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Damping a Bass Drum
By Bernt Damm

Hello,  I just repaired this Otto Accordion which plays style G &
4X rolls.  The bass drum sounds terrible, in my opinion.  It produces
a hollow "dooong" sound instead of a damped bass drum "thud."  The
beater is a pear-shaped solid wood beater.  The drum is a small bass
drum, cut in half, with no damping, and there are little pads stuck
to the skin where the beaters hit.

When I put my hand on the skin, or when I put a thick rag between the
beater and the skin, the drum sounds much better and all right.

It also has the two tympani beaters, which are smaller, but also are
pear-shaped solid wood.  They sound equally hollow but I think that
is okay?

What is the easiest way to correct and improve this drum sound?

Kind regards,
Bernt Damm
Sydney



(Message sent Fri, 7 Jan 2011 21:16:22 +1100 , from time zone +1100.)

Key Words in Subject:  Bass, Damping, Drum