Pearl MLX 22 kickdrum...any tips?

Hey I'm new to this group but not to drumming...I've been playing for about 15 years and have had all kinds of tuning adventures ...But this 22 x 16 MLX kick drum has me stumped...I've used thinner shelled kits in the past and I've learned you can't use the same head combos and tuning techniques for the thicker shelled kits in order to get the same sound/pitch. Anyway, this friggin drum has difficulty reaching the nice lows I know can come from a MLX kick...maybe its a freak...who knows but this is the tuning / head combo I use. BATTER HEAD: Evans EQ (single ply with the dampening ring and little holes) tuning is just off sloppy- about 2 turns of the tuning keys FRONT HEAD: Pearl single ply logo head (Ambassador thickness)with 6'hole...tuning again is just 2 turns.

There's nothing worse than being told by the sound guy that it sounds kind of weird...and getting looks that I haven't got since I was 16 and really didn't know how to tune! I f anyone has some suggestions (other than ramming my telegraph- pole sized sticks up the sound guys ass) I'd be bloody appreciative.

'I f anyone has some suggestions (other than ramming my telegraph- pole sized sticks up the sound guys ass)'

That's classic!!!

One thing that may help with the sound engineer's dilemma is to possibly tune the front head up a bit higher than you are now. I used to tune both the front and batter heads just above flopping and I kept getting the same reaction from the sound guy about the kick 'sounding kinda funky' etc. He said the kick sounded more like a rumble than a 'nice thud'. So I tuned the front head up quite a bit and bingo.....made a HUGE difference. This was one of the things that lead me to learn more about tuning my kit. Let us know what happens...

Thanks Greg...I think I will give that a try...I had a hunch I was going to have to try something counterintuitive.

I have a 22' Pearl kick with the Evans EQ3 with Logo head (Amb. weight), and have them both pretty loose. Nice thud sound. Might want to try a little thicker batter. The thinner batter will have more tone to it.. which might be going nuts with the sound guy

Go with the pole solution.

I'd try a PS3-style front head. Also make sure your bearing edges are ok. -strat81

***************************************** Rich '99 SL1

'If I go crazy then will you still call me Superman?'

Proud Uncle of Mary Elizabeth Maceda, born 8/15/00 Proud Member of 89.5 FM WSOU-Seton Hall's PIRATE Radio Proud Apprentice at MRP Custom Drums www.mrpdrums.com *****************************************