Bass Drum Question? Drummers answer please?

Question:My bass drum doesn't have that "thump" sound to it, it kind of rattles and I've already put a pillow in it . Does anyone know what i could do?
Also when i play the bass, my toms and the snare echoes the sound.
And when i hit the bass with the pedal it kind of hits it twice. Is there a specific technique to stop this happening?

btw i am a beginner - i got my kit at Christmas

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: My bass drum doesn't have that "thump" sound to it, it kind of rattles and I've already put a pillow in it . Does anyone know what i could do?
Also when i play the bass, my toms and the snare echoes the sound.
And when i hit the bass with the pedal it kind of hits it twice. Is there a specific technique to stop this happening?

btw i am a beginner - i got my kit at Christmas

Here what you do to get that "big, thump" sound to it....
You pull the pillow back a little, you dont want to push it too far back against the drum head, otherwise you'll kill that "overring" tone and it sounds "too flat" & dead pan" like. Also, tune your Bass drum higher on both drum heads. ther front drum head and the back drum head. That increase overall Bass drum tone higher and it's give it more of that "bounce back" when you hit it with the kick pedal.

Also, if you want to...you can muffle the bass drum another way..... without using a big pillow. Here's what you do....
you get a big, thick paper towel, about 2 sheets worth.
then, fold it over about 3 or 4 times till its about 5" X 5" in size. Then you use some Packing Tape and tape that paper towel sheet inside your Bass Drum drum head in the center. Make sure you tape it real good on there so it doesn't come off when you are playing the Bass Drum...that's the trick to it.
It worked for me. If thats not for you...just simply take off the paper towel muffler and try something else.

I did this trick with my old Tama kit because i want that "Boom" sound for the Bass drums. You have to experiment with different types of muffling techniques to find out what works for you because every drummer is picky and different. You can also buy Drum head mufflers at the music store too.

Also, you need to muffle your Tom-toms more. Again, you can use Paper Towels too...just one sheet for the Tom-toms because you dont want to muffle it too and kill the "ringing tone" to it. Also, with your snare...tighten the nsare wires on it more. Just a little bit more so they dont ring when you hit the bass drum. Good luck

I am a drummer as well and I had that same problem. To make the snare from rattleing, you can try to tighten it with a drum key. To make the thump sound on the bass drum, try to tighten the head as well. Your drumset may just need some tuning, and may be just a little loose.

Give it a Try!!!