Aquarian SUPERKICK AND REGULATOR BASS DRUM HEADS

AUGUST 2009 RHYTHM 95
AQUARIAN SUPER II
tom batters. To complete the
fattest, funkiest, warmest,
deepest kit sound around
‘STUDIO FUNK
Drumming’, by Roy Burns and
Joey Farris. Learn the drumming
styles that suit the heads!
timbre. With the black Regulator front head
and offset 4¼” hole, there’s really no need for
any further damping, although I still
sometimes put a thin sausage pillow against
the bottom of the batter head.
The Regulator front head has a centrally
positioned felt circle. This controls excess
ringing, but without perimeter damping still
leaves plenty of sympathetic resonance and
tone. This was particularly so with the 20”
white head which was intact with no porthole.
Coupling this with a Super-Kick I the effect was
startling. The point is that with no porthole, all
that warmth and depth easily translates into
boom. The overall sound is much more
rounded, so you can easily get a hum if you
don’t get the front and back tuning balance
exactly right. Trying a higher, old-school jazzy
tuning, I experienced a boom like when
someone drives by you with a 10K in-car
stereo blasting hip-hop beats. There’s impact
ok, but it’s followed by a vibration that sets
everything rattling. And there’s kick-back and
TRY IT WITH...
buzz if you bury the beater. I ended up putting
a folded towel inside the drum, against the
batter, and got an electro-jazz sound with a
defi nite note. I’m used to a Super-Kick with
front porthole and low tuning, so this
reminded me of the inherent tone the shell
and the head actually do have. A full-on,
classic vintage sound.
Verdict
Now, here I must declare my bias. The
Super-Kick I has been my personal favourite
for a decade. It’s the darkest, fattest kick head
I’ve yet encountered, although the more
recent Evans Emad and Remo PowerSonic
have run it close. But they won't suit everyone:
they’re not the best choice for bebop and
they’re probably too warm and funky for
bullet-hard metal. For an all-rounder dabbling
in rock, New Orleans funk, country and pop;
they’re heaven.
Rating ✪✪✪✪✪
“The Super-Kick lays felt right
around the perimeter, the most
resonant area of the head. It
subdues the high overtones and
leaves you with a dark, wet ‘blap’”
THE 22" SUPER-KICK
II is Aquarian's larger twin ply
bass drum head
THIS 20" REGULATOR
has no port hole, though holed
versions are available
RHY166.gear_aqua 95 19/6/09 7:42:24 am