Ep. 22 How to Get a Big, Punchy Bass Drum Sound 

3:55 wide open (no muffling), batter head finger-tight, reso head mid-range (approx. E) Muffling: -7:55 EQ pad only -11:25 pillow, lateral (shorter, minimal pressure) -13:05 pillow, lengthwise (longer, maximal pressure) Tuning: -17:55 Lateral pillow, batter half turn above finger-tight, reso quarter turn down from original mid-range -20:20 wide open, batter half turn above finger-tight, reso quarter turn down from original mid-range -21:50 same as previous with handkerchief draped over reso port hole

"Yea thats dead." Best quote ever

Loved your point about the mics in the room. It's really frustrating when people show you drums or any instrument but it's always the processed sound and not what it's actually sounding like in the room. Was just talking to my friend about that the other day. I appreciate you guys taking that into account :)

Watched 21 episodes in a row until 6 am last night, this is the most fact based, informative, and objective take on tuning, tone and just anything drum, sound, mechanic wise I have ever seen! Guys nail every angle of the topic you are doing and make it clear and simple to understand, thank you so much for the work you do!

I've been binge watching these videos today and absolutely love the thoroughness and professionalism you guys are putting into them. One thing I'd really like to see is timestamps in the description for the audio demos in each video. I'd really like to flick back and forward to compare sounds more easily.

Surely doesn't hurt that you are using one of the best sounding bass drums ever made- Masters. When I was playing out a lot with my early Master's Custom Maple kit (late 90's), I always got compliments on the kick sound. I typically just tuned slightly higher than wrinkled and folded a blanket so it was just touching the heads. I had a port similar to what is on the video. From there, it was just rolling a little of the lower mids/ upper bass out of the EQ and it was always a huge, gut-pounding sound that worked really well with the grunge stuff I was playing at the time. I'm on to another maple kit now, and it also has a great sounding bass drum. I'm binge watching your channel on how to get a tighter sound out of it, as I'm a little burned out on the big, boomy bass drum sound. It doesn't seem to sit in the mix as universally as a tighter sound would. Another great bass drum sound I experienced was a 24" Yamaha Recording Custom with full heads on. My drum teacher 30 years ago used to teach on it. The only problem was, with both heads and the tension up a little higher than I like, it was difficult to get single notes out of it. You definitely could not bury the beater, which was frustrating as a beginner trying to concentrate on just getting the basics down. Did you notice when you removed the damping toward the end of the video that you were getting double notes when you initially released the beater from the head and then when you played the actual note? Any idea what causes this? This is a problem I've experienced with fatter tunings and little or no muffling. It sounds good, but it's difficult to get good articulation unless you use a specific bass drum technique. One thing I would disagree with you about is the effect the shell has on the tone. I don't believe that the shell actually adds to the fundamental. This is easily proven by putting a transducer on the shell and viewing the result on a spectrum analyzer. I think you will see that the fundamental is almost completely due to the heads. It is true that tuning up from slack activates the shell, but the tone you get is character in the midrange and not increased fundamental. The reason the drum articulates into the room better is that the head tension is allowing increased spring rate from the head, with less internal damping in the head. The fundamental is also closer to the natural resonance of the drum, based on its internal volume. You are more effectively coupling the heads together, and the heads are less lossy. A parallel subject that I have studied for years is loudspeaker design. The spring rate and the air mass determine the resonant frequency. Tighter head tension creates a more perfect, less lossy, higher tension spring. Tuning up couples the air mass more effectively (the wavelengths of a low-tuned drum are many feet long). It also doesn't hurt that you are likely activating room resonant modes which will enforce the fundamental. You should study passive radiator loudspeaker designs. There is proven science explaining the relationship between the passive radiator mass (equivalent to the resonant head, in the case of drums) and the air volume internally, that determine the natural resonant frequency. Of course, loudspeakers are created to be as lossy as possible, since resonance beyond the control of the driving amplifier is distortion, but the physics are the same.

My favourite drum channel on RU-vid, excellent advise as ever. Loved the handkerchief tip!

This was amazing, I started drumming a year ago and I've been looking for THIS video everywhere. You having the room mic uncompressed/EQ'd is what EVERY other video is lacking. I could never tell what my kick was suppoesed to sound like because nothing sounded like it did in real life with my ears. Now I know where to start and what to look for. I can't thank you enough for this video. Tuning drums is hard enough for a beginner and finally I get a comprehensive non eq'd demo of what I was looking for.

