Ask A Drum Tech!!!

[JayD]

Hey everyone- After one of my savvy friends found out that I field around 2 or more emails every week with questions about drums and drum gear, teaching drums and drumming in general- they suggested that I start a blog where I can post the answers for everyone to check out- so I did!

http://askjaydeachman.blogspot.com/

Since last night it's already getting some great questions and I'd love it if they turn into cool sharing discussion points.

If you'd like to know why the heck anyone would ask me a question- you can find out about me here- http://www.jaydeachman.com
In short- 33 years drumming- 25 professionally and I teched for a bunch of cool bands and drummers on the side since 1992!

I love this forum and it has become an almost daily check in for me!!!

Thanks for your time,
JAY

[gretsch-o-rama]

Excellent blog, Jay! I might even have some questions for you. I was just thinking in the shower, if I was better at Math I 'd like to mathematically figure out what is the proper height of a beater that weighs oh, say 4 oz. BTW, I love math but am out of practice really. I'm sure there would be a variety of factors that would play into it such as power/volume needed, speed/rate/velocity and of course you would have to account for the factors of the pedal such as spring tension, weight of the moving parts and so on. The truth is the answer doesn't really matter anyway, I'd just like to know. lol

[YamahaPlayer]

Excellent blog, Jay! I might even have some questions for you. I was just thinking in the shower, if I was better at Math I 'd like to mathematically figure out what is the proper height of a beater that weighs oh, say 4 oz. BTW, I love math but am out of practice really. I'm sure there would be a variety of factors that would play into it such as power/volume needed, speed/rate/velocity and of course you would have to account for the factors of the pedal such as spring tension, weight of the moving parts and so on. The truth is the answer doesn't really matter anyway, I'd just like to know. lol

You answered your own question - there is no "proper" height. It's entirely dependent on a 100 other factors. Not to mention, what kind of sound and response you like from your kick drum, the size of the drum, the type of beater, etc, etc

So the answer is - There is no such thing as "proper" placement.

Cool blog though. Be ready for the "How do I do X to make X faster!" barrage.

[gretsch-o-rama]

Excellent blog, Jay! I might even have some questions for you. I was just thinking in the shower, if I was better at Math I 'd like to mathematically figure out what is the proper height of a beater that weighs oh, say 4 oz. BTW, I love math but am out of practice really. I'm sure there would be a variety of factors that would play into it such as power/volume needed, speed/rate/velocity and of course you would have to account for the factors of the pedal such as spring tension, weight of the moving parts and so on. The truth is the answer doesn't really matter anyway, I'd just like to know. lol

You answered your own question - there is no "proper" height. It's entirely dependent on a 100 other factors. Not to mention, what kind of sound and response you like from your kick drum, the size of the drum, the type of beater, etc, etc

So the answer is - There is no such thing as "proper" placement.

Cool blog though. Be ready for the "How do I do X to make X faster!" barrage.

I'm of the opinion that mathematically there could be....One of my math teachers showed us mathematically that women are evil....just sayin'.

[chris perra]

I'd say from a physics perspective there would be... But It would be per beater, cam, ect..
Similar to the "Ideal" fulcrum point on the stick,.. every stick would be slightly different but there would be a spot that would be the best from a physics angle...
Someone should do a study haha..

[JayD]

Excellent blog, Jay! I might even have some questions for you. I was just thinking in the shower, if I was better at Math I 'd like to mathematically figure out what is the proper height of a beater that weighs oh, say 4 oz. BTW, I love math but am out of practice really. I'm sure there would be a variety of factors that would play into it such as power/volume needed, speed/rate/velocity and of course you would have to account for the factors of the pedal such as spring tension, weight of the moving parts and so on. The truth is the answer doesn't really matter anyway, I'd just like to know. lol

My gf went to university for fractal mathmatics and some physics so I asked her this one to which she replied- "Proper" (i.e. proper height) is subjective. Fair enough!!! Want a lighter feel? Lower it! Want more terminal velocity? Raise it- but that's going to require more power thus less effeciency- unless there's an offset cam etc. Everyone is different.... during my teching experience- Terry Bozzio sets his pedals so the beaters are fairly close to the head and medium extension- JR Robinson's kick is almost unplayable by humans with a huge wooden beater fully extended at maximum spring tension- and when at rest, that beater is maybe 2 inches off the heel plate it comes back so far!!!

Different strokes for different folks!

I'm hilarious.

[YamahaPlayer]

I'm of the opinion that mathematically there could be....One of my math teachers showed us mathematically that women are evil....just sayin'.

That wasn't a math class - that's called Numerology. Math has no relation to morality.

If you want to be technical about it, then you'd have to define what "proper" is, that being of course impossible because it's purely a matter of personal preference as stated.

In my opinion the most efficient (speaking of power dispersed:sound produced) is when the pedal is in balance with itself. IE At rest if you pull the beater back all the way it will free swing for the longest period of time. Aside from that, throw some good bearings in the pedal and find the settings you enjoy playing with.

[chris perra]

If you really want to get into it.. Start by adjusting the beater, cam, bass drum head angle, and tension without using a spring,..
If you can,... get the beater going freeflow sort of like the fulcrum of the freehand technique of bouncing the stick..
On a physics level that would be the optimum settings. then add the spring to the tension needed to be comfortable..
If you are a masher and bury the beater you'll need more tension.. if you bounce.. less...

[Tombo 7/4]

Wanted to dust off my old dynamics chops but found this:
Pedal Physics
http://ostinato_drumming.tripod.com/id48.html

And no spring? Apparently Buddy could play blazing singles without the spring.
Legend or not, I already tried it and nothing could move. It kinda defies terrestrial physics when your footplate is heavier than the beater. But then again Buddy was an alien...

[littlegrooves]

Yes, this is a tractable problem. You input what force you want the head to be hit with, what force you want to hit the pedal with, in terms of your foot. If these parameters are within reason, with respect to the mechanics of the pedal, then you have three variables: mass of the beater; height of the beater; how tightly you tension the spring (given that you aren't swapping out springs for ones with a different spring constant).

Besides that, it seems like a problem involving leverages (moments) and kinetic/potential energies, solvable using dynamics (radial velocities, etc).

Whateva, that's my take!