My bass drum sounds like a floor tom

[xemorej]

hey guys i need a little help here. i have a rhythm traveller kit, and i don't like the sound of my bass drum, cos it sounds more like a tom. like "doom" instead of a very low "doop". anyone knows how can i change the sound to make it more like a bass drum?

 

[mel80]

Try tuning it a little lower and put a pillow against it?

 

[shaneypants]

Loosen the bass drum a little and fill it up with pillows. And I really mean fill it up. Squeeze the pillows in as much as possible without stretching the bass skins too much. You'll get close enough to that "doop" sound you're looking for. Keep in mind your kit is a Traveller, so it's still gonna sound a little high-pitched.

 

[malmbas]

Try putting a 2"-4" strip of felt accross the drum underneath the head. I think gibraltar and a few companies sell these but just geat it cheaper at a fabric shop.
Probably won't give you the short sound you describe but i've seen it get a bit more of a punchy sound out of traveller kits

Adding a falam slam or similar bass drum pad to the head could help....
You can get remo internal muffling rings...

Or of course, as the others have said a pillow would take away heaps of the resonance. I like putting pillows towards the bottom of the drum as much as possible so you still get a bit of head movement

 

[Denosha]

Tune your bass drum really low. Like just above the point where the skin stops being crinkly. Also, your head makes a difference. Try using something like a pinstripe which has less overtones and sustain. As for muting, an alternative i use is a towel inside the bass drum which is in contact with the inside beater side head. Just my $0.02.

 

[RudimentalDrummer]

This is my Ex-Pearl Rythmn Traveller which I sold off.

I used those Remo Skin (with the Centre-Black-Dot from Swee Lee) on all Batters as can be seen......to make it look good (but dont use this on the snare - it doesn't sound good - look good only here).


Toms: -as all the Toms are (like Concert-toms) where bottom have no resonance head, I muff all the toms using those (Felts they used it on Chairs-legs) to stick onto the bottom right at the centre of the Black Dot (so you cant see it been muffled) and it will look great, and indeed sound good.

The Bass Drum: - exactly like what Mel had said - Stuff a Pillow not too big one against the Batter, tune it not too loose, not too tight (average) and you will get the right sound....

PS: - Do not stuff alot of pillow in the Bass Drum because it is very shallow and will sound very-dead if you do that, and worst volume of your Bass Drum can be very soft....

I did not cut a Mic-Hole at the Bass Drum, maybe it would sound better overall (I dont know here cause I didn't try this out)....

Just to share my personal experience here.

 

[weckl-x]

What heads do you have on it? If you don't mind sharing your location, maybe one of us near you can help ya out.

When I had mine, I ported the stock reso, and used an evans EQ4 batter (with inner muffling ring). I also had a small cushion lightly touching the batter. Low, quick thud. Great for home prac.

 

[xemorej]

thanks alot guys for all your very helpful replies, and i'll try them out as soon as i can.
i stay at queenstown, but the solutions sound quite simple so i don't think i'll need to trouble you with that