How to stop the bass drum from echoing?

i have two pillows in my drum, made no difference atall!

Liam
June 2010

I went for the easy solution and stuffed them with a big cloth but im havin a similar trouble with Tom's they Echo for about 3 seconds after i hit them and all i want is for a nice sharp sound so it lasts for like a millisecond if you can help please get back to me and yes i have tried stuffing them but they sound terrible

Thank's

Connor
September 2009

The way I did it and how many others do it
Get a piece of dense foam cut to the required size and insert it into the bass drum.

You want a depth of about 3" for the foam but can use less depending on the amount of damping required.
Ring is not all bad and can be part of your sound but that was not what you were asking about.

The foam needs to be wide enough to touch both heads.

Then with your prefered pedal head (felt or wood) and tuning you will be able to get that 'pro thud' or 'tight slap with punch' that you always wanted without the ring........ Nice for live work, recording or just impressing the girls ..... Female or Male type :)

My Bass Drum..... well, currently set to deep chest thud with punch....... you hear it you feel it,
You don't forget it.

This works for me!

I hit it with this stick
July 2009

You could damper it or muffle it,but a good old school way is to put an old blanket or pillow inside your bass drum,works every time..........K.D.

Keith(K.D.)
June 2009

Your bass drum needs dampening. The correct way is to buy some bass drum felt - a felt strip about 3 inches wide and clamp it in position when you put the front head back on.
If you don't want to go this far, some people put a pillow or similar inside the bass drum.

Keith
June 2009

without wasting any money just use an old pillow or bed sheet and put them in to make it more of a thud sound :)

brad
March 2009

Put a pellow in the bass drum=) It will help a lot and that will make it sound better=0

Allison
March 2009

whack a pillow inside the drum, between the skins. That will remove some of the 'boom' factor. More pillows = duller sound

tinderbox
January 2009

You could also fit a damper on the heads it's a small device that stops the drum head vibrating you can get them for not much more than a fiver - theyre not hard to fit either

glenn
December 2008

Hi Bex,

Just placing a pillow or old blanket in the bass drum should do the trick.

If the bass drum isn't "ported" (i.e. a hole in the front drum head) you'll need to take off one of the skins and place the material inside.

It's trial and error, as to how much material you put in there. But just keep at it 'til you have a sound you're happy with.

Drummer Bummer

Drummer Bummer
November 2008

i put 6 large bath towels in bass, loose between skins.stopped the echo and made it a little less loud

glen
November 2008