How to Set up a Drum Kit : How to Muffle a Bass Drum

[thelopeisback]

your bass drum sounds like a box

[gabbalabbawoop]

you have also forgotten to mention pre-muffled heads like the super kick and hi-impact bass drum heads from aquarian.

john bonham also used two felt strips on his wood kits in the studio, and had no port hole in the resonant.

the dampening method you have is jsut one type, please mention all the others as well....and the kick pad....it focuses the tone of the drum.

[AudioPasta]

I have a pillow and a bottle of Jack Daniels in my bass drum ;D

[PirateTravisJohnson1]

@AudioPasta

Argh U any bit serious about the JD bottle. If so, how did U secure it down. I have a Captain Morgan bottle that I MIGHT consider.

[TUCKAISCOOL]

I love those few seconds at the end when he is done talking and just staring at the camera

[MrWinterSniper]

no shit sherlock

[DrummerBoyJustin]

John Bonham used felt strips you stupid idiot.

Get your facts straight.

[RazrHack]

I put NOTHING inside my bass drum. And I love it.

DRUM SOUND IS SUBJECTIVE, SO ALL OF YOU STOP BEING FUCKING DOUCHES.

[masterdrummer001]

@MegaJerke yes yes it is. "Aquarian bass drum kick pads help extend the life of the bass drum head"

-musiciansfriend/com

[TheEveryhingGuy]

i needed a little help, im not retarded

[masterdrummer001]

do people realize that the kick pads are there to protect the head?.. ITS MAIN PURPOSE ISN'T TO CHANGE THE SOUND!

[sanacanacnac]

I really like the Remo P3 heads or equivalent (Evans Emad, Aquarian Regulator etc), and I always play heel-up and never bury the beater. I like both vented and un-vented kick drum front heads. Oh, and I never use a pillow, haven't since the early nineties! There are some really great pre-dampened heads out there.

On the subject of vented front heads, I had to go with the Kickport. The foam rings that came with the Evans Emad just ate themselves during playing!!

[Thrashsmash97]

Lol, that bass drum sounds like he's hitting a wall with a drum pedal.

[beats1969]

villager ? perhaps . expert ? hmmmmhahahahaha !

ithey're like a cult of morons !

[GinjaNinjaKaratedo]

so you got a kick pad, a pillow, and what looks like a pinstripe head. you don't like echoes do you?

[Frozen4322]

I was happy when I saw the election campaigns. When it ended I saw that it was an expert village video...

YOUTUBE PLEASE PUT LONGER ADS ON EXPERTVILLAGE VIDEOS.

[candymanbrian]

expert village is to musical knowledge what aqua man is to superheros...

[nicholassmll]

@candymanbrian lol thats hilarious

[joelthefrog1]

"If I were playing in a live environment"

A) Your grammar sucks, it's "was"

B)If you were playing in a live environment, everyone would kill you, because you have the worst bass drum sound in the wolrd

[11edingerp]

@joelthefrog1 where'd you learn your grammar dinkas?

[11edingerp]

@joelthefrog1 Where'd you learn your grammar dinkas?

However, i have to agree. The bass drum does sound like fuggin sheet metal, but great pedals. I enjoy them muchly myself.

[OneAndUhTwoAnd]

'If I were..." - subjunctive

"If I was..." - past tense

[GTAmythsearcher014]

i have a freiking queen size blanket in my bass drum

[KaeviNzXD]

i love the sound... "PAK PAK PAK" LOL!

[tikilover812]

dude that sound like shittttt

[TheMidnightmovies]

I putted my cat into the drum!! And it get a deep bass sound, but also a scream sound, when I hit the drum:-)

[TheColbles2009]

This guy actually had a decent sounding bass drum, not over or under muffled, good low tension, but this time just a shitty camera. thanks expert village

[Firter]

Duh the "kick pad" is a Falam Slam idiot.

[bubbasock]

@Firter nah it's an aquarian super thin kickpad

[MartinBassistem]

you have a freaking weird drum set(i mean at the possitions:one tom tom on a left cymble stand,muffled bass that sounds like shit, and doble pedal)

[cozy1203]

the muffle pads completely wreck the punchy sound

[OurDaysAreFinal]

I HATE ADVERTISEMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!!

[starsfan1]

I wish there was really "Experts" on drumming tutorials. They need to change their name to Suckfest Village.

[starsfan1]

Expert Village again!! Why do they suck so bad?

[dramaticpickles]

Your face at 0:01 is HILARIOUS!!! XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD

[thugnificentvideos27]

@dramaticpickles look at his face on 0:06!!!!!!!! LMFAO!!!

