best way to muffle toms?

DTBlalock

New member
right now i am using duct tape and swiffer cloths but its very unattractive and gives it a cheap sound...any good techniques to muffle the sound with stuff around the house?
 
How about the Remo Muff'les (i think that's how it's spelled). I got those myself they work nicely. They are pretty inexpensive two...although if you dont wanna spend money all i can suggest is that for the bass drum toss an old pillow or a couple blankets in there. I don't know get creative :)
 
What is your purpose for muffling them?
Is it a type of sound that you are trying to get, or are you just trying to lower the volume of the drum?



Tim
 
I'm not sure why muffling is that important.. I like and I don't like it. It keeps all the resonance out so you don't get that annoying ring. However I like the sound Of Mike Portnoy's Drums and he doesn't have mufflers. Hmm i guess you just gotta experiment.
 
The volume is fine...its just that there is so much damn ring that it sound slike one big mess. I just want it muffled to the point where you can tell which drum is being hit yet doesnt get that cheap plasticky sound. I guess thats a bad way to put it but i think a lot of people have this problem.
 
What kind of heads are you using?

It sounds to me like you need to work on tuning, and learn how to tune the bottom head.

The top head sets the pitch, the bottom head sets how much "tone" or "sustain" the drum has.


Tim
 
The original bottom Rogers heads on the top, and Yamaha Batters on the bottom. And yes, I am horrible and confused with tuning.
 
The best way to muffle toms is throw a dead drummer on 'em, or ask a live one to play 'em in 7/8. :D

If you are trying to get rid of ring, O-rings or zero rings work great. They come in all the standard sizes.

BTW if you google drum tuning there is some great stuff out there, and I think there are some tuning threads on this forum.
 
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Tune the Bottom Head

If you want a flat tom, but with tone, tune the bottom head.Leave the top loose.If their used or worn tune up the top just Barely to get the tone.Hope this works for you :)
 
I actually forgot this, there is no bottom head on the floor tom. Is this a problem? The set came used without a bottom hoop or screws. Its an early 1970's Rogers XP-8 if anyone knows where i can get parts.
 
You can get a replacemnet hoop and screws for probably about $25 bucks at any of the drum supply shops.

I always promote:

http://www.drummaker.com/shop1


The odds are that your floor is a 16" diameter tom, with 8 lugs (almost every kit from the 1970's & 80's had one. :D )

Andy has one of these going for $11.30 right now.

Remove and measure the length of one of the tension rods (the screws that tune the drum) that you have, and then look for one that is the same length.

Also, when you order, tell them you need tension rods to fit an oldd Roger's kit...just to make sure that these will work....either that, or you will also have to purchase inserts. for the lugs as well (Most drums are now created using a metric threading system, and the older tension rods are a little bit different than the new ones.


OR

You can go without bottom heads.

Go download the song "Heaven and Hell" by Black Sabbath.
That yields a typical singleheaded tom sound, and contrary to popular belief - most kick drums are still recorded without a Front head - because people are used to the sound.

I'm seriously thinking about building a set of single-headed toms to go with my kit, because I've found that the three CD's that I spend the most time listening to are The Mob Rