I find that it's better to damp things physically - as you did with the bigger felt washer. I find that [[url=http://[/URL]="http://accessories…"]moongel[/]="http://accessories…"]moongel[/] works very well on drums or cymbals. It's easy to move from place to place, easy to remove, and doesn't leave a residue.

...about that small bass drum....does the drummer have it stuffed with all kinds of stuff (pillows, blankets, etc.)? if so, maybe try removing most of it? they make these pretty thin looking "drum pillows"- i guess you'd call it- that can just velcro right inside the drum.- they seem to do the proper dampening without taking away to much tone or resonance.
my drum teacher used to have this yamaha stage custom kit- nothin too pricy, with a 16" bass drum....and man!- did he ever get some serious bottom end and punch out of that thing!- i was so jealous!
i would just mess around with the tuning and dampening a bit.- maybe push the pillow or blanket up against the beater head more....maybe back it off the head a bit.- all that adjusting makes very noticeable differences.
looser heads is not always the answer- that can take away alot of tone and resonance when they're as loose as you stated.
tighten that beater head back up a tad....when you tune you should check the tesion at each lug to make sure it's fairly even....also when tuning, are you....what's the word?...ummmm.....cross tuning?- i made that word up, but i mean- tune one lug, then tune the one exactly opposite, across the head, from that one and so on....-this keeps things balanced.
also i've learned as kinda a "rule of thumb" to tune the bottom heads a half step (note) lower than the top heads.
well, i hope that may have helped in some way?...you may have already known all of this? i just thought i'd add my two cents....
good luck!
-jordan

On the bass drum you can try removing the front head. Also, extending the drum (perhaps using heavy cardboard) will give a deeper sound.

you did mean 16" in diameter? right? usaually small diameters like this are built a few inches deeper( longer)

Thanks for the tips! I am familar with using moongel or even tape (which can leave a residue) to alter the tonality of drums but was not aware of it's use on cymbals and was hesitant to try it as the session was short and time constrained. The idea of increasing the tension is good to know I am not a drummer if you had not already gleaned this and while it is counter-intuitive is probably the easiest solution. I did mean a 16" drum and now that you mention it, it is deeper than an average bass drum.
When he was breaking down I looked at the drum and he did have some sort of professional baffle installed he said by the drum tech at Sam Ash. It was not velcro but I think it was what you are describing. The cardboard idea is interesting also I'll give all these ideas a try in two weeks when they are back to do the final recordings.

Might be time to invest in some actual gaffer tape if you are going to try the trick with cardboard to extend the drum. Strong as duct tape and the best brands leave virtually no residue. (I buy a bunch of rolls every four or five years and therefore can never remember the brands between purchases, sorry.)

Did a short recording session yesterday for some scratch tracks for a couple of song demos. The drummer was using a 22" Zildjian K Custom Dark Ride Cymbal. There was an annoying (to my ears anyway) ringing sound that when I first heard it I thought came from mic placement, but after several adjustments to no avail, I realized it was the cymbals sound itself. I had him add another felt washer (larger than was previously employed) and it seemed to correct the problem. Later in the session when he was playing with more "attack" I heard it again (hard to descibe but almost like a feedback ring.) Anyone have any thoughts about how to set this cymbal up to decrease this without asking him to use a different cymbal? I know I can probably EQ this out but would prefer to solve the issue prior to doing the final tracks on these songs.

He's either hitting the cymbal too hard or he's hitting it in the wrong place. K's are the greatest cymbals ever. :D

Also he was using a jazz kit with a very small bass drum, 16" I believe. I had him tune it down as much as possible (it began to buzz any lower) but I was wondering the best way to get a deep rich sound from such a small diameter drum?

High frequency damping. Aka stuffing as many blankets into the bass drum as possible. As a last resort, you may need to switch to a traditional felt (blechhhh) beater to help getting rid of the treble. And tune as low as you can without the bass drum heads showing wrinkles. Tuning the front head tighter than the back head might help too. Make sure the beater is hitting right in the middle of the head. Nice thick heads with a beater patch helps too. Good luck and God bless.