How tight should the spring tension on my bass drum pedal be?
The bass drum it just another drum. The same physics apply to it as any other percussion instrument. An insteresting thing to try, which I first saw suggested by Ed Soph, is to completely disengage the spring on your bass drum pedal. Then try to play single strokes. You may discover some inefficencies in your bass drum technique. The beater should rebound from the head just like it does on the snare and toms. Try to not let the spring compensate for poor technique. The spring is really just an aid to the natural rebound of the beater. If you’re playing with a fluid stroke the spring should not need to be very tight. Start with a loose spring tension and then only tighten it to the point where the pedal will respond as quickly as your foot. The pedal tension and the speed of your foot should be in sync. Going beyond that point is overkill and will make your playing tense and cause quicker fatique. The name of the game in all musical performance is relaxation. Use common sense and examin
