Anybody know the lowest frequency a timpani or a bass drum can play?

[Howard]

Can't find this using Google...

 

[Howard]

Yes, not all of them are the same size, I'm just trying to find the LOWEST note played by either one that can be bought - i.e. no custom units that go ultra-low.

 

[yukichigai]

Technically it can go as low as you need, depending on how you tighten the head. The issue is that below a certain range the tone gets much lower for each unit you move the tone adjustment by, and considerably quieter. It's all relative to how loud you need it really. I'm not sure on which notes are generally assumed to be far too quiet and/or hard to adjust to, but I suspect you can ask a high school band teacher.

 

[thomsbrain]

for "bass drums" yukichigai is pretty much right. you can tune them to anything you want. but just as a very rough estimate from having recorded bass drums and seeing where the meat of the tone is, they can be anywhere from 40-120 Hz. Figure on the lower range for rock music or hip-hop samples, higher for jazz or other lighter styles.

timpini play specific pitches, controlled by a foot pedal and changed while playing to play semi-melodies. the lowest they are commonly written for is C2, which is about 65 Hz. 4-string bass guitars go down to 41 Hz. a 5 string bass guitar can go down to 30 Hz or 27.5 Hz if it's tuned down a bit. pianos go down to 27.5 Hz as well. big pipe organs can go below 20 Hz.

if you're asking as a stereo-related question, just make sure you can extend to 25-30 Hz and you'll probably be fine.

BTW: i found those pitches by searching for "musical instrument frequency ranges" on yahoo.

 

[Howard]

Alright, thanks a lot!