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How To Set Up Your Bass Drum For Maximum Stability And Sound

Photo credit: Glen Bowman

The most important thing to achieve when you're setting up your bass drum is to make sure it does not slip. The second most important thing to achieve when you're setting up you bass drum is to make sure it really does not slip at all. If you've ever had your bass drum slip away from you while you're playing you'll know how important this is and why I'm repeating myself.

If it slips away while you're practicing then its slightly annoying but if it slips while you're gigging then its a catastrophe. Once your bass drum starts slipping at a gig, it will keep slipping until you can't reach it anymore. Not cool and very embarrasing. Usually the only remedy to this is to put something heavy in front of the bass drum. The guys at Rainbow Music told me a great horror story of someone actually having to sit in front of the bass drum to keep it in place.

All this can be avoided by just paying a bit of attention to how you set it up. Your spurs are what keep your bass drum in place. If your bass drum is sitting on a carpet and your spurs are set up properly then your bass drum will not move. Ever.

Anchoring Your Bass Drum

The spurs need to point away from the bass drum pedal. This helps reinforce your bass drum and stop it moving forward when you hit it.

Loosen the wing nut on the spurs to change their angle. The exact angle isn't too important so just make sure that the points of the spurs are just past the hoop of the bass drum.

For maximum stability, use a proper drum mat and screw off the rubber stoppers completely. The metal points will dig into the mat creating a secure grip.

Photo credit: david.nikonvscanon

Note: If you are setting up on a carpet at home then screw down the rubber stoppers because the metal spurs may rip the carpet. Also use the rubber stoppers if you have to set up on a smooth surface because the metal spurs will not grip a smooth surface.

Projection

To get the best sound out of your bass drum you need to think about where the sound is going. When you put your pedal in place, the end of your bass drum that is closest to your stool will rise off the ground. This means that your bass drum will point downwards away from you. But think about your audience. Your bass drum will be pointing at their feet.

Your audience's ears are above your bass drum so you are going to have to point it up towards them. To do this you need to adjust the height of your spurs in order to raise the front of the bass drum up.

Bass Drum Height

Sit in front of your bass drum and loosen the spur height adjuster with a drum key.

Lift the bass drum to the height you want (2-5 cm [1-2 inches] above the ground) then tighten the adjuster. Do the same for the other spur.

Note: You may have to make minor adjustments again to make sure your bass drum is absolutely level.

Thats about it! Screw your pedal at the very bottom of the bass drum. If the pedal leans to the left or right when you tighten it then its not in the right place. So try this: Move the pedal in the direction it was leaning and try again. Repeat until the pedal no longer tilts and it will be dead centre.

Once you get your stool set up, your feet comfortable, your snare set up and your bass drum stable... you're going to be feeling very confident. To be honest you'll feel like you can take on the world. So why not test if you can? The only way to do this is to get out and start playing some gigs!

Alex,
Have fun, think big and keep practicing.

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