It's no secret that these are two of the most important pieces of the drum kit. The bass drum has the lowest, most powerful voice of the entire kit and therefore plays a basic foundational role in performance. The pedal we use to play the bass drum is, in turn, extremely important, since choosing and adjusting it correctly makes playing easy. Many musicians know that a comfortable pedal is just as important as a good bass drum sound. The audience may only be aware of the sound, but the player knows the importance of the pieces that don't make a sound. In this article we'll discuss a few topics related to this pair that are destined to get along: the bass drum and the bass drum pedal.

The Bass Drum
It was around 1550 when the Turks brought what we know today as the bass drum to Europe via the trade routes with Asia. Since the Turks had a great empire at the time, the bass drum became known and used by many other cultures of that era. Later, in America, a whole African culture brought by slaves developed and would later fuse with the European one. The bass drum as we know it today, and the drum kit in general, are the result of the fusion of all these cultures.

While many musicians collect snare drums, collecting bass drums isn't as common. Space issues must be partly to blame, though not entirely. It seems that the bass drum, although very important, doesn't define a musician's character as much as the snare does. There are a multitude of great drummers who are instantly recognized by the sound of their snare, but you can count on the fingers of one hand those recognized by the sound of their bass drum. Even so, its role is extremely important. It also depends largely on the type of music being played. For example, the ride cymbal is the fundamental piece in jazz, above the snare and bass drum.

The bass drum is, as we said earlier, the piece that brings the lowest, most powerful voice to the overall sound of the drum kit. That's why the music styles that use and abuse it most are precisely the loudest ones, like heavy metal and the like. It's a matter of sonority: if, for example, we have to back up a horn arrangement, the snare and a splash might work well. On the other hand, if what we have to back up is a powerful riff of heavily saturated guitars, the right thing is to do it with the bass drum. We know there are no rules, but in general that's how it works. Nonetheless, most fans of these styles should bear in mind that jazz musicians like Louie Bellson were already using double bass drums in the '50s, when these new, powerful musical currents didn't even exist.

There have been, and there are, musicians with excellent bass drum technique, such as Tony Williams in jazz or John Bonham in rock. Both of them, like many others, used a single bass drum and got very good results with just one foot. Double bass drum, although it existed earlier, was the calling card of drummers like Billy Cobham, Simon Phillips and many more. Using one or two bass drums is a very personal choice, since each option has its pros and cons. Today we're at a time when all techniques and styles go hand in hand. Nobody is startled to hear Horacio "El Negro" Hernández using those powerful double bass drum arrangements in a Latin jazz context. It seems that today the law of "anything goes" reigns, and the bass drum and how it's used were never going to be an exception.

Other musicians, like Virgil Donati, have popularized, though not invented, the technique of double strokes with the feet. With it they've managed to play all kinds of rudiments that, in principle, seemed meant for the hands. The current moment suggests that it's precisely control of the feet and pedals that has advanced most in recent decades. If we look back, we find that drummers like Buddy Rich were already playing with their hands at the same level as today; however, bass drum arrangements seem to have evolved more. It seems the drumming community has focused its attention on the feet for some years now.

Bass drums, like the rest of the pieces, are built from wood. There have been (and some are still made) drum kits of acrylic, fiberglass and even steel, but they're exceptions. While snares come in many different materials, the bass drum is wood 95% of the time. The type of wood can vary. Maple makes bass drums with great punch, volume and attack. Birch, on the other hand, gives warmth, body and, in general, a more controlled sound. Cherry has greater sweetness of sound and warmth. In short, each wood contributes its own sonority. Sizes have a big influence. The most common are usually 20" or 22" in diameter, varying in depth. One size that's proving to give excellent results is 22" in diameter by 18" deep. Be sure to try it, because it's a cannon. However, there are music styles that call for other, smaller sizes like 18" or even 16" in diameter. These bass drums usually have greater note definition. Today's rock drummers, and mostly those from the 1970s, used large bass drums (26" and 28"), achieving very interesting sounds for the musical style they played.

