How to Make an 18" Kick Drum PUNCH 

My last 3 years of gigging were with a Metal band using a 18x16" kick, 2" lift, emad batter, same dampening inside, with a Audix D6. Small stage, big stage, that thing just hit you square in the chest out front. It cut thru the dropped D and B tunings no problem. The FOH guys just loved it! If your music is good, and you sound good, people don't give a sh!t how big the kick drum is.

I’ve been using 18” kicks since around 2017. Had a 5pcs Tama imperialstar. Then I bought a 5pcs stage custom with a 20” kick and ordered an 18 to go with it. Now I have a mapex v series kit with 8, 10, 12l toms and an 18” kick and a Tama club jam

Thank you for the comparison at the end, very helpful!

I love the sound of the 18 in stock with the evans calftone skin 😍

I love this! I've been debating about making my next drum build around a 20'' or an 18" and I think you helped make up my mind. Of course, I'm also planning either a 24" or 26" kit as well.... That's some tasty playing there, too.

Thank you!!! This is exactly what I needed.

Great Video. I have an 18" bass drum that I use for everything. I love it. ❤

Yo this video was super helpful. I have an 18” kick and wanted to make it sound exactly like this. Thank you brotha

I play two 18x14s on my double bass kit 3 rack toms one floor Tom all smaller sizes I wanted a double bass kit that took the same amount of space as standard 5 piece it’s wicked. I get more attack out of me than my bigger kick drums.

I live in Japan and play everything. Jazz jams in live houses that hold 30 to40 people and the drums are always big rock sets!! I just bought a bop set and going to start using them!

Thanks a bunch!… It was exactly what I needed to decide about the next set I am going to get.

Really great video. Feeling better about my little 18”

Great video guys!

Long time drummer and sound engineer here. There was one more big thing you could do with the drum to make a difference and a mic placement technique to eliminate the “basketball” tone. Put the drum on a riser to get the mallet closer to the center of the drum. That will reduce tone and increase attack. Instead of the dampener across the drum on both heads, use a boundary microphone like an e901 or beta 91 directly on the shell. Some people mistakenly place these in a may type system which defeats the purpose. A boundary microphone effectively eliminates the surface it is attached to which will help remove that “basketball” ping. That ping is caused by internal reflections within the cylinder meeting at the microphone point at nearly the same time.

I spy Rob Brown tuning. Great vid 👍

Very great video with cool tricks and settings ideas 👌 Thanks a lot !

I have an 18 Gretsch Catalina model bass drum with Evans Calftone heads. I compared it to the bass drum intro part of the Black Sabbath Iron Man song and it actually sounded similar! It really is proof that 18 bass drums are capable of being versatile in songs and not just jazz..…but it also probably helps if you get a well made drum.

I have a Pearl MHX Masters Mahogany kit and change the setup frequently. I play classic rock and normally use a 20" kick with a Sennheiser e902 and eMad pad inside. It sounds great. I also have an 18" MHX that I had been using single-headed as a gong drum and am now configuring the kit with the 18" bass drum and an Aquarian Super Kick II with the eMad pad. I have both a Shure Beta 91/A and a Sennheiser e902 inside. The drum itself sounds fabulous, can't wait to plug the mics in Saturday. I'll do a video on it in the coming weeks.

Excellent post! Well recorded, great pace, super informative. Well done!

What a great video! Really really helpful, especially for thoose who always wandered to switch to a 18" (or even a 20") for playing rock and similar, but without money to spend to try or just lazy! Thank you so much!

Very helpfull! Thanks bro 👍🏾

Well done!!

I love my Catalina Club 18" and I play a lot of fast punk stuff which isn't normal at this size, but it sounds SICK and feels tremendous!

I just love 18x14. Especially when recording. Big bass drums are fun, but sold my big ones, since I have no storage space from them(yes they even take a lots of storage space!)