[dillondrums92]

expertvillage sucks, i'm sorry

[atedj]

is this guy for sale!?....

[CrimsonDIEnamo101]

expertvillage dont teach you shit about drums its just someguy ( not the guy from rb/gh lol) talking about something

[nuggz503]

do they ever have experts at expertvillage?

[BJCResource]

Kick pad does little more than protect the drum head.

[COdrums4life]

you shouldn't need anything to get a good bass drum sound all you need is to know how to tune it properly.

[Who2Are1You]

The Bonham muffling can go either directions. I know some die-hard, foam at the mouth Bonham fans that will argue to the end that Bonzo used newspaper and rarely used felt strips. I use a felt strip, but I remember reading somewhere that upon opening Bonzo's bass drum, they found shredded newspaper. Who knows??? PS expertvillage sucks.

[cuppatea12]

HAHA he stares a the camera at the end

[zackattack94]

too bad your bass drum sounds like shit

[LTLfilms]

stay thirsty my friends......

[theasiansarefat]

Im a hrd rck/screamo christian/nu metal drummer an i use a bass sticker tht came with my remo powerstroke 3 bass head its a dot so u get a muffle- clicky sound. And i have a pillow that im fixin to put in it.

[uy12umaine]

it doesn't sound like a bass drum

[T93X420]

Apparently this guy likes the sound of someone banging their fist on a wooden door for his bass drum sound lol

[lburbo23]

I've been using fiberglass insulation batting...works great.

[poojy15]

The pad is to protect the head from busting...

[PercussionDoneRight]

I bet you've helped a billion do-it-yourself drummers.

[Bassett1995]

newspaper what the fuck dude he used felt strips across the bearing edge of the drum

[studman4250]

i thought bonham had felt strips on his bass drum heads

[blackhawkroger]

the best type of material for muffling a bass drum is wall instillation because the sound can escape the drum easily (Louder) while it also allows the drum to be muffled. I really does come in handy.

[golluba]

Bonham never used news paper!!!! this fag knows nothing!!!

[ifkjt]

Tighten the powerstroke head and take the laundry out of the kick drum. Drummers with pillows and towels in their kick drums sound like crap live.

[xsodrummer]

my bass drum souns like that one haha

[TheAirsoftcrazy]

I dont like that sound

[BENTLEYtheSKATEMAN]

you take the bass head off

[NBenvy1]

@awsomedrummer100 take the bass drum skin off dumb ass

[Genomaza9]

that bass drum sounds like shit... way over muffled....

[STATUSthesleepers]

@Genomaza9 it might but keep in mind your listening to crushed video/audio on youtube

[mega1metalhead]

@Genomaza9 it sounds great .classic heavy metal sound

[MrPuch78]

@Genomaza9 like he said in the vid ITS ALL ABOUT UR OPINION AND THE SOUND U WANT TO GET

[titobonito2001]

Yes the kick pad is for protection, but if you think it does not muffle the sound, then give up now cause you cant hear, so don't even bother reading comments, much less posting comments. But overall this video is only good if you know nothing about kick drum basics.

[NiicNac1]

the kick sound nasty it wack sorry

[MaggotSoldier666]

I always get excited to see tutorials for what I want to learn.

Then I click it and realize it's from ExpertVillage, then I get sad :(

Hahahahahahaha

[BoboSab3121]

@MaggotSoldier666 exactly the same here

[armortron]

@MaggotSoldier666 Ya know, they might be cheesy and basic, but they are free. I wouldn't complain. They can always charge ya if ya need to learn something but don't like em. Hahahahaha

[ChrisJS1987]

I think people get way too heated over this subject. It's mostly down to the style of drumming as well as personal taste. Some rock and jazz drummers tend to want an open sound with no muffling. Take it to pop, funk, hip hop, etc... Drummers it these styles would usually want to narrow the tonal range of the head adding more punch and allowing for extremely low tuning associated with these styles. all i can say is try everything out! Let trial and error help you decide what suits your playing!=)

[LukeV211]

im pretty sure kick pads protect the head. they dont muffle the head

[madpaintbalerx]

Yeah this guy really doesn't know what he is talking about there. They are only made to prevent the bass drum head from breaking

[mairava1996]

@madpaintbalerx That too, but they are mainly made for a clicky, death metal type sound. 90% of the people that buy it, buy it for better sound. But they do prevent heads from breaking too. You don't know what you're talking about..

[madpaintbalerx]

Well I didn't consider the metal thing (I don't play metal), but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm just saying that they are not used for just muting.

