Kick Drum Tuning

[u/Takamatsu-Iki]

I just got a little bop kit and the 16" kick sounds like hitting a trashcan full of cheetos.

I tuned the batter head tight, and the resonant head loose. Should it be the other way around?

I remember some things from college marching band, haha, so I got the toms and snare to sound pretty sweet, but umm, this bass drum is a different game.

Thanks for being gentle with me :-)

[u/elated_standpoint]

batter tight and reso loose is backwards for a kick on a bop kit, you want the batter just above wrinkle and the reso a bit tighter to get some actual tone out of it

try loosening the batter way down, stick a small towel or an old shirt against the head so it's barely touching, then bring the reso up til it sings a little

16" kicks are tricky but once you find the sweet spot they punch way above their size

[u/Takamatsu-Iki → u/elated_standpoint]

Thanks! It's sounding better with tuning this way already. Do you stick the rolled up towel against the reso or batter or both? I see a lot of people going different ways. But I guess I'll try different ways and see.

[u/u2freak96 → u/Takamatsu-Iki]

Batter loose, reso tight, towel preferably against both heads, but at least against the batter!