An excellent video showing the changes with each step. I play a 1983 Superstar 18 x 14 for most everything. I think you got the best sound with the Emad but before the pillow. The pillow kills it a bit too much. I use old school felt strips very near the edge. Doesn't kill it quite as dead.

I got a maple TAMA 20x10, I also have a 24 and a 22, and I haven’t been playing those at all since I got the 20. Something about that smaller size just feels and sounds so good

This was very interesting, thank you. What I’ve learnt, is that I did every right instinctively (although not changed heads), but it’s good to know I am not missing anything. I’d also add, a heavy, soft beater and raising the drum of the ground a touch makes a difference. I actually have a 16” Sonor AQX, so even smaller, but I have got a rock sound out of it after some trial an error. I actually think it sounds cleaner and punchier. It does depend on the sound you’re going for though, for a tight, but fairly big modem prog sound this has worked just fine. You wouldn’t get a Bonham sound though, so there are limitations. The comparison I draw, is with speaker cabinets when recording guitar. Sometimes guitarists like to use a tweed amp for recording because they break up beautifully at a lower volume. However, they have 8” speakers, sometimes even 6” and they have what is sometimes referred to as a smaller ‘sound stage’. What I often do is reamp the sound through a Marshall 4X12, which has 12” speakers. Or, I might use an IR. You get the same character, but it just sounds bigger. It’s a very hard thing to achieve Amy other way; you can use saturation and reverb to be close to that larger than life sound. In summary I guess this works fine the majority of the time and it can even sound better in a lot of cases, but occasionally one needs a monster drum for a monster sound. (Of course you can go too far, a 24” kick needs a heavy foot to drive it) Cheers again guys, useful experiment. And if anyone is after something like this now, check out there Sonor AQX, great value. Paid about just over £400 new and I sold the snare straight up.

I've been using a Gretsch 18" bass for years now. No muffling, Evans emad batter, Remo Ambassador front with 3" port. It's got more punch and tone than any bass drum in any size that I've owned. Miked it's a freakin' cannon. 😎 Abide

Great vid. Currently looking at 18" kick for weddings and functions. this has been a useful watch

Love my 22x18 Pearl Mx's, I use Aquarian impact heads just tight enough to get the wrinkles out, a little more loose on the reso's. Talk about thud and attack!

18’s are great, always makes me think of elvin.

Never going back to an 18 inch bass drum love my 22

This is incredible! how haven't I found this channel before 👀

Very helpful thanks

Very impressive

Great video!

It has a lot to do with the room you play in and the part of the room you are in as well. You can actually move your set around and get different sounds from it. In the corner of a room seems to be a lot deeper and carry further. In a there is a lot you can do to make a smaller bass drum to sound different. It's the same way with car or home audio. You can get different sounds from the bass depending on where you place the subwoofer and the type of box it's in. Rather it be a sealed box or a ported or a passive radiator. You can do the same wit the bass drum by getting a open front head on it or sealed and by changing the muffling and tune.

That 18 inch has a great sound after all that. Thanks!

A couple of fun experiments (mech & tech) Try to centre beater on batter to even out asymmetric ring-dampening ~might (depending on skin and shell speed), help fatten the "Whump". Toy with (for eg a Beta 52) presenting cross angle in rev port to shell inner on an angle incident to reflect axis to where beater falls; should leave Whump unaffected (may slightly lighten), increase and shorten Thump, and definitely help find some bite in in the Snap of lack-luster kicks :) ....... maybe ;)

I have a Tama Silverstar bop kit which I use for all my gigs, not just jazz or small venues, but I've never been satisfied with the sound I get when I do the occasional outdoor festival gig, to the point where I considered buying a rock kit with a 22" or 24" kick drum. I had one of those outdoor gigs last night, so in preparation I used the tips in this video. I followed the tuning exactly and even bought an Evans EQ Pillow. The only difference is my batter head is a coated Remo PowerStroke 3. My kick drum sounded awesome! Now I realize mic choice/placement and sound system attributes have a lot to do with it, but from my vantage point behind the drums I was thrilled with the punch and tone I heard. I'm glad I didn't buy that second kit as my bop kit is to easy to transport and fits nicely in my Honda Civic.

