The Different Types of Beaters and Their Applications
There are about a million different types of bass drum beaters out there. They come in just about every color, shape, and composition you can imagine. There are a few standard materials that the vast majority of beaters are made out of, so let’s explore the options, and take a look at the differences between them.
The most common materials used to make bass drum beaters are hardened rubber/hard plastic, felt, and wood. Other materials you may see include acrylic, foam rubber, metal, and even skateboard wheels. The type of beater I use depends on the style of music I am playing. Most of my gigs are in either the pop/alternative rock, or singer songwriter vein, so I find that hard rubber, and hard felt cover just about everything I do.
The type of beater you use (in my opinion) is determined by the amount of attack you want out of your kick drum. The harder the beater, the more attack you will get, the softer the beater, the less attack and more tone you will get. Other factors such as shape, and weight will also affect the sound, so below I have listed different types of beaters, and their features.
Hard Rubber/Plastic
Hard rubber/Plastic (I grouped these together as they are very similar) is, from what I have observed, one of the most widely used beater types. This is my favorite beater type, as it gives me an excellent balance between attack and tone. For the majority of the music I play, I like to achieve a lot of attack, and enough low end to punch through the mix, and this gives me just that. Most plastic beaters are two sided (or more) and also have a hard/pressed felt side to give the player multiple options. I will cover multiple sided beaters separately later in the post.
Felt
Felt beaters are also extremely popular, and will also give the player a decent amount of attack versus tone. For this category I will only cover hard/pressed felt, and cover all of the softer, more fluffy beaters later. This beater will give you a nice resonance with a more delicate slap. I use the felt side of my beater for softer singer songwriter stuff, or more folky music in general to give the kick drum a nice presence, but not an overpowering boom. It allows me to be more subtle, when the drums are not supposed to be up front. These beaters are also great for jazz, and country.
Wood is a less popular, but still widely acknowledged beater material. I have not had much experience playing wood beaters, but I know that they give you a huge sound, with lots of attack. They are heavy, and allow the player to kick extremely hard, while the hard wood surface gives you that powerful “slap” that most rock/metal drummers love.
Multiple Sided
These beaters are available in many different combinations, and made by many different companies. They are great for the player who needs many options available to them, because they save having to buy, and change out multiple beaters for every gig. The most common multiple sided beater is the aforementioned two sided hard plastic/felt beater. Lets focus on some less common options. Mapex makes a great three sided beater consisting of wood, plastic, and felt. This gives you the best of every world, and allows you to cover most styles of music with one beater. Pearl makes a 4 sided beater that is similar to the two sided felt/plastic beater, but also gives you a curved, and flat side for each. The curvature of the pedal surface also makes a difference in the sound.
Longhaired/Fluffy
Longhaired beaters can give you an amazing sound in the right situation. They are fantastic for jazz, and when paired with a properly tuned 18″ or 20″ kick drum, can give you that ideal “bump” you need for swing. They obviously give you almost no attack, and all tone, so tuning is especially important here. These beaters can make a great bass drum sound phenomenal, and sing the way its supposed to. They are also essential for cajon playing (if you play with an internal or external pedal) as they will not damage the plate, and give you a nice “thud.” One company that has some cool options for these beaters is Danmar (linked HERE) They also make great wood, and decorative beaters, so definitely go check out their site.
Everything Else
There are a few other options for bass drum beaters that are predominantly decorative. These beaters are mainly just for looking good, so sound can be secondary here. I’m sure that they will still give you a decent sound, as most of them are made from acrylic, metal, or foam, and will be similar to plastic, or felt. Once again Danmar Percussion makes some awesome decorative beaters, so look to them if this is your thing.