[mairava1996]

They help muffle, but ppl mostly use them for the cool click and thump it gives. It sounds like a bass drum practice pad pretty much. (not on this video though) lol

[madpaintbalerx]

Um, no it doesn't. I have one on my drum kit and it does not sound at all like a practice pad

[mairava1996]

I dont mean exactly like a practice pad it just kind of sounds like a little bit of both things I said. and its probably because ur bass drums resonate head isnt muffled.

[TamaSupterstar]

no i disagree, anyone who works for expert village is a douche bag, sorry man.

[wiirluvenit]

This guy isn't a douche bag. thumbs up

[jammindwdrums100]

the kick pads arent for changing the sound its so your damn beaters dont got threw the head

[outonguard]

I liked how you left it open to a viewer's own opinion. Good vid, 5*.

[redheaddrumm3r]

I found it a tad vague.

[mattlindsay1414]

obviously this guy has NO idea what he is talking about..any decent drummer knows that bonham used felt strips on his bass to not only muffle the sound, but to distribute the air flow more in the bass drum itself...what a tool this guy is...fuckin nobody

[twistedviewlabs]

i usually stuff my kick drum with assorted human body parts. when i practice, i use about five human brains and 3 stomachs. makes it nice and punchy.

seriously tho, i've found using the aquarian regulator reso and super kick II or evans EMAD2 batter and evans reso makes even the shittiest kick sounds remotely good.

btw, assclown. bonham NEVER used NEWSPAPER. strips of felt is what he used. you clearly have never seen any documentaries or The Song Remains The Same.

[zeppozilla]

Don't put anything in your kick drums kids. Aquarian SuperKick II or III batter side and a Requlator on the front- NOTHING IN YOUR BASS DRUM. Don't be that noob.

[zmanbrody]

you should put stuff in your base drum just do not over do it

[munkych33z]

@zeppozilla YEAH! AQUARIAN!

[sanacanacnac]

@zeppozilla I totally agree - years ago I started with the Remo "Muffl" then logically progressed onto P3 style heads. Un-mic'd I really got into the "unvented" sound. Those awsome "22x18" kicks we see nowadays shouldn't be stuffed with upholstery - that's such a terrible waste!!

Basically I love my kicks with nothing inside. The End.

[AngryNinja9000]

Im pretty sure those pads help prolong the life of your bass batter head too. Not just make it sound different. This guy doesnt seem like he is experienced enough to teach anything about drums.

[AWilliams7878]

Bonham used felt strips on both the batter and reso. Ocheltree says that's it. Also, Bonzo played a 26x14 kick which prolly had little resonance just some tonal ring from being so big.

[TheMetaldrummer1987]

He tuned everything quite high some of the drums even to a certain pitch. He has coated emperors on everything except the snare drum (unless on his acrylic kit) on the batter side. Ambassidor also coated on the resonant and as i said tuned them high to move the air inside the drums and create his tone that he loved. One comment to the author of the video one thing to honestly try is put the pillow actually on the shell itself just let it rest and maybe tweak tuning and see what happens.

[renquist13]

okay, so im guessing most yall dont play live, cuz at a gig, with guitars, bass, and singers, and the crowd, you usually DONT hear the ringing overtones fromt he bass. Just get a good tuning, and dont muffle extravagantly. The most i would muffle is a pair of sucks against my resonant head.

[fricky6or]

bass drum muff eating

muff eating

mm

[bendarneille]

i totally stuff my bass with pillows and blankets. u get a nice thud with oomph, instead of a ring, which u dont usually want for a bass

[Nootherlove1]

he most certainly used newspaper...go to this link....its in Bonhams book...Jeff Ocheltree, Bonham's tech, clearly states there was newspaper in his bass drum...end of discussion.

google Star Sets: Drum Kits

its on page 105....I own the book

[gh3heroboi]

Noticed he said what works best for him, and he did also say something about the individual. So you shouldn't say he knows nothing, or anything like that. If it works best for him, then let him stick with it.

[ikscheffler1395]

that bass drum sounded like crap.

[acresground]

a tissue taped on the bass-skin is a good option

[0kills]

john bonham really used strips of newspaper... people should get their facts straight before posting.

[danling5]

but often bonham didnt even muffle his drums. he always liked the ringy sound. the vistalite is the perfect example.

[cheetosman45]

that bass sounds like someone smacking their forehead on a concrete wall

[ikscheffler1395]

yeah sriously

[Nootherlove1]

actually Bonham did use newspaper as well....he had shredded newspaper a quarter of the way up in some of his kicks....if you read the Bonham books and even in Moder Drummer it mentions that as well.....

