and brand. Then, if you have a saved design that you’d like to improve or finish, you can open that. Otherwise, create a new design!

Show/Hide the Grid

When designing, symmetry is very important — you want everything to look balanced and even. An easy way to achieve that is to line up everything to a grid. This feature can be easily enabled by clicking the “SHOW GRID” button at the bottom of the designer app. Once clicked, a grid will appear over the drum head. Keep in mind that each square in the grid represents 2 square inches in real life.

If at any point you’d like to turn off the grid again, simply click “HIDE GRID.”


Align Your Graphics and Text

In a similar way as the grid above, aligning allows your design to look as balanced and symmetrical as possible. Maybe you want to move all of the elements in your design into the very center or perhaps you want to align your text to one side or another. Whatever the case, here’s how you can do that:

Take a look at the left side of the designer app. Each element you add to your design (text, shapes, clip art, etc) is organized in a menu there. When you click on a specific element in that menu (or even the element in the design itself) you’re given a sub-menu of various editing options. One of those options is “align.” When you click on that, you’re given a menu with various alignment options, including a link to “align all items at one time.” Simply click the desired option and go from there!

Move Layers Up or Down

When adding and manipulating elements in your design, you may find that you need multiple elements stacked on top of each other. For example, you may have a piece of text that you’d like in front of a background image. This can be achieved by using the Layer Up and Layer Down feature.

This feature is available in the same sub-menu as the alignment option above. Once you’ve selected an element of your design, simply click the buttons “to front” or “to back” in the available sub-menu. This causes the element to move towards the foreground or background in the design. In addition, the element is reordered in its position in the menu on the left side of the app.

Design Effects

Most of the elements in your design have effects that you can add to them as well. These can be accessed via the sub-menu for each design element on the left side of the app. Here’s an overview of the effects you can choose from:

  • Distort causes the element to bend or stretch from its original shape
  • Outline (available for text and shapes only) adds a stroke outlining each letter of the text or a stroke outlining the entire shape
  • Rotate
  • Blur + and Blur – cause the element to appear more or less blurry and out of focus
  • Opacity + and Opacity – cause the element to be more or less transparent, allowing visibility of the element(s) and background underneath
  • Shadow adds a drop shadow to the element
  • Flip and Mirror

Need More Info?

If you’d like to continue reading about how to design your custom drum head, including best practices for professional design results, we recommend our Design Tips & Issues page. This covers such issues as bleed margin, color differences between computer screens and printed products, and much more.

 

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