Put a piece of Duck tape over the place where it's hurting your drum. Then put a 2p coin on the piece of duck tape and continue to move until the drum pedal is directly hitting the centre of the 2p...
You may have an old pedal; most new pedals have an extra piece on the base of the pedal that actually pinches onto rim of the basedrum where it touches the floor. There's a screw that tightens this...
The footboard's usually aluminum. The frame is usually steel because it takes a lot of abuse. The beater can be a lot of things--felt, leather, hard plastic, the gym sox you never wash--depending on...
No, typically a bass drum is used in concert settings and is much larger than a surdo. Think more along the lines of a large floor tom that can be dampened with one hand while striking with a soft...