How to Control Dig and Rebound on a Bass Drum

One of the most common bad habits of playing the bass drum on a drum set is leaving the beater against the head at the end of a stroke (also referred to as “burying the beater into the head”). Whether you play heel up or heel down, the way to the best sound and best foot technique lies in allowing the beater to rebound from the head. When first trying to break the habit of burying the beater into the head, try these few steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bass drum
• Bass drum pedal

1. Try loosening the spring tension on your bass drum pedal if it is normally set very high. Allow the foot plate and beater to swing into the head and lift your foot off so the entire pedal swings back naturally without any resistance from your foot. Slowly work this process so that your foot remains on the pedal during the back end of the stroke while still allowing the beater and foot plate to spring back naturally. This is the most difficult part of a proper bass drum stroke. Give yourself time to feel comfortable with the rebound.

2. Make sure the seat height is not adjusted too high for heel up players especially. Though specific seat height is a matter of personal preference, going too far in either direction will negatively impact your ability to naturally allow the foot plate to smoothly rebound after stroking the bass drum.

3. Remove all dampening from the bass drum for initial practice only. This allows a more drastic difference between allowing the beater to rebound or stay buried into the head. Start by playing the bass drum as you normally would. Then try allowing the beater to rebound. As you practice, the distinct difference in sounds will help you identify when you’ve allowed the beater to rebound properly. Once you get the hang of it, you can return any muffling to the base drum. You’ll still notice a distinct difference with proper rebounding. However, the sustain and tone should be at your preferred level.

4. Start using these techniques in simple beats and patterns. Using a metronome at a slow tempo or even playing along with your favorite album is a good way to incorporate this new technique into your playing. Also try playing the bass drum at different volumes to hear the difference in tone and sustain

Tips & Warnings

• Burying the beater into the head is not necessarily always a no-no. It can be used as a special accent for high-attack, short-sustain bass drum hits. However, allowing the beater to rebound will produce full and powerful sounding bass drum strokes as well as more dynamic playing.