Great job. Empolying some kind of bass drum lifter to the 18 would have been nice as a final sonic comparison.

Amazing video man! Subscribing now!

Using a kick riser to hit the centre helps also

That's an awesome way to turn your jazz kit into a r&b kit with a simple head change and detentioning,

good stuff

Jazz bass drums back in the big band era used to be much larger: often converted 28" marching basses. As the cymbals became more of the sound, and as musicians started having to use their own cars or the subway, the smaller bass became a thing. Small clubs aren't going to fit a 22x18 without some compromise.

I bought a used Tama Starclassic with 18 x 16, and it turned out to have this exact new head set-up installed, including velcro strips for the internal pillow. The crucial variables not mentioned here are: 1) lifting the 18" so the pedal strikes in the center, and (2) Power/volume loss in playing the 18" without a mic. Any drum can sound good in the hands of a good sound man, but I have felt that playing non-jazz gigs without a mic has required the 22", even without the pillow.

Absolutely amazing video. I own a 24x14, a 22x14, a 20x14 and an 18x14 and I’m playing anything from Megadeth to Lady Gaga to Kool and the Gang and the 18 bass BY FAR is my favorite! Yes it’s got the emad , same emad muffling Pad and a Audix D6 and it’s killer. The compliments never stop. Thanks for this review, it just enhances what I’m doing. Peace ☮️

Good video

Yup, had already made these choices prior to watchin the vid for my 18". Think I'm on to something, 😉

More data for consideration: I got good results elevating my 18" kick with one of those Gibraltar riser things. About 1-1/2" higher. I'm guessing that getting the shell farther off the ground helps the low end develop a bit better, and it puts the beater closer to the center. Works for me, along with low tuning, and a bit of muffling (bath towel). Passes for a 'rock' kick drum. For what it's worth!

It seems the older I get the small my drum set becomes. In my 20s double bass 4 toms yadada

❤️ this! Turned that lil baby into a real certified bass drum! ✅ Heads, Tunning, Dampening, Mic Placement, Beater Position #Sweet 💯 #MacanaRoxie

An 18" kick is punchier than a 22'' in the first place. Thanks. Love your channel.

Nice drums, Nice drumming, great advice. You covered a lot....there's one thing I think you're missing which to me is a big one!! The placement of the beater on the 18" is not dead center. With the aid of a pedal lift, you can get that beater dead center. For me it makes a HUGE difference in the sound. Just an inch or two off center produces a higher less punchy note. With all the changes you illustrated, it would make sense to get that beater centered. Aloha!

How are you tuning the reso head? Not sure if you mentioned that.

I think you need good technique to make an 18 work. If you leave the beater on the head then you might run into some problems with the drum losing low end. You have to play off the head to achieve good attack and enough low end to use it.

If you are playing classic rock LIVE, good luck getting a nice deep sound from an 18" or even 20" bass drum.

I have the Yamaha Stage Custom Birch in 18x15. Evans EQ4 batter, EQ3 reso with hole… love the punch! I use the EQ4 & EQ3 non-hole that’s designed for tom rims on my 16” floor tom too!

For my taste that low calftone tuning sounds best. Not a rock sound, but it would work for hip-hop, drum'n'bass and other urban styles.

On your next video explain how to make a 12” subwoofer sound like an 18” 😂 I’m considering a 16” bass drum after seeing this. There’s a Ludwig complete set for $250 used in my area I think I’m going to try it out. Classical music doesn’t need crazy bass and I think would be good to accompany acoustic instruments

Just having something in the drum will cancel that "basketball" frequency. Ironically, a basketball would work.

