Bass drum muffling for cheaper beginners drum sets can often be an important aspect to getting the best sound from your drum set. Even the most expensive bass drums often require some kind of muffling system to allow the drummer to get the exact sound he or she wants.
Muffling will not only make your bass drum sound better it will help create the punch and power that so many styles of drumming demands. If you want your bass drum patterns to stand out and cut through the music then read on.
This article takes an in depth look at getting the best from your bass drum, how to go about it and what are the best market options for muffling your bass drum.
So what's bass drum damping systems are out there?
The first and most important qyestion is does you bass drum need to be muffled in the first place? If the bass drum is well tuned and of a good quality the chances are you may not need a damping system. However, if you playing style requires a tight punchy bass drum sound or the kick drum has a lot of unwanted ring then you might need to consider the various options.
Muffling the bass drum falls into two categories.
- Muffling system that is placed inside the bass drum - The advantage of these products is they can easily be adjusted to fine tune the amount of muffling talking place.
- Pre-Muffled bass drum heads - Put simply purchase a bass drum head that is usually made of two ply material with an inbuilt damper ring which takes care of the muffling duties. Heads such as Evans EMAD2 Clear Bass Drumhead comes with two damping ring to allow you to aduslt the amount of muffle and feel.
Bass Drum Muffling Pads
Pre-Muffle Bass Drum Heads
The alternative to muffling you bass drum with a dedicated dampening system is to buy drum heads with a built in muffling ring. These have become incredibly popular because they do a brilliant job of balancing unwanted ring with the natural sound of the acoustic bass drum. Most of us want to remove the unwanted ring rather than destroy the bass drums natural sound and the following batter heads all do precisely that job. You won't be disappointed if you get yourself any of the following bass drum muffling head options
 | EMAD -- Externally Mounted Adjustable Damping Bass Drumhead |
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Evans EMAD2 Clear Bass Drumhead The EMAD2 is a 2-ply version of the popular original. The combination of a 6.5mil and 10mil film offer extreme durability and enhanced attack, while the 2 interchangeable damping rings maximize low-end and allow the player to adjust sustain and feel. Technical InfoFinish: ClearAttack: Very Defined Tone: Very Warm Sustain: Adjustable Feel: Firm Durability: Extreme |
 | Evans EMAD Onyx Matte Bass Drumhead The EMAD Onyx utilizes a single ply of 10mil black film with an improved EMAD damping ring and a micro-clear coated that produces an extra dark sound while delivering additional punch. |
 | Remo Black Suede Powerstroke 3 Bass Drumhead The Black Suede Powerstroke 3 features a thin underlay at the outer edge of the head to subtly dampen unwanted overtones. |
| Super-Kick II
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 | Aquarian Super-Kick III Bass Drumhead with Power Dot The Super Kick III is a coated, single ply, medium weight bass drumhead with a Power Dot(TM) in the center for added reinforcement. |
How to get that 'clicky' bass drum metal sound
If your style of drumming falls into the metal bracket then I'm sure you will have noticed that the sound of the bass drum has a very 'clicky' but punchy sound to it. The reason for this is because metal by it's very nature is thick with guitars and often requires the drummer to play fast double bass drum patterns. Now if your bass drum is quite 'ringy' and your guitarist(s) has a bass heavy guitar sound you are going to want your bass drum to cut through the mix when on stage or in the studio. Bass drum muffling is an absolute must for you and I would strongly recommend you look into some of the options mentioned above. However there are a couple of tricks and tips that you can do yourself when both in the studio and on stage or even in your bedroom for that matter to help get that 'slap' sound.
Bass Drum muffling tips and tricks
- If you are after that 'slap' sound with a string thud make sure you buy a bass drum beater with plastic, wood or other hard composite material. Felt beaters will often soften the bass drum sound.
- Want even more click then tape a coin to the inside of the bass drum head where the beater makes contact with the drum head.
- As mentioned before the cheap option is to add some pillows to the bass drum but beware, don't over do it as you might ruin the sound
- Experiment and have fun
 | Danmar 205 Redwood Hardwood Ball Bass Drum Beater The Danmar 205 Redwood beater adds more pound to your kick thump. It's a great upgrade for kick pedals. |
 | Tama CB90W Wood Cobra Bass Drum Beater Now you can switch quickly and easily between the two very different sounds of wood and felt. |
 | Drum Workshop HardCore Adjustable Bass Drum Beater The industry standard DW 101 2-sided bass drum beater now has some competition: the HardCore pedal beater. The construction is a hard plastic core embedded in soft rubber foam. The unique design allows finite adjustability in the relationship between the two materials. When playing soft, the beater acts much like a pure felt beater, but when struck hard, the beater has all the attack of a hard plastic or wood beater ball. The beater is built to last. The back plate is solid aluminum with a positive connection to the hard core. The velocity-sensitive action can be adjusted to every player's needs. For the first time ever, the HardCore allows a wide range of bass drum sounds, which is especially valuable for drummers playing gigs that feature a wide range of musical styles. |
If you want to learn how to play the bass drum using heel toe technique and all the other methods used by the pros to get really fast bass drum patterns I highly recommend you check out bass drum secrets by Jared Falk. This guy knows his sh*t and I guarantee he'll be able to improve not only your speed on one and two kick drums but your strength, power and understanding will greatly improve to. If you want to play pro bass drum patterns then you check out bass drum secrets.
Now check out the most important muffling you're ever gonna need ... Drummers Ear Plugs
