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How to Make a Bass Drum Sound Snappy

If you like popular band music with a good beat, then a strong bass drum beat tends to be involved. However, making a bass drum thump with a snappy sound takes work. This may involve adjustment of the drum head, inserting padding, dampening foam inside the drum cavity or playing around with the sound effects on the microphone assigned near the drum. In many cases, a combination of changes and tweaks creates the unique sound that makes a band̵7;s songs and drumming popular with fans.

Things You'll Need

Old pillow or foam ring
Drum head tuning tool
New bass drum kick pedal
Various brands of bass drum heads

Instructions

- 1
  Examine the current sound quality of the bass drum before making any changes. Note what you dislike about the sound, such as vibrations, hollowness of sound, crispness of impact or lack of it.
- 2
  Place an old pillow or foam ring inside the cavity of the bass drum. This dampens echoes and vibrations inside the drum upon impact. Examine the drum beat again to note the changes made so far.
- 3
  Use a drum head tuning tool to tighten the head on the bass drum and tune it. Twist the tool and the drum head retaining pegs one-quarter of a turn each time. Hit the drum while listening. Continue until the drum head sounds better.
- 4
  Replace your drum kick pedal with a new one. Place the new unit at the center bottom of the drum. Check the kick and impact of the new unit and lock it into place.
- 5
  Change out bass drum heads as necessary to obtain different sounds. Repeat Steps 1 to 4 as necessary with each different head sound. Pick the tone and drum head you like best and make that your permanent choice.

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