Drum Sounds Archives - Rhythm Notes

Drum dampening comes in a variety of forms and for different purposes. If you want to control the ring or tone of the drums, that’s not the same as dampening drums to lower the volume. Regardless of the reason and extent of your dampening needs, what’s the best drum dampening method or device? Choosing the right way to dampen your drums depends on the sound you’re looking for. If it’s a total dead sound that you want, maybe something with mass will work better. But maybe you need the sound to be fatter like when you use an old drum head cut out as a topper. The following list of ways to control your snare sound includes ideas about using common materials and products designed for drum dampening. https://kit.co/rhythmnotes/drum-dampening Go to kit.co to see more recommended gear. https://youtu.be/nW82KBMuadM 1. Tape for Drum Dampening Our first go-to is usually tape. It’s on hand in most households, and it’s easy to use. Whether or not it’s the best method for drum dampening is another question. If it’s all you have, then it’s the best you have, right? Gaffer tape is usually on hand at many stage and studio productions. It’s strong and easy to use. You can also use duck tape, but be careful because it can leave glue on surfaces after applied for extended periods of time. Strips Many drummers start with strips. It makes sense because that’s the tape’s form once torn from the roll. Why not slap it to the drum head and listen to how it sounds. The strips sometimes work on top or bottom heads. Drum heads that are just a little too out of control can be tamed by a small strip of tape near the edge. This is often effective on the resonant head (bottom). If you are looking for a super dead sound, then the strips placed all around the drum head are an option. But if you want to just cut off the extra ring, strips may not be the best option. Rolls The rolls are a strip of tape that’s rolled with the glue side facing out. This keeps the roll together while providing the sticky side for adhering to the drum head. The rolls are different from the strips because they offer some mass to the drum dampening. The mass is focused in a smaller footprint, which often dampens the extra ring but doesn’t kill the tone of the drum. Fins The fins are interesting. I don’t know what people call this use of tape, but it looks like the fins on a radiator heat exchange. To make the fins, fold the stick side toward the sticky side about three or four times. Leave enough tape on the end to adhere to the drum head. I don’t think this works better than the rolls, but I guess it adds more mass to the tape structure. The added mass absorbs more vibration, while the smaller footprint of the tape on the head reduces the impact on drum tone. 2. Adding Mass to Dampen Drums Objects that have more mass tend to absorb vibration without taking away as much drum tone. Using more mass, like a heavy wallet or tissues taped to the drum head, is a quick yet effective drum dampening technique. Wallet for Drum Dampening Place a wallet on the drum to make it quieter. This way to control the sound is useful when the room is not receptive to loud drums. Perhaps the venue patrons don’t want music volume to overtake their conversation or the band is not killing the decibel meter on every song. Whatever the reason, the wallet has never let me down. It’s also a great way to achieve a tight snare sound, like the drum sounds coming out of the 1970s studio sessions. The reduced ring is great for hearing all of the inner beats of paradiddle fills, for example, but it leaves drummers exposed. Snareweight The wallet works great on drums that are flat or nearly flat, but the rack toms or snares that are angled more struggle to keep the mass. After doing a search on Google about this issue, I found the Snareweight. Snareweight is a company that makes drum dampening products. It’s based on the same concept as placing a wallet on your drum, but the design is more conducive to playing. The basic designs include either leather or metal. I use one of the leather designs because it fits with the wallet concept. It clips to the drum rim, so it does not move around. And, if you want to reduce the amount of drum head surface area the leather contacts, the Snareweight has magnets that hold back each side. Tissues and Tape Fold some tissues or paper towels into a snare or rectangle, and tape them to the drum head. This is an extreme drum dampening solution that uses materials you probably have on hand. The nice thing about this method is that it can be undone quickly. If you layer on the tape, it can take a while to take it off. Plus, if you need to put it back on, the tissue paper and tape are quick, too. 3. Drum Dampening Gels Gels have been my go-to since Moongel first started making drum dampening gels. Before the gels, I used rolled tape, so the gels were a similar concept. The gels are nice because they are sticky and have a small footprint. They can be placed on almost any drum. If you need more dampening, just add more gels. It’s that simple. But which gels work the best? I put them to the test to find out which ones I want to use. Honey These gels work well on cymbals, too. I had never thought about dampening cymbals with gels before I read about Meinl Honey. The tackiness is excellent for these gels, and the packaging was similar to the Moongel case,, but the gels had pieces of plastic to separate one another. Moongel Moongels have been my friend since I first found them in a drum store. They work great but the tackiness gets lost overtime, especially if they are removed