I stopped playing drums for some years and am now trying to play again, so I have to tune my drums from scratch. Videos from this channel are _by far_ the most helpful. Thanks for making these!

I love this page, the way they teach tuning, they say reality. They make us hear the unprocessed sound of the drum

I'm a drum tech for @Blacktop Mojo and I always come back to these videos to brush up on my game. I appreciate the hard work and deep dive thorough/informative/experimental demos you bring to the table man. Cheers.

So informational and relevant to working drummers. It took me years to learn that my kit sounded very different out in the house from what was in my face. This led me to tune my toms a little higher, as well as my snare, and to fall in love with really "ringy" drum sounds. It took time getting used to the extra resonance, but the quality of TONE is unbeatable for what I'm doing.

Covers all the bases I needed to know, in depth, no whistles and bells, perfect. Thanks. ❤️

I know this video is older, but thanks to Ben and Cody for this content. It's super helpful to so many people.

I gig out alot, in my younger years I would use a pillow and I became so tired of having to adjust that pillow time and time again at gigs from traveling. I wanted to be able to muffle but not have to keep adjusting the pillow, so I went with the Evans emad pillow then I got older and realized that having something to muffle my drums was actually getting in the way of the drums true sound. So I went to totally open, no muffling the toms, snare, and nothing in the bass drum. My problem became solved by going with a Aquarian Super Kick 2 on the batter side and a Aquarian Articulator for the front resonant side. Which might be a strange route due to the fact that the Articulator is a marching bass drum head. I tune both the front and back to finger tight then about 1.5-2 and even 2.5 turns of the drum key to prevent the lugs backing out during play. What I discovered was an amazing and very versatile bass drum sound. From out of the case to stage or studio my bass drum is on point always. I put a kickport in the hole in the front and oh my !?! It made my bass drum sound that much better, my band mates and I were shocked at how much more presence that bass drum had. I did that about 12 years ago and I haven't looked back. I highly suggest this set up to everyone. I have put this combo on all types of bass drums from different companies arranging in all kinds of different sizes with the same amount of success. I urge you guys to try this out it works with all kinds of generes of music and you will have that amazing bass drum sound you've been wanting to have your whole life. I'll add that my bass drum size I use is a 22" diameter and 18" long

Another great video, thanks to all of you who make this series so very good - from host to production to all the little details that set you apart from the rest.

This literally was perfect. Everything important that we drummers need to know was talked about. Thank you for putting out such great quality content! Nothing more to say to that.

Dig that middle of the road tension where the open and dampened sounds are all available. Great stuff guys!!!

Great video. You'"ve got a lot of excellent information on your site and a lot of it will help damn near anyone. I've been playing drums since I was five years old, I'm now 62 so that's a lot of years. Keep up the good work.

Such awesome vids. Thank you, I find I watch them multiple times to really gather the info. So helpful 🙏

14:55 lmao. “Hit it with your head” that’s a funny ‘oops’ 😂 Great vid man!

So good ya'll... Could say so many things, but just really great quality. The pro and aspiring pro worlds, alike, need more of this content. Simply outstanding.

You're great, man. That's the kind of talk about drums i'd preferred when i was younger. And i also liked you mentioning your "Rockstars", which i played as well for a long time :-) keep on doing this great stuff!

i have said it many times, and will continue to say it.....this is the best overall drum information channel on the net. continued success.

The final tuning was my favorite, that drum sound was a absolutely bananas. I liked how the tone changed with the addition / removal of the pillow. All you need to do to change the sound is adjust the pillow- no tuning issues, very useful!

I want to thank you from my heart for this video. I needed it so much.

Excellent my man. Great reference for what things DO to the overall finished kick drum sound! Thank you! Nabster

An easy way to see if the batter head is interacting with the shell is to hit it with your head... Perfect, I always thought I was doing something wrong! xD Great episode guys, love this channel and have been subbed since you started... Went through basically all of your videos in the last 3 days and made a Drum Tuning Bible... You guys rock!

With so many variables you have done a great job of covering a lot of them. Nicely done.

Thanks you so much for everything you touched on here. Every point and remark added huge value.

The turning pillow 90° and porthole handkerchief tricks are huge ! Thank you !

