[Sean Francis]

Generally people stick pillows in their bass drums, but it all depends on what you want. I prefer a more open sound, so I use pretty thick heads, a Remo Falam slam where the beater makes contact with the head and a thick felt strip stretched across the backside of the batter head a few inches to the right of my beater. Generally, I won't dampen the front (resonant) head. Really though, it's all about personal preference. Just play around with some different muffling techniques and some different heads. Eventually you will find your niche.

Try different bass drum sizes too; you wouldn't believe the difference in tone between your standard 22" diameter drum and a 20" diameter drum!