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How to Make Your Base Drum Go

BOOM!!
The bass drum is often an afterthought with a lot of players. This is because, in most cases, drummers will leave stock heads on them, cut holes in the front head, and jam the drum with blankets or pillows in order to get a solid, short “thump”. Players will focus on the “thump”, and not at all on the tone of the instrument (remember that yes, it IS an instrument!).

This sort of “stuff it and forget it” thinking is counter-productive. The bass drum is the low-end foundation of your sound. It helps to keep the pulse grounded, and it helps, in some forms of music, to give your audience something to dance or tap their feet to. Without a strong bass drum, the pulse will be weakened, no matter how good the player is. With that in mind, here are some bits of information to help you get the most bottom out of your bass drum.

 

PART 1: TUNING

First, the instrument has to be tuned well, with the proper heads for the job on it. Space doesn’t permit a detailed listing of all bass drum heads and their tonal properties here, but in general, I recommend using some sort of “prepared” head. In other words, use heads that have some kind of tone control built in. Some examples for batter heads: Evans EQ series and EMAD heads (both of which I use and love), Aquarian’s Super Kick series and Remo’s PowerStroke series. For the resonant side: Again, Evans EQ series resonant heads, Aquarian’s Regulator series and Remo’s PowerStroke 3. These prepared heads give you more emphasis on the lower frequencies while reducing high frequency ringing and keeping the sustain of the drum controlled.
 
 
 
 
As a starting point, first tune the drum close to its lowest point. Do this by finger-tightening the tension rods, then gradually bring up the tension on the head by half-turns of the rods while pressing down firmly in the middle of the head, until the wrinkles disappear. Then tap around the outer edge of the head at each of the lugs, making sure each point gives you the same pitch. Don’t listen for a low note, but rather listen for the upper frequency harmonics. Make adjustments as needed. Then do the same for the opposite head, and strive for the same pitch that you heard on the other side. A note about holes in the front: The only reason they’re put there is to allow access for a microphone or adjustments to muffling. I don’t recommend using holes because you lose a great deal of your low frequencies. It does increase the amount of airflow out of the drum, which gives more direct attack, but the drum loses its “oomph”. If you MUST have one, make sure it’s off as far to one side of the head as possible. With a hole in the center, you may as well have no head at all, because that head no longer acts as a vibrating component, and the drum will sound the same as a single-headed drum. Your best bet is to buy a resonant head with a hole already put there by the manufacturer (like Evans’ EQ3 Resonant or Aquarian’s Regulator). Once you have the heads on and tuned low, you have a good starting point that you can listen to, and see if you like it. You can go up with your tension/tuning from there.
Also, here’s a note about muffling: I don’t like to use muffling much, because muffling makes the bass drum feel empty, and it loses volume and a sense of “bigness”. Muffling bass drums is done to make their sound a short thump. Here’s the problem: The drum is not free to resonate, and so it has no power, and you have no control over it. Using no muffling (or at the least using self-controlling heads) will give you the biggest, best acoustic sound possible. It is up to you at that point to control how much you need out of the drum volume-wise. If I ever have to use muffling (for smaller rooms or to get an authentic ‘70s sound), I use an Evans EQ Pad on the batter head, and that’s it.

PART 2: FOOT TECHNIQUE

Try this experiment: Hit your floor tom as you normally would. Then hit it again, and this time let the stick stay buried in the head; don’t let it come off. Try it with your other drums.

They sound terrible, don’t they? So why do most drummers play their bass drums that way? Why should you stomp on the pedal and let the beater stay there? All it does is choke the sound.

Experiment #2: Once your bass drum has been tuned, play it while burying the beater in the head. Then play it again, while allowing the beater to rebound off the head. Surprise, surprise…there’s tons of bottom-end there!
 

I won’t go into a long explanation of bass drum technique here (I do strongly suggest that you go out and buy Steve Smith’s DVD, “Drumset Technique/History of the U.S. Beat” for a fantastic lesson on foot technique), nor will I say that I never use the “burying” technique, because it’s good for certain applications, but 99% of the time I let the beater come off. I do that whether I’m playing heel-down or heel-up. That way I get the fullest sound and the most sound and volume options, and I get more control of the drum. You will also end up with a bass drum sound that your band mates and audience can not only hear, but FEEL as well.

I wish you could have seen the looks on the faces of musicians and bandleaders I’ve worked with who heard the sound of my bass drums after I started applying these ideas. Their responses have all been overwhelmingly positive, and my ability to regulate my own volume throughout my entire drum set has improved. Try these ideas for yourself, and be patient with your foot technique…it will take a while to get used to playing in a different manner, but it is SO worth it!