[mapexmadman]

Nope he didn't, I don't care what modern drummer said

[Jimi44444]

John Bonham used felt strips, if anything at all. half the time he didn't even muffle the bass drum. his drums were jazz tuned (only sounded rock 'cause they were so big) and each one of his drums had a lot of ring and pitch to them. that's how he got his sound. you should do some research before you state that Bonham used newspapers to muffle his drums...

[GnAArL]

-.- its called dampening + you should never need dampening if you can tune drums

[reeldeelpeel]

Everyone "tunes" drums differently. Some like both heads the same pitch, others like them to be different pitches. Muffling is very necessary depending on the playing environment. Most consider muffling PART of tuning a drum.

[zash008]

muffling the bass drum doesnt have to be. its just that people do it because they see others do it. why spend good money on expensive wood just to kill it and turn it into a piece of sheetrock by stuffing laundry in it. if it is tuned correctly you can let the wood play its tone and it is awesome. I used to fill mine too til Dom Famularo showed me how to tune a bass and no pillows were needed. I've played with nothing in the bass for 20 years now.

[reeldeelpeel]

I don't do it "because others do it". I do it because basically, I don't like the sound of a 1920's bass drum.

[jamesgarvey12345]

BONHAM USED FELT STRIPS JACKASS

[RJdrumguy]

you do realise your talking rubbish. the kick pad affects the muffling of your drum

there designed like that and dont put anything up against the playing head

[Metalduder06]

Yeah. Dude you dont' really know what your saying. Bonham used felt strips. 1 on other head at the same spot to focus the sound since he used such a HUGE drum!! Most "pads" like the one you the gentlemen in the video used. DO NOT AFFECT TONE!!! You put nothing in the drum or a pillow and mike it. You will only notice the sound is tighter and dryer. I and many rock and metal drummers use click pads preferably danmar. Even gibralter do but they do crack..Metal clicks are really not a good idea.

[30MALE30]

Lol, he's just showing-off his kit

[mairava1996]

@30MALE30 Showing off his 200$ 5 pice drum kit? lol

[jeremy123422]

wow dude you know your shit

[firebreath45]

I have a pillow, a lot of sheets, a shirt, and newspaper in my bass. I used to have a brick inside of it but I realized that it was muffled way too much!

[DysfuntionalHabit]

how did the brick muffle it o.o

and newspaper? noice!

[firebreath45]

I really don't know how it muffled it, but it worked!

[mapexmadman]

Bonham never used newspaper. I think he means the felt strips that Bonham only occasionally used.

[ringostarrkicksass]

bonham used newspapaer? woaw totally wrong, he wouuld never put something inside a drum

any begginer will tell u putting a pillow helps, but any expert drummer will tell u not 2

with no pillow and nothing blocking the sound, the bass drum can kinda be heard with all the amps

but cant be heard with a pillow

and the amps over power the sound of the ring

wat u hear while playing drums isnt the same thing other ppl hear while u play

[bigmuffexpress]

Dampening a bass drum with a pillow in the centre can help with mic'ing up. basically, it cuts ring so you can use the mic to add more attack to the bass note, making it heard clearer.

[pingpongball34]

yeah but they sounds stupid without a pillow

[LightIntoShadow]

pingpongball34, if you know how to correctly tune your drums and use the right combination of heads for the sound you want, there is no need to put a pillow in your drum unless you are micing it for studio or live work.

[saskoz]

In response to "ringostarkicksass": You've obviously never recorded in a professional studio if you think muffling with a pillow etc, is for "beginners".

[RVS94]

in your bass drum sorry for the typos and you could just take off one head

[RVS94]

to get the pillow in you just take off one of the heads and put the pillow into the drum and put the head back on the bass drum

[DaveTheMetalGod]

-_-

To the Bonham note, he lined the inside of his kickdrum with aluminum foil.

Or he has no muffling whatsoever.

[Kool2bmeNatchu]

Ok. . . But how do I get the pillow in there in the first place! I'm new to this!

[omgitsbrant]

you have to unscrew the head off and put it in. np

[Razorskator]

and then tune it back lol you cant just put it back on but tunning isnt to hard

[GnAArL]

alternately, cut a circle(s) outta the resonant head

[Nikali3990]

yea...i still didnt get what i wanted. cutting it did help tho big time. but i still needed a pillow for my needs

[militarybrat01]

THank you sooo much, i always hated the extra ringing sound that adds to the bass drum