Thank you. I have fought and fought with my drums trying to get them to sound "right" (like studio recordings), with nothing but frustration to the point that I began to wonder if I really even liked the sound of drums, or if I just liked the canned after-effects of studio wizardry. This video (in conjunction with those like it) almost becomes like a course in apologetics for what a drum is supposed to sound like within its design limitations. This is a good presentation with great points.

Another great vid. Loved the hanky in the port. Gonna try that one!

Great video once again! I really dug the tuned batter and no muffling. Like you, when I was playing a Pearl export, I used a pillow or egg crate foam though. Those wer the days... duct tape on reso heads too!

One of the best drum channels. You really know your trade

not gonna lie; when i stuffed a pillow in my old '91 rockstar with a pair of powerstroke 3s, that was definitely one of my favorite kick tones.

Another helpful one! To my ear on my monitor speakers, the ear-level mic on the open bass drum by itself (and even the emad-muffled drum) sounded best, but once the pillow went in, the addition of the close mic out front was completely necessary to get a decent sound out of the drum. And I was surprised at how effective draping a handkerchief over the port was. Thanks dudes!

very comprehensive and VERY helpful!! Thanks!!!

Finally, i was looking forward for this. Thanks.

I'm not a huge fan of open bass drum sounds, but the very last handkerchief trick was just the right amount of 'ring reduction' and the fundamental tone was still there. That was an incredibly simple trick I'm going to keep in my bag! Thanks for the comprehensive video!

You got it 👍 💪 buddy pearl the best reason why we play Drums 🥁

Love what you did here with the bass. Gives me some confidence in what I did with almost the same bass drum, but I’m barely a year into my kit and so I’m not always certain in my knowledge. But I have a 22x18 Pearl Maple Decade and I took out the EQ pillow out because the one made by Pearl doesn’t really properly touch both heads, so I was getting like a full bass shot with lots of reso. So I ended up going with a fake down pillow (I heard fake down is better than real lol) inside the bass and I tightened the batter a little more than you did for the final tuning, but that’s likely because it’s the stock head. I also have the reso head right around where you ended up with yours as well, mine is just the white ported Pearl one that came with it. I do really like how you turned the pillow sideways so that it touched both heads, but only lightly, but still took up a lot of surface area inside the drum. I think I may change that one detail with how mine is setup because there was definitely a bit more low end and a little more punch to the boom when it was sideways. I like a not really resonant, but still real punchy and basically is just a boom when it comes to bass. I appreciate the tips.

I love this show. Half of the fun for me in playing my drums is getting that sound then playing them. This channel is my jam

Super helpful ! Really dig this channel !

Excellent explanation. The best explains drums thank you

Also, this video is really comprehensive to get different bass drum sounds. I usually go for Bob Gatzen's "lowest possible pitch" method and call it a day, but this has opened my eyes to some more possibilities.

Full, rich, deep and rolling like huge waves crashing on a foggy beach. I like that big sound, just enough tension on the heads to activate the shell of the drum yet still as low and deep as possible. I dug the last tuning the best.

Really dig the handkerchief draped over the port hole; simple and effective 👌

As usual, good illustrations and suggestions, very helpful to drummers of all sorts of music. One of my favorite muffling tools for rock music is a bedsheet, folded to be approximately four to six inches or so longer than the depth of the bass drum, say 18" for a 14" deep drum, and then laid flat on the bottom of the bass drum. The front and back edges of the sheet near each head can be rolled back to just touch the front and/or back head, can be extended fully and propped against either or both heads for more muffling, and the sheet can be moved towards the head that needs more muffling to allow more sheet to be propped against it. Because the sheet is folded, it has enough mass to muffle without entirely deadening the drum. And, a folded sheet can easily be rolled up to fit through a hole in the front head and then unrolled in the drum. If you have need for lots of muffling, then you can unfold the sheet inside the drum and place more of the sheet against either head. You can also fold the sheet to produce a more narrow muffling point, or to produce a wider muffling point. I usually fold the sheet to a width of 12 inches or so for the side that contacts the head, and then i place a couple of inches against the batter head and let the flat end of the sheet rest on the bottom of the resonant head, which helps get some attack and some resonance from the front head. As far as tuning is concerned, I try to tension the resonant head slightly higher than the front, but not as much higher as for a tom, as that seems to allow the heads to work together to produce a low frequency. A front head tensioned too low, however, will "flap" and won't add much resonance, in my experience. I normally play "off" as that seems to help the low end of the drum with this type of muffling.