As for bass drum hardware, many people favor not having the drum drilled and mounting the toms on separate stands. That way, the bass drum doesn't bear the weight of the toms, allowing its shell to vibrate more freely. Today most brands offer this option when you order the kit. They're small differences, but they help the end result.

The heads usually used on the bass drum also depend on personal taste, but there seems to be a leaning toward thick two-ply heads. This is because in pop and rock music the bass drum is treated differently from the toms. In those styles the aim is for it to have a very deep, powerful sound, even at the expense of the note. In jazz, on the other hand, the bass drum is something like "the lowest tom," so heads and tunings similar to those of the toms are used. Of course this is a broad generalization, since every musician has their own vision. Don't take all this as a mandatory rule, but simply as a reference.

Another interesting factor is whether the bass drum should be muffled or not, and how much. Most drummers put something inside the bass drum to act as a sound dampener. Pieces of foam rubber, cushions or pillows, towels and even paper are used for this, with some quite curious results. The idea is to get the desired sound, and any material is good if it helps us get it. Some drummers prefer to tune the heads low and leave the bass drum empty. This strategy gives a very powerful sound with great volume. The only drawback, if it is one, is that we'll have a bit of sustain on the note when we hit it. In other words, the bass drum's sound will have a bit of a tail. This isn't bad at all, but it bothers some sound engineers. If the heads are loosened enough, this tail will disappear because they'll stop vibrating. Another drawback is that with the heads so loose, the sound is good when you play hard but worse when you play softly, since it loses the note. In any case, the final word will come from the effect it creates when used in practice. For most musicians, the smartest thing is to get the best sound with the bass drum empty and then, if necessary, gradually "fill" the drum with the muffling. It's good to start with a little so as not to kill the sound more than necessary. We shouldn't forget comfort, since we may find that a bass drum with very loose heads sounds good but is very hard to play. Conversely, a bass drum with tight heads may help your playing but not have the desired sound. The musician will decide whether they prefer comfort and good feel or good sound. Sometimes we happen to have both our preferred feel and the desired sound, but that's not usual.

The Bass Drum Pedal
The appearance of the bass drum pedal is very important because it marks the birth of the drum kit. Keep in mind that, until then, it took two people to play the bass drum and the snare. With the arrival of the pedal, a single person could play the snare with their hands and the bass drum with their foot, and that's how the first drum kit came together at the end of the 19th century.

In 1909 an instrument maker named William F. Ludwig produced his first working bass drum pedal. Although other similar foot-operated mechanisms existed before, Ludwig's pedal was a revolution, since it made it possible to play the bass drum quickly, precisely, freely and comfortably. This allowed players to concentrate better on what their hands were doing on the snare or other instruments.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 1909, and bass drum pedals have improved enormously. In fact, hardware as a whole is the part of the drum kit that showed the greatest evolution over the last century. Today's pedals are very smooth, precise and durable. Practically every brand carries out its own research in this area. The current trend seems to be achieving the greatest possible degree of adjustability. So we find pedals on which absolutely everything can be adjusted. Time will tell what is destined to last or disappear. A good example was the double pedal, which in its day was a somewhat daring invention but has proven its worth over the years, becoming a classic.

Pedals usually come very well adjusted from the factory, although the spring tension is then set to the player's taste. As for sound, the snare is probably what best defines a musician, but when it comes to everything else, the bass drum pedal takes the prize.

We can also find beaters made from different types of materials: wood, plastic, felt, etc. That way the bass drum's sound is slightly modified according to preference.

For all those just beginning to venture into the incredible world of drums, it's worth recommending that they not spend all their money on a good bass drum and that they think about the pedal, since, although it "doesn't make a sound," it's essential for learning all the techniques properly. The bass drum pedal, the hi-hat pedal and the throne are very important for playing comfortably. Many great drummers recommend starting with a mid- or low-range kit but with good pedals. There must be a reason.