I finally got to play my Yam, Club Jor cocktail kit. After change of usual skins and various tunings I was able to get a reasonable kick/snare sound. Ofcouse I took it to my studio set up and decided to get a Mics Ear on it. Man did it SUCK. The kick sounded like the snare and vice versa. My ear was missing the buzz that the close micing wasn't. So I built some baffles and got a great tight punch kick, but the snare choked alittle more than I would like but is still liveable. Studio wise it was better but my Girlfriend (also a musician and purchaser of said kit) liked the previous sound due to a great reggae vibe it gave. I know these kits could use more air vents but I'm not allowed to touch the shell (girlfriend). So here's my question!!!!. Has anyone had some baffle techniques that work great on the Yamaha kits. I've read KCronins set up, but I'm at the mercy of the stock shell with no vents. I've also read (on this site) of holes in the skin to vent, I just worry of it tearing during performance. I'm currently looking into vented skins that Evans and Attack built a few years ago for the kick for these same venting problems.
Thanks guys, this site rocks and so does a Cocktail Kit
Baffle Techniques
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Famous Willy
Hey!
I'm in the process of making a cocktail kit and some of my construction concerns are your modification concerns.
I was just wondering--how did you install a baffle without drilling into the shell? I haven't seen a way around that that didn't involve glue, and glue isn't an attractive option to me. I've already decided I don't mind drilling into my 1960 Ludwig shells, as I've tried to sell the drums on numerous occasions and nobody was remotely interested in them. Still, I'm worried about cosmetics of the finished drum and would prefer to not have a ton of little bolts sticking out of the drum.
When you mention venting the head, I immediately thought of those Evans heads. I'm pretty sure they still make them...aren't they called Generra dries or something like that?
If you can't find them, it seems like 8-10 small hole punches evenly spaced around the drum wouldn't be that dangerous. Maybe 6 to be on the safe side. I'd be more worried about one quarter or half-dollar sized hole. I think the tension around the head would be evenly distributed with 6 small, clean holes. I never heard of a ripping problem with the Evans heads. Actually, I really like this idea for my set, as the inside of my drum will serve as storage for my hardware. If I vent the shell, I could lose a cowbell or a wingnut, theoretically.
If you Evans vented heads, please post the results!
Will
I'm in the process of making a cocktail kit and some of my construction concerns are your modification concerns.
I was just wondering--how did you install a baffle without drilling into the shell? I haven't seen a way around that that didn't involve glue, and glue isn't an attractive option to me. I've already decided I don't mind drilling into my 1960 Ludwig shells, as I've tried to sell the drums on numerous occasions and nobody was remotely interested in them. Still, I'm worried about cosmetics of the finished drum and would prefer to not have a ton of little bolts sticking out of the drum.
When you mention venting the head, I immediately thought of those Evans heads. I'm pretty sure they still make them...aren't they called Generra dries or something like that?
If you can't find them, it seems like 8-10 small hole punches evenly spaced around the drum wouldn't be that dangerous. Maybe 6 to be on the safe side. I'd be more worried about one quarter or half-dollar sized hole. I think the tension around the head would be evenly distributed with 6 small, clean holes. I never heard of a ripping problem with the Evans heads. Actually, I really like this idea for my set, as the inside of my drum will serve as storage for my hardware. If I vent the shell, I could lose a cowbell or a wingnut, theoretically.
If you Evans vented heads, please post the results!
Will
Just as point of interest of how I baffled my set up, Remo coated Emperor head, small square piece of foam place on inside of shell against the skin. Then I cut a round 1 inch thick piece of foam to seal off some vibration. I then cut out a 14 inch Evans G2 head as close to the rim as possible and pushed that down on top of the foam (it is a nice seal around the shell). This in theory acts as a membrane to slow the air movement down. I stacked another 2 pieces of round foam and skins and topped it off with a final piece of round foam. Through the mic I was able to get a very big, punchy kick sound, not unlike a 20" kick drum. Acoustically it has a prominent tick but mic'd up it is very Rock sounding and fairly smooth. The Snare was a little boxy but I was able to tune it up enough to get a nice crack and with a small piece of duct take take some ring off the snare. (or leave it depending on the gig) I tried putting in spaces (about 4") between the Skin/foam levels to make more air isolation from the kick, this worked well for the kick and opened up the sound but completely killed the snare as the final skin/foam layer covered up the only breather hole on the kit. This set up works good for me in the studio, but I've yet to try it live, I suspect I will have no problem with the sound but not mic'd the kick will be a little thin. At least the attack will cut through and give the appearance of a kick sound. Overall it's a 7 out of 10 in sound IMHO. Good for rock, country, but maybe a little to dead for jazz.
After 18 years on a kit, I sure love this drum, what a blast to play.
After 18 years on a kit, I sure love this drum, what a blast to play.