too much. These are the only gels I’ve used for years, so I can say a lot about them. For example, they don’t like time. I’ve had Moongels break down to a slime glob of goo that I had to wash off the heads. But I still have them and will use them for drum dampening because they work. TruTones The gels are my new favorites. They are tackier than the Moongel and can be washed to restore the tackiness if it gets lost. TruTones come in a nice case that has different sizes, which helps match drum dampening from one size drum to another. This is why I like them for my toms. 4. Drum Toppers This has to be the fastest way to dramatically change a snare drum sound -- place something over the entire drum head surface. It’s an extreme way to do drum dampening, but it’s fast and will increase the amount of sounds you have in your toolbox. Rings - DIY or Buy Drum Dampening My middle school drum set teacher had rings on his snare and toms. They were cut out of old drum heads, and I thought it was a genius idea. I ran home and did the same thing. These days there are a lot of products that are essentially the same thing. I still make a lot of mine because it’s quicker than going to the store. Plus, if you have old drum heads kicking around, use them! Paper for Drum Dampening I found this sound by accident. Early in my beginner years of drumming, I would sometimes place my sheet music on the snare drum if I didn’t have a stand. This would damage the sheet music, so it wasn’t practical. The sound was amazing, however. I wondered if people did this for a cool sound. Turns out that a lot of great snare drum sounds used paper to add some drum dampening while making a crispier attack sound. Big Fat Snare Drum These snare drum toppers are my new best friend. I don’t use them for everything, but they are great for extreme drum dampening. I have the Snare-Bourine (with jingles) and Steve’s Donut, which has the center cut out. The center cut out is nice because you still have the sound of the stick attack on the drum head. https://youtu.be/jHW4cP_i0zA 5. Drum Mutes and Mufflers Drum mutes and mufflers are aggressive. They tend to change the tone of the drum and volume in ways that the previous drum dampening methods do not. Practice Mutes The practice mute is essential for a lot of drummers. If you live with other people, wish to preserve your hearing, or both, this style of mute works great. It lays over the entire drum head and doesn’t spare much vibration from getting out of control. Prepacks for Practicing I bought a prepack many years ago and have used them on the snare and toms mostly. Some of the prepacks come with kick drum mutes, too. Towels and Shirts Draping towels or shirts over the drums is a fun way to get new sounds through drum dampening. RIngo Starr used to place towels on his toms for certain effects. This is why I always have a shirt and small towel in my percussion bag, ready to change it up. Muffler A muffler is a generic term, but I’m using it to refer to the types of dampeners that focus felt on a small area of the drum head. Gaffer tape and cymbal felt Rip off a piece of tape and stick a cymbal felt on one end. Attach the other end of the tape to the rim of the drum. When you hit the drum, the felt is sent away from the drum and returns to the head, dampening it. Experiment with the length of the tape to see if it reduces the time the felt is away from the head. This may reduce the amount f ring coming from the head. This is a subtle intervention. Since the felt is thrown from the head, you have however much head ring during the time the felt is away from and returning to the head. Even when the felt returns to the head it’s not aggressive. Kick Drum Pillow for Drum Dampening Whether you buy a pillow designed for a kick drum or use one from around your house, the concept is still the same. A pillow is an extreme dampening of the drum head, leaving you with just the punch and initial attack of the kick. Some drummers use big pillows, blankets, and other materials like egg crate foam instead of purchasing a pillow design for dampening a kick drum. This method of drum dampening can also change the way the beater responds to the drum batter head. Since there is less movement of the head after contact with the kick pedal beater, the beater doesn’t buzz or vibrate as much. Anyone who has engineered tracking sessions would definitely know about the beater buzz. It’s annoying. External and Internal Drum Mufflers You’ll see external muffler systems in the Evans EQ series. But a muffler can be anything — a stick bag learning against the batter head or a cymbal bag leaning against the resonant head. I’ve used both of these methods for small rooms or in places like churches where the drums can light up the room if you’re not careful. Internal systems can be seen in heads like the Aquarian Superkick series. The muffler is a ring mounted to the inside of the batter head. They sound good, but sometimes it can lose attack, which can be fixed with a hard beater. Drum Clip Drum Dampening The Drum Clip is a plastic product that clips to the drum rim and has a piece that contacts the edge of the drum head. This contact places enough pressure on the head to reduce the ring. The plastic material allows more of the high kids and high frequencies to come through, as well. Final Thoughts on Drum Dampening Drum dampening can be done with something you have, something you make, or something you buy. Regardless of how what you use, knowing your options is key to making your drums sound great! Related Articles How to Tune Drums Like a Pro What Makes a Snare Drum Sound Good?