What pitches to tune marching bass drums?
One Method That Works Really Well
- Step 1) Tune the bottom bass to a pitch that sounds good within the context of the show.
- Step 2) Tune bass 4 a fifth above bass 5.
- Step 3) Tune bass 3 a fourth above bass 4.
- Step 4) Tune bass 2 to a show-related pitch that is distinctly higher than bass 3 (not interval specific)
What Hz is a bass drum?
The frequency range of the bass and drums overlaps in the low frequency range through the low midrange. The attack of the bass is heard between 700 – 1000Hz, while the attack of the kick drum presents information at 3000 to 4000Hz.
Why put a towel in a bass drum?
The bass drum will eventually sound dead and flat – not what you want. The trick is to put a small amount of muffling in there. Try placing one pillow or blanket resting on the bottom of the drum. This way you get bit more control of the air flow, as well as the resonance on the drum head without killing the sound.
Is a bass drum tuned or untuned?
untuned
The bass drum is built like a very large snare drum, although without the snare; it is also an untuned instrument.
What is the best tuning for a bass drum?
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to bass drum tuning. It all depends entirely on your personal taste and the style of music you want to play. If you are playing jazz music then the kick drum sound you want will be different from that of a metal drummer.
What happens when you tune a bass drum?
When tuning the resonant head, you will notice that tuning it higher will raise the pitch and might result in more overtones, and there will be less ‘slap’ but more of a tone. There is no categorically perfect way how to tune a bass drum.
How to choose the best bass drum batter head?
Bass drum batter head choice is generally a 2-ply head for extra punch and low end. Popular bass drum batter heads also feature muffling within the drum head to reduce the sustain and deliver a solid kick sound. Popular examples include the Aquarian Superkick and Evans EMAD system.
How do I make my bass drum sound better?
To achieve a killer bass drum sound it helps if you already have a great drum; and more importantly a quality bass drum head from Remo, Evans or Aquarian. You will also need a soft item to place inside the bass drum – which will absorb some of the resonance and dampen the sound.