Bass drum resonating in drones - any decent recording

[jedburgh]

Although I'm a piper, I recognize the contribution a a well tuned bass drum makes to band sound.

I've been told by the bass section that our old drum cannot be cranked high enough to fit our tuning. To assist in supporting the need for a drum that can be properly tuned, it would be nice to pull up a recording where that tuning can be heard.

I've listened to quite a number of youtube offerings (of good pipe bands, of bands I know have well tuned drums, of bass drum contests, etc. but the bass tuning that is so obvious in the field seems to get lost in the snares or chanters (or both?) in the recorded. I've run the sound through some reasonable speakers, but haven't yes messed with the mix.

Does anyone know of a recording or a decent audio that could be played to some of the non-band people (who control our purse strings) so that they could hear what a difference a good well tuned instrument would make.

Jed

[Tom MacKenzie]

Re: Bass drum resonating in drones - any decent recording

Well I don't know about a recording but listening to a Grade 1 Bass Drummer live will easily convince anyone.

The heads are tuned to the same frequency as the bass drone, and are balanced to be at exactly the same tension on both sides at this tuning. This allows the heads to resonate sympathetically with each other.

Also the thickness of the Mylar plastic, dampening rings and the number of layers and type of wood in the shell, the width of the shell, and the material used to make the hoops make a big difference.

Supporting the drum so that the shell is free to resonate will also improve the sound efficiency of the instrument.

If you stand beside any well tuned bass you will feel the resonance right through your body and the hairs on your arms will tingle. The sound will be a warm, rich, all enveloping sound that blends perfectly with the pipes.

Perhaps talking to Steve Ellsworth the bass drummer of the Ottawa Police Grade 1, a band which I think has ties to Glengarry County, to ask him to play for your purse string holders will make a convincing argument. You could approach the lead drummer Brendan Kelly to make the connection.

tomm

[John McCain]

Re: Bass drum resonating in drones - any decent recording

Have you tried listening to bass drum competitions to see if this is what you're trying to find?

Here's one I picked at random:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDzsawbul84

[Rooklidge]

Re: Bass drum resonating in drones - any decent recording

I've been told by the bass section that our old drum cannot be cranked high enough to fit our tuning.

This is a suspicious argument. You would have a tough time not being able to tighten the head enough to meet the drone pitch. If resonance is lost, OK, but there are many brands and styles of heads to investigate before buying a new bass drum.

Have a piper trio just play their drones and have the bass beat along in even pulses. Have another drummer crank down the rims evenly as the bass is playing until the bass blends with the tuned drones. If it can't be done, the pipers will know it's true immediately, otherwise it could be the drummers are just looking for a magic bullet.