Hole in resonator head?

I recently purchased a new Yamaha set. Both the new and my old set hade no port cut into the resonator head on the bass drum. I have seen people play with and without this hole. So my question is, to what extent does this port effect the sound, projection, clarity/definition, and overall character of the bass drum? I never really experimented with this, and would appreciate any info from fellow drummers. FYI, I play a yamaha stage custom 22x18' BD. THANKS,

The sound hole cut in the bass drum's resonant head allows some of the air to escape the drum when the beater hits the batter head. This takes some of the resonance out of the drum and gives it more of a punchy feel. Generally, the bigger the hole the less resonance and more attack and punch. If the hole gets too big though you'll lose too much of the resonance and the drum won't have enough tone. If you want a lot of tone in your bass drum then no hole or a very small hole is good. If you want more of a dead, thud feel then a bigger hole with some muffling is preferred. Most jazz kits have no hole in the resonant head and the bass drum is tuned fairly high; That gives the bass drum a lot of tone and makes it very musical. I like no hole with a smaller bass drum, but it's all a matter of personal preference. With your 22x18 kick, it sounds like you're into rock. A muffled thud sound would probably work best for you.

I have a 22 x 18' pearl masters. Have been going back and forth between front heads. Here is what I have come up with. NO HOLE: great for accustic unmic'd situations. round, warm tone ( i tune fairly low). the bigger the room the better it sounds, not so good in my 14x24' living room. SMALL HOLE, off center: less boom & ring, more punch, works pretty well unmic'd. when mic'd inside close to beater head, sounds like a tomtom. when mic'd just outside the hold with a D112, way too boomy, not enough punch for rock & roll. when mic'd with an SM57/58, better punch, but still not good enough for my sound man in our rock band, he prefers to trigger.

in summary, i am disappointed in the drum, it sounded awesome in the music (big) store, but is not working for me. Wish i would have bought the 20' i tried out...