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One of the hardest drums to tune properly is the bass drum. Learning how to tune a bass drum is information that every drummer should learn. There are a lot of tips and tricks you can do to get a good sound out of your bass drum. For example, you can muffle your bass drum, cut holes in the resonant head, mic up your bass drum, and tune it in different ways. Depending on your style of music, the bass drum should have a deep sound with a lot of punch; however for jazz and other lighter styles you will want more tone out of your drum. Take a look at these tips on tuning your bass drum to get the maximum sound out of it.
We will start with the basic tuning of your bass drum. The bass drum is tuned the same way any other drum is tuned, just on a larger scale. One big problem drummers have with tuning their bass drum is they cannot hear the final sound until the end; when they hook up the pedal to it. A lot of drummers will get impatient and just play it with whatever sound they can get from it. I would strongly suggest you take the time to tune your bass drum properly. For the resonant head, make sure you tune this very lose. For a nice deep sound, you generally want to leave this head just tight enough to remove and ripples on the head. For the batter head, tune this a little bit tighter then your resonant head, but not super tight. Having a tight bass drum will cause damage from your beater. This is a personal preference depending on the style of music you play the most. Remember to tune each tension rod evenly, getting the same sound from each area of the bass drum.
Here are a few tips in maximizing your bass drum sound. The first tip is to stick some muffling inside your bass drum. This helps to control the resonance in the drum itself. The bass drum gets its sound from air flow, so do no put too much in your rum, or you will kill the sound all together. You can actually buy bass drum mufflers at your local music store – this is your best bet. However, if you do not have the extra cash for this, a pillow or towel will do just as good. Play around with the placement of the muffler, placing it in different spots inside your bass drum to get different sounds.
Another great trick is to cut a hole out of the resonant head of the bass drum. This helps pass the air through the drum, giving it more of a punchy sound. This is not recommended for jazz drummers, since you want more tone rather than punch. However, if you are a rock drummer, a hole in the front is highly recommended. This is great for muffling, since you can easily add a pillow and move it around without having to take your whole head off. Also, if you play a lot of live shows, the sound tech will be happy with you, since he can get a better sound mic'ing a bass drum with a hole in it!
The whole should be anywhere 3-5 inches in diameter, no bigger! Too big a hole will allow too much air to pass through, leaving you with no tone at all. Also, make sure you cut the hole towards the edge of the head. Air flow is very important inside the bass drum, and if you place a hole right in the center, the air would exit the drum that much faster.
Follow these quick steps to get the best sound from your bass drum. Have patience when tuning, you only have to do it once. IF you cannot seem to get a decent sound, it may be the room you are in. Sometimes in a small room you will get poor acoustics, meaning your lows may cancel out. This will result in a slapping sound. There is not much you can do about this. Try playing your kit in an open room to see if it sounds any better! Good luck with your tuning![img]
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We will start with the basic tuning of your bass drum. The bass drum is tuned the same way any other drum is tuned, just on a larger scale. One big problem drummers have with tuning their bass drum is they cannot hear the final sound until the end; when they hook up the pedal to it. A lot of drummers will get impatient and just play it with whatever sound they can get from it. I would strongly suggest you take the time to tune your bass drum properly. For the resonant head, make sure you tune this very lose. For a nice deep sound, you generally want to leave this head just tight enough to remove and ripples on the head. For the batter head, tune this a little bit tighter then your resonant head, but not super tight. Having a tight bass drum will cause damage from your beater. This is a personal preference depending on the style of music you play the most. Remember to tune each tension rod evenly, getting the same sound from each area of the bass drum.
Here are a few tips in maximizing your bass drum sound. The first tip is to stick some muffling inside your bass drum. This helps to control the resonance in the drum itself. The bass drum gets its sound from air flow, so do no put too much in your rum, or you will kill the sound all together. You can actually buy bass drum mufflers at your local music store – this is your best bet. However, if you do not have the extra cash for this, a pillow or towel will do just as good. Play around with the placement of the muffler, placing it in different spots inside your bass drum to get different sounds.
Another great trick is to cut a hole out of the resonant head of the bass drum. This helps pass the air through the drum, giving it more of a punchy sound. This is not recommended for jazz drummers, since you want more tone rather than punch. However, if you are a rock drummer, a hole in the front is highly recommended. This is great for muffling, since you can easily add a pillow and move it around without having to take your whole head off. Also, if you play a lot of live shows, the sound tech will be happy with you, since he can get a better sound mic'ing a bass drum with a hole in it!
The whole should be anywhere 3-5 inches in diameter, no bigger! Too big a hole will allow too much air to pass through, leaving you with no tone at all. Also, make sure you cut the hole towards the edge of the head. Air flow is very important inside the bass drum, and if you place a hole right in the center, the air would exit the drum that much faster.
Follow these quick steps to get the best sound from your bass drum. Have patience when tuning, you only have to do it once. IF you cannot seem to get a decent sound, it may be the room you are in. Sometimes in a small room you will get poor acoustics, meaning your lows may cancel out. This will result in a slapping sound. There is not much you can do about this. Try playing your kit in an open room to see if it sounds any better! Good luck with your tuning![img]
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