Those last two tunings sounded amazing. I’ve mistakenly tuned drums for so long thinking low/loose tuning = fat sound. This is definitely not the case! A controlled, but tonal tuning is much much better sounding!

Great video.Very useful and informative.Thanks!

Tried that towel trick at the back of the batter head and it did give my bass more punch to it

Loved this and all of your videos!

Wow, dude! Exactly what I needed right now! Thanks for awesome content 👏🏻🍍

New to the channel. Love it! Awesome info

Great channel. Tips are explained very well.

Excellent demo advice.

I have a friend who would tune his batter side to a medium or medium high tension and duck tape a peace of a clear ambassador drum head that he cut out that was about 16". The inside would have some kind of thick sound reducing foam all around the inside. Sometimes he would use a ported reso head or have no reso head. The sound was HUGE!

Great content bro!!!!

I prefer the more even (2nd) tuning with no muffling. Probably because that's how I tune my bass drum. I was already planning on picking up an EMAD2 batter head eventually, but I really like the way my kick sounds now. If it aint broke don't fix it! I also like the handkerchief tip as an easy way to tame the boom if needed. Another great video!

it is also nice to see how much more sound it is possible to get when not burying the batter and leaving the head resonate :)

Yes I've also to achieve the sound that I like My loosening some of the lugs on the base drum to get it a punchy sound so some of the ideas that you gave me in this video are great especially the handkerchief on the porthole thank you

Brilliant channel thank you 😊

Thanks for the video and I love to see the 18" bass drum coverage. BTW, I know it's "Sounds Like A Drum" channel but would you consider to do articles covering cymbals, fundamentally and critically, because there're tons of them available yet critical reviews are scarce.

I've been seeing you uploading for the last year and a half or so and always thought "How cool! I'll get around to watching those...". Finally started binge watching these videos and applying many of these tips and wow... I never say this kind of stuff, but this is now my favorite channel on RU-vid. Thanks for all your hard work!

Hankerchief sound is killer! I'm going to try that out on my Gretsch kit, remove the felt strip. I know it can sound even beefier and warmer than it already does... Thnx!

Great tip; hand on the shell to feel vibration. Thank you!

My 22 inch DW with an eq4 batter with a tiny bit of muffling and Aquarian reso head with no port sounds great. Took a little playing around to get that great sound but well worth it.

Great informative, enjoyable videos.

Best and most informative. Do a 22" x 22" bass head please. 😁 Thanks!

Liked the lateral pillow idea with that small amount of tuning on both heads...even keeping said tuning and removing the pillow sounded good to me too. Definitely have an idea or two now of what to do with my 22" round kick. Thanks!

Just awesome Cody and Ben!! How useful!! Cadence Independant Media got it going on with the production values. Harumph!! Really really helpful with the micing, you never get to hear what the drums "really" sound like in other vids. The way you guys did it was exactly perfect, just the same as John or Jane Q would do it at home and the sounds were perfectly realistic and sounded very familiar to all of us drummer who have ever said to ourselves that "my kick never sounds like that" or ever wanted to be standing there using our ears during all those demo videos instead of wondering what it really sounds like live in person and being stuck with the sellers production sounds. Of course they will make it sound killer, its for sale. Thanks again yall, you rock. BTW, that Pearl kick is killer and that final wide open tuning was ridiculous! Now if you could come to my house and help me tame my 1987 Remo Encore 22x24 dual kicks I'd be much obliged.

Great videoz - new ideas thanks so much

Wonderful information.. thank you so much :)

I use a hole in the front. I tune the front head medium high to high so that it resonates with the shell and then I can tune the batter head any way I like and get a responsive versatile sound. You can tune the batter head dead low and muffle it and still get tone and rebound because the front head will move air and the microphone will capture the overtones. If you start tuning the batter side higher then the drum will start to sing. For muffling I use a small felt towel against the batter head and if I'm playing smaller bass drums than a 22 I will use a felt towel on the outside of the drum (much overlooked technique). The high front head was a revelation for me when I joined a band that plays rock but with dynamics from loud to soft.

