Bass Drum Beaters - A Sound Comparison 

You guy's missed a great chance to call this a "beat off"

2:45 the smoothest transition ever

did anyone think there wasn't much of a difference between them all? I don't hear much difference. the one that i thought would be super different was the Vater - Bomber but even that was hardly any different.

Thanks so much for doing this test on a kick that isn't overly dampened, unlike other videos I've seen. The quick back-to-back comparisons towards the end also really helped me notice the differences between them all. Thanks to you I went with the Danmar, since it has just the right amount of attack but with a touch of "roundness", which you don't find on most modern kick pedals these days. Cheers from Texas!

The video transitions are god damn smooth

A good old full-felt beater will always have a special place in my heart.

Beautifully edited, thanks! Also really interesting how burying the beater seems to increase the note pitch by about a whole step. Never realised it would have such an effect.

Excellent video, with superb editing. This is really helpful, showing the subtle differences in beaters. Back in the day it was mostly beaters like the Stagg felt, so I am partial to that one - it gives a good neutral sound with a soft attack. The sound seems to generate more from the bass drum, than the contact of the beater. I also like the Tama Iron Cobra felt, which gives a more pronounced attack but not too aggressive

You're one "timestamps" away from perfection guys. Great, to the point vid. Thank you.

I love the iron cobra wood beater. I had felt first, tried plastic, then decided to give wood a chance and immediately loved it. So much more defined especially with a patch

I think a bigger take away from a comparison like this wouldn't be just about the sound of the beaters but also equally as important is how they feel when you're playing them. As most people on here have already commented about, it's true most beaters sound almost identical but there are subtleties without argument. there's only a very slight variation in this sound of course this will only matter as well depending on the player. Again this is going to be affected by the dynamics in that musicians playing. the Danmar beaters are the obvious choice for me, partly due to the fact they are a ball shaped objects as beaters and those felt mini spheres have stiffness but can allso give a little unlike wood. the beaters that have a wooden shaft I am assuming have a much different feel and in the weight and the characteristics of the rebound. So once again I can't help it stress that what should be more of a concern is the feel and control of these different beaters not necessarily just the sound. Overall most beaters that have a plastic and metal hinge with some attached hard striking surface like the TAMA Iron Cobra beaters and the Trick V-1 metal beaters. they just don't seem to have the feeling like they even want to bounce or rebound like a Ballwood. Let me just ask you all this what do you think is going to bounce and or rebound like a drumstick off the base drum head best? Is it something that is shaped like a ball or shaped like a hammer?

I currently have Tama Felts, but of the three I liked the sound of the Tama plastics best. Thanks for posting this, I clicked as soon as I read the title and you delivered, no BS.

Vintage bomber will fit very well on a lobby and small volumes gigs. More boom and less attack.

Personally i use iron cobra woods. They give me that lightweight feel and heavy strokes on the bass, and as a metal drummer, thats what I look for in a beater

Love all the comparison videos you do and that's whats really gonna make the channel go far. I believe making the videos over 10 minutes helps with getting views so feel free to add maybe some double pedal playing or something like that so it hits that 10min threshold but again love the videos

I have to say I'm still a fan of the tried but true felt beaters. Any brand sounded fine, even the cheap Skagg. Good attack/articulation. Even though a deeper tone, I thought it was "muddy" and didn't have as much articulation and my least favorite was the Skateboard beater. I'm not sure about the other brands, but the Danmar pedals have heat treated shafts (shouldn't bend or break) and a patented system of applying the beater so it shouldn't fall off anytime. Danmar cost a little more, but you get "more".

That's some nice editing, great vudeo!

One you guys missed was that Zoro cube felt beater . I've always wanted to try that one .

The "budget beater" has a nice punch to it.

The Stagg actually did it for me hahah wtf

Another +1 on the stagg... So the only thing to test now: how many strokes does it take before the shaft bends😁 Could be a good test... Or a very short video😅

What a perfect comparison video. Nothing beats the Iron Cobra felt. That strange looking Vic Firth VKB5 is actually my second favorite. Never seen that before.

i like a classic felt beater like the stagg, but i also like the bomber beater in my bag

Absolutely the vater... My drummer has a 22 inch orange county that's the deepest they make and it has way too much attack. I think I'm going to try this to tame it a little!

I really wish you did this comparison just with the isolated bass and not within a groove only

Are you recording the batter through the port hole, just the reso, or both?

Just yesterday, with rehearsal, I had a crap sound, with a standard mapex beater (the P710 pedal) I changed with a one similar to that stagg one, and i noticed a huge difference. That was why I was searching for a video like this. I had in-ear, but most of all, a mic ( shure beta91) inside the kick. How did you mic it ? Maybe, if this wasn't with a mic inside, you could test if there is a bigger difference noticeable with a mic inside ?

Yo Nick & Ryan!!! I have the wooden Iron Cobra beaters, I also use Slug Triad Pro HD gel beater patches, now my question is this ... Would it be conceivable that I’d get better rebound off of the Tama rubber beaters than the wooden ones? Since changing kits from my BLX to my newer Masters MCX (and not playing for quite a while due to this hideous wrist injury that you know about Nick) I’m not getting the same response what so ever, they are obviously different shells but they more or less have identical head/muffing setups, the only differences are the pads and beaters, I have adjusted the spring tensions on my Cobras but they still feel a little ‘dead’ as such, they are over 20 years old but have been very well maintained and basically nothing is wrong with them, so what do you 2 think?

A couple of those beaters are yearning for a higher tuned jazz tuning.

Stagg which the last one is the best. Treble, mid and bass all them blend in this beater.

Thanx! Now i know it doesn't matter what beater I use.

Great video - Super helpful!!!!

Is it really necessary to hit the snare and crash during the test of bass drum beaters? Seems like you tried everything to prevent us from hearing the bass drum tone.

First and last were the stand outs.

Danmar felt . Best all around tone /attack balance Bomber is too boomy . The others seem all attack and lack tone .

Thank you much!

THANKS for the video!

Well, apart from the Bomber they all sounded the same to me. I wasn't wearing headphones though.

Hi, Wich beater do you think bounces less when hit heel up ?

tama plastic... but they were all pretty similar

skateboard... nope! Excellent vid lads!

Wheel the best!!!

Conclusion: Buy whatever you like, they sound almost exactly the same :)

The spring squeak is distracting.

Okay, Firth Erskine sounded light, and the UFO Puck, heavy, so those look like specialty beaters to me. The Stagg and the blue Danmar, nothing special. Tama wood and plastic, ugly. Vater Bomber does have a tick, but it's just a different one than hard felt beaters. For favorites I can't choose between the Tama felt (nice balance) and the Bomber (nice bass).

there are almost no differences, but danmer felt is the best.

What drumhead are you using?

The budget felt for me.

You list all the time stamps and beaters but don't even list what drum head is being used. wow.

Serious limping everywhere here!

They all sound the same to me ... dammit.

Stagg felt