Bass Drum?

Question:So I've got a blanket in my bass drum and it still doesn't sound right. I don't know wiether I should tighten the head more or put a bigger blanket in there. Any advice?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: So I've got a blanket in my bass drum and it still doesn't sound right. I don't know wiether I should tighten the head more or put a bigger blanket in there. Any advice?

The term stuffing the bass drum is a little misleading. You don't actually stuff it. You can use a blanket, pillow, or a folded beach towel. For the sake of explaining, I'm going to use a pillow. You would lay the pillow in the bass drum flat on the bottom with the edge of the pillow touching the drum head (batter head), about 4 inches of pillow (thickness from bottom edge-upward) will be touching the drum head. The more surface of the drum head it touches, the more it will mute the drum. This also applies with the front head which can also cause echo.
If the tension is too weak or un-even, your bass may have a soggy sound and your drum head may have wrinkles near the hoop. If it's too tight, the tone will resemble a floor tom. When adjusting tension, always tighten a bolt, then the one across from it. Like the face on a clock - 12-6-9-3-10-5-7-2 - Don't over tighten.

vcsdf

What kind of blanket does Neil Peart use? I'm just joking. I'm going to check back to see your answers for my own new drum kit. Good luck.

Ty.

make sure your not covering the hole and try tighting it that helps

Get a new one. lol
Mine sounds like crap too..maybe I should do the whole blanket thing.

Depends how it sounds, if it sounds too low tighten it if its got too much echo put another blanket in it.

Make sure the drum head is evenly tightened all the way around, and the pitch depends on how tight it is. Tighter = high. Loose = low. As for the blanket, to stop your bass from giving a reverb sound, save the trouble and by an Evans bass drum head. They are the best and no blanket is needed.

I remember when I was in band they'd wrap a small-ish pillow in a blanket and do it that way....You could try that!

Good luck!

SD~

Try this...
Take the blanket out and put a pillow in it.
Close, but not too close where you muffle it too much.
You want nice "boomy sound" when you kick it.
IF that doesnt work....then take the pillow out and tune both your Bass Drum heads a little higher to get that "boom" tone. then put the pillow back in. Good luck

Make sure the blanket is a good size. It should be covering the whole head. Also, it could have a lot to do with the tuning of both heads. On mines, I have the batter head at a medium tight tension and the front head some what low, just low enough to reduce a watery sound. That works for me. I get a nice low punch on mine. Oh, also, it can depend on the drum quality...wood type...plies...etc...

a down pillow will do better!

tune the batter head a bit higher than the other head (helps cancel the boing sound)

you can add weather stripping to the inside of the head too,...not too much though (old marching band trick, works like a charm)