[6reend4y]

Hi,
I'm new so I hope this is the right place for this
I got a drum kit a while ago and was told to put a pillow or something in the bass drum to make it sound better, is this right and what would be best?
Thanks

[AvengedDrummer]

Its all about the sound you want. I have a pillow in mine because i have a really ringy bass drum.

[full metal]

I glued some foam on the kick side of the drum and nothing else inside of there and I ended up getting a really good sound out of it but you would need to see how I did it before you try it.
but a pillow works great and thats what I used in my drum for a very long time.
just dont use to big of a pillow or you will dampen the sound way to much and you wont get a nice ring out of it it will just sound like a thump sound.

[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!

	Remo Drumheads Shop for Remo Drumheads at Musician's Friend

[CJDG]

I have done all kinds of weird stuff to my bass drum over the years...
I have used felt strips, weather strips, tape and a hot pin...
Layered the inside with aluminum foil..
pillows, blankets, washcloths.

Having a ported head does provide more flexibility with trying out new ideas.

Just remember that the more you put into the drum usually means the less you get out of the drum. Adding a pillow might be way too much, but if it sounds nice to you then use it. If you have a bass drum half full of blankets and pillows though, don't scratch your head wondering why your bass drum volume is so quiet.

[Sean Francis]

Totally! Having just the felt strip and the falam slam on my bass drum made the volume a lot louder than what I used to have.

It also opened up my tonal palette quite a bit; instead of the short, dead sound that often comes with the pillow or blanket inside of the shell, I can get long and short sounds by how I use the bass drum pedal.

Although my bass drum is tuned low, it has a lot of resonance; I mean a LOT of resonance. However, if I leave the beater against the head, I get a short, staccato sound out of the bass drum. If I immediately draw the beater away from the head, I get a nice, long sound. Playing with those ideas gives you a lot of flexibility as far as filling up the time with more subtle nuances. This idea was actually inspired by one of my friends who spent the past summer in Brazil. He was describing the sound of the sordo (sp?) and how they use long and short sounds in the street samba and stuff like that. With that concept in mind, I went ahead and tried it on the bass drum. If I can get some recordings/video of myself demonstrating this (or if I find a video of someone else doing it) I'll post a link to it.

	Ahead Drumsticks Shop for Ahead Drumsticks at Musician's Friend

[IBENEZCX160]

Remember...the Larger The Venue,the Less Muffling You Need. I Used A Small Pillow In My Bass Drum And It Sounded Perfect At Practice And Very Small Clubs. We Played An Outdoor Gig Once And My Bass Drum Was So Quiet, My Bandmates Couldn't Even Hear It. I Had To Waste Time Taking The Head Off And Tossing The Pillow Out. I Now Use A Ported Head So I Can Add Or Remove Small Pillows Easily.