Muffling 18" Bass Drums?

[DrumGodsey]

Anyone have any tips on muffling an 18" bass drum where it sounds "punchy"? I have never had an 18" before and the pillow I have is too much and I don't want to spend a ton experimenting with different things until I find "IT"! I have a Gretsch USA Custom bass drum. Any input would be Great! Thanks!

[Paul Marangoni]

18" bass drums are really at their best when very little muffling is used (if any), but that isn't going to give you a "punchy" sound. I guess you could try a different (smaller?) pillow or a small towel or piece of foam. I have a clear Powerstroke 3 with a small packing blanket in my 18" right now, but I prefer it with a plain Ambassador with a very small towel inside.

[bstocky]

I have a 18" MCA and when mic'd it sounds like a "normal" pop/rock kick.
If you want punchy, try a muffled batter head (Emad, Powerstroke) with a pillow/blanket/pad inside then tell the soundman what you're going go.

I'd start with something like this (3 minutes in) and then add more muffling for more punch/less boom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx7RlqXGGTc

[Julián Fernández]

I was thinking about getting a 14x18 for general gigging and was worried about not being able to deliver enough low end. Maybe 14x20 is the way to go for both an open jazzy sound and some deeper BD sound?

[GoAndPractice]

Yamaha Impact Strip

The stuff that goes on marching bass drums. All the away around the attack head, nothing on the resonant head. Sounds great.

[bstocky]

I was thinking about getting a 14x18 for general gigging and was worried about not being able to deliver enough low end. Maybe 14x20 is the way to go for both an open jazzy sound and some deeper BD sound?

I've done rock/pop gigs with an 18" bass drum and everyone liked it. Everyone said it sounded normal.
I think the relationship between the drums is what matters. I used a 12" or 13" snare, a 10" tom and a 13" as my floor tom with the 18" bass. So everything was small. If I set up my 16" tom it sounds too low/powerful compared to the small bass drum.
It really depends on the sound you're going for and the gigs you do. You can make anything work if you're using mics but things might sound unbalanced acoustically.

[Old Pit Guy]

18x14 MCAN. Ambassador both sides with a small piece of auralex (12") just touching both heads.

I tried the Aquarian Modern Vintage with the felt strip and-or the Super Kick 1 on the 18" and liked them, but after buying two Ambassador 18s on ebay I preferred that sound and feel.

[willyz]

I've done a lot of gigging with an 18x14 Catalina kick with coated Emperors on both sides- always sounded fantastic and punchy without anything in it.

[gretsch-o-rama]

14x18's can only really do one thing in my experience. If you have to have an 18 at least get it deeper for a better thud.

[Rhythmatist]

I do several things depending on the gig. For the louder stuff I use a ported reso (coated amb) with a coated amb batter and use the old Simon Phillips rolled up towel mutes on both heads touching slightly. The drum is basically tuned the way Bob Gatzen describes in his vids for getting the lowest possible pitch. I originally got the idea from Larry Londin from an interview years ago. For those in between gigs where I'm playing more straight ahead Jazz and funk type stuff in the same sets I pull up the pitch a bit on both heads so there is a bit more of the traditional 18" kick character but slightly muted. If it's straight ahead stuff I'll replace the ported with a full reso...it has one of those muffle ring plys and basically a wide open batter. I've also used a rolled towel mute on the batter in that situation and tuned low for louder gigs as well. There are a lot of variations that will work for many situations just by having a couple of batters, a couple of resos and a couple of rolled up towels and some experimentation with a drum key.