For my 22x18 SC Bubinga, I use a Remo Fiberskyn PS3 on my reso pretty loose, with the PS3 clear on the batter semi tight for attack and response and control/ rebound. The pillow inside is long ways following the curve of the drum so it barely touches the heads. I also add a sonic porthole to really add that low end punch coming from the porthole which definitely helps without needed to boost low eq. I just love a loose reso head because it lets the drum breathe but the batter head keeps the attack and strokes articulate and audible over the punchy tuning. Its currently my go to tuning and head choice.

great series of useful information,, thankyou

Great video as always. I like the last tuning scheme you demonstrated. As I developed better techniques and a more discriminating ear for tone, I found the wide open kick was the sound I wanted. I also use the EMAD heads for much of my playing, but when I am in full on jazz mode (most of the gigs I play), its a single ply coated head with a bop tuning. My 18” maple kick (with various beaters and strike areas) has glorious tone and either way I am totally content with the sound I get mic’d or not. I look forward to your future video on smaller diameter drums like mine.

I really like your explainations, that makes decisions reasonable. This is helpful for many people, looking for their favorite sound. Are you also singing? Your voice is so unique ;-)

I love the emad 2 head. it sounds amazing.

Exactly great work get some good news

I like every sound depens on what kind of gig you got my opinion

Very helpful! Thanks

I have Yamaha Stage Custom Standard drums. Ignoring the “custom standard” oxymoron, the bass drums (20”) need no muffling. They are the right material and the right depth to sound awesome as-is. One drum has a Pinstripe batter head, the other an Ambassador. Just wonderful drums. Btw, these are great for rock AND function well for bebop-jazz.

Great Video , many thanks :) Regarding the last tuning in the video, If i wanted to try something similar on a 20" drum, would you say go up about a half turn on each batter lug and similar for the reso ? or would you treat a 20" differently ? thanks again

Great stuff.

14:42 sounds like painful advice. nonetheless, this is a good tutorial. I kept experimenting on how the drums should sound like even with less use of a muffling inside the bassdrum.

Very interesting! I'm waiting for a video about bass drum depth

Epic video!

thanks for sharing, cool infos, greetings

10:19 Tama rockstar.... 😁 😁 😁 😊 You guys rock!!! I had a pillow in my first ever kit, Tama rockstar too.... But now with a Tama Starclassic.... I don't use anything!!!

And the other good thing about 18 and 20, especially the 18, is that you can get everything lower and easier to play. Drums might look cool with toms at a big angle but you can get more sounds and easier with them almost level or a slight angle. My Tama with i forgot what they called them, power or extended shells are so difficult to get in the best position because the shells are so long, but when i got that set with 4 rack toms and double bass, when I was more interested in them looking cool than functionality. But now the longest rack tom I have is 11", almost wish i got it in 10" depth. Because its still a pain in the butt to get the right position with the 20" bass, but not so much with the 18" bass. But I stopped using 22" bass twenty years ago. Functionality and sound is more important than looks. Too bad I didn't realize that the first twenty years i played, but I learned that lesson and changed my thinking for the next twenty years after that (actually that's the last twenty years til present)

if you ever revisit this topic, can I make a suggestion, could you give us an example of the processed sound for each tuning, I know that opens a can of worms as to 'well what kind of processing' but it would give a helpful reference to what you were talking about early on in the video about having that 'processed' sound I our ears already, and we as drummers could relate what we are hearing in our room to what we could potentially do with that sound in post. mabye the type of eq and compression levels could be for genres of music that use that tuning or alternatively just the best processed sound you were able to get on the day. love this channel. cheers.

I really dig these instructional videos of yours. Appearantly I was allready quite there. Previous vidoes gave me the idea to add mass to a cheapo tin snaredrum by cutting carpeted flooring tiles to size and bolting them on the inside. Wors like a charm for upcoming jamsessions. Side note: you have a nice clear batter head on the bassdrum. A picture tells a thousand words. A video tells 30000 words a second. Please show us how you position that stuff inside please.

Good job!

Great video, thank you....now checking out the others.. Subscribed!

I'm really looking forward to your video about smaller kicks. I use a clear emad on my 16" Tama bass drum and usually keep it tuned pretty high (the mic and eq add all the low end I need) but have been playing around with different tuning ideas lately.

Holy shit thank you my dude! Super helpful, God send

Nice drum

you guys are amazing