High, low, and medium tuning will project by Diameter and depth. Each will have it's own Sweet Spot. You will know the pitch you want when you hear it.....

can you do review 22x20

Well I’m sold, plus it looks cooler in my opinion an if you drive a small saloon car like I do 18” probably your only option 😂

I have a doubt! I think the skin you used was Evans BD18 EMAD CLEAR, right? I'm here thinking that the 18" Evans BD18EMAD 2 Clear might sound even better, would it?

Great video. Although there's still that thump to 22", that 18" just cannot produce. I guess some laws of physics just cannot be overcome. Which pisses me off 😄

Rather than (relatively) deep 18" I'd take a shallow (12-14") 20", I think it'd be ideal -- lower fundamental with a shorter sustain.

What is that headphone cable extender

The only other thing maybe you could have tried was adding a "Kick Port" to your porthole. I use one on my 18" as well as my 22" and it helps to draw all that low end into the kick mic.

did all this with a fiberskin head on the front and a kick port. it's really suprising how low an 18 will go.

What pedal and beater ??

Something not mentioned here is a riser. Not sure this drum needed it, but striking the drum in the center of the head brings out more of the fundamental pitch of the drumhead.

I couldn’t figure out how Phil Collins lower rack toms were able to be so low until I realized he was using an 18” bass drum.

Great comparison video! How do you think the 18 would sound if you added a KickPort?

I use a pair of 20” Yamaha Stage Custom kicks. They sound like cannons. No muffling needed; they are perfect rock bass drums. But they are NOT perfect jazz drums. They work, but are less than ideal. In my future will be an 18” for that purpose.

cool! however, without a mic the 18 will be too soft in volume I fear when practicing with a band?

sounds close to me

Another weird thing you can do is place something heavy in the drum. Like a sand bag

Sounded better IMHO before you moved the mic into the drum. Gave the sound some length. With other instruments the mic-inside variant would sound completely dead. If the tone is too long it can be shortened in post, but that's better than trying to actually ADD tone (I wouldn't, surely there are limits). Anyway YMMV and thx for the comparison!

My new 18 inch is flat on the ground but the pedal beater doesn't hit flush. Its at a slight angle and the middle to top make contact with the head. Any tips to make it hit flush? Thanks!

Is it advisable to use an elevator for the 18?

I definitely still hear a difference...but it's not really pitch, or even low end, it's more depth, which can be a good thing, or SOMETIMES, not a good thing. Even for full bands, I've sat in on kicks, that are 16" and 18" depths... and I typically prefer shallower depths, just sits better in the mix, and it doesn't feel like I have to control the kick as much!

Can you make a 14 inch floor Tom sound like a 16 inch floor Tom?

i watched tons of videos about how to tune my kick, and now i got a tone which isnt that bad. I still have an annoying dry sound, if you have any solutions, please

What are using for the in ears ?

Is that a 14 inch pork pie beechwood snare I see?

I think pointing the kick at the wall so close like that is making the whole mix sound muddy. Could just be my ears bu it all seems muffly and muddy.

Every bass drum sounds better when you let the beater rebound fully off the head imo.

Put a kickport in there, and you'll really get close to a 22" kick sound.

Is 18 a normal size or small?

18 is a floor tom size. 22 bd all the way, hell gimme a 24 lol

No matter how hard you try, you still cannot duplicate the low thump of a 22" or 24" bass drum with a 20" or smaller.

Wow tuning gets you 75% of the way.

I’m was frustrated with my 18 inch by 14 inch for the last 3 years and went back to a 22 inch by 18 inch.

Where's my guy with the time stamps? 22 vs fully modded 18 seems very similar. 18 is toight

The pillow ruined it. You had it before that went inside.

Which he would stop playing the snare to really hear the bass.

18 is fine especially if you’re just playing standard songs. In most songs you can’t really hear the kick drum anyway. And if you do, it’s so subtle.

22 still sounded better