From picking your size to approving the print, here's exactly what it takes to design a one-of-a-kind bass drum head — start to finish, in your browser.
Making a custom bass drum head used to mean printed proofs, art-prep fees, separations charges, and a wait of two or three weeks before you saw what your kit was going to look like. Today the whole thing happens in your browser. Upload your art, see it on the drum head live, place a mic port wherever you want it, approve the mockup, and we print and ship — usually within a few business days. Below is the full step-by-step.
Bass drum heads come in standard sizes from 16 inches up to 28 inches. The size you need is whatever matches the diameter of your bass drum shell. Not sure? Our drum head size finder sorts it out in seconds. Most modern kits use 20", 22", or 24" front (resonant) heads. Marching bass drums and concert bass drums run larger, including 28".
If you'll be ordering multiple sizes (one for the studio kit, one for the touring kit), build your artwork at the largest size you'll need. Scaling artwork down keeps the detail sharp; scaling up loses sharpness fast. Per-size pricing is on the pricing page.
We print on premium drum heads from Aquarian, Evans, and REMO — the same heads you'd buy at a music store. Pick the brand you already trust on your kit and we'll print on it.
The browser designer accepts PNG, JPG, PDF, SVG, EPS, and TIFF. Vector files (PDF, SVG, EPS) print sharpest because they scale to any size without losing detail — ideal for logos and type. High-resolution raster files (300 PPI at the actual print size) work great for photos and illustrations.
If your artwork is borderline low-resolution, the designer flags it and shows you the effective print PPI before you commit. Full prep guidance — bleed, fonts, color mode, transparency — is on the artwork help page.
Drag your file into the designer and the artwork drops onto a live preview of the drum head. From there you can:
Everything you see on screen is what the printed drum head will look like — the mockup is the proof. There's no separate proofing step after you submit.
If your kit gets mic'd, you'll want a port hole cut into the front head. The designer lets you place the mic port exactly where you want it — left, right, low, high, off-center. Standard sizes are 4", 5", and 6"; 4" is the most common because it's big enough to mic through but doesn't dominate the artwork.
You can also upgrade the port: a snap-in port ring (visible on the front, in chrome, gold, black, white, or red), a hidden hole reinforcer that protects the cut against fraying, or a KickPort for more low-end punch. See the full guide to bass drum port holes for what each one does. If you don't want a port hole at all, leave it set to "None" and we'll print and ship a sealed head with no cut.
When the design looks right, click Approve & Add to Cart. The mockup you see is what gets printed — including the mic port placement, the bleed area, and any background color. Once you complete checkout, your order goes straight to production.
Pricing is per size, with no setup fees, no separations charges, and no color limits. Pay-in-4 plans are available through Klarna at checkout, alongside the usual credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Production happens at our facility on real drum heads from the manufacturer. We use a direct-to-head printing process that doesn't add any noticeable thickness or stiffness — your printed bass drum head still tunes, plays, and sounds exactly like a stock head. Most orders ship within a few business days; transit time is usually 3–7 business days within the US, 7–14 internationally. Tracking shows up in your account on the My Account page once the head is dispatched.
Printed directly on the drum head — never a sticker, decal, or film you apply yourself. Your artwork becomes part of the drum head, just like the original logo on a stock head from the factory.
No. Drummers regularly tell us they can't hear any difference between a stock head and a printed one. The print process doesn't change the head's tuning, attack, or resonance.
Designing it in the browser takes most people 5–15 minutes. Production after approval takes a few business days. Shipping adds 3–7 days for US delivery. Plan on roughly 1–2 weeks total from "I want a custom head" to "it's on my kit."
Yes — that's the most common use case. As long as you own the rights to the logo (or have permission to use it), you can upload it and print it on any size head. We won't print artwork that infringes someone else's copyright or trademark.
Pricing starts around $86 for a 16" head and scales up to $118 for a 28" head, with no setup or art fees. The full per-size pricing is on the pricing page. Optional upgrades like a chrome port ring ($20) or hole reinforcer ($12) are itemized in the cart.
For inspiration on what's possible — band logos, photographic backgrounds, hand-drawn artwork, school emblems — check out the gallery of customer drum heads. Every one was designed in the browser by the customer and printed in our facility.
Open the designer and have your custom bass drum head laid out in your browser in minutes.
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