Try moving you throne back another inch or two and see if that helps.

WOW that helped a lot. Thanks. Is it also how I use my pedals? I put the tip of my foot (toes) on the pedals and I lift up my heels.

I heard some people keep there whole foot flat out on the pedal without ever liifting their heels. That's why I'm asking.

Find a comfortable position that keeps your back straight and vertical. That will allow you to balance and have greater freedom for your feet, regardless of your pedal technique. Playing the BD pedal with the ball area of the foot will give you greater power when needed, and when you are balanced, you can play softer with ease.

Thanks a lot. I have my back straight and vertical and I moved my stole back a bit. I'll keep trying new things until I feel comfortable.

I've always played with the balls of my feet on the pedals, and my heels off the ground, except when playing really quiet. I don't even think about it. Just do whatever feels comfortable and go from there!

Thanks for the advice

I've always played heel-down, with my whole foot on the pedal--I find it's easier to play softly and quickly if I'm not trying to move my whole leg up and down. But it's a matter of what's most comfortable for you. Try out different positions and see what feels right.

Here's a tip I got from a sound guy at a show: I used to play with my heels down most of the time, and then lift my heel off the floor and use the whole leg to drive the bass pedal down on the first beat of each bar. At the show, the sound guy clued me in to the fact that this made that first bass drum hit much louder than the others. He had to turn the bass drum mic down fairly low to ensure that the loud hit didn't distort, and because I was playing heel-down on all the other beats, they ended up being too quiet to hear. The moral of the story: whichever method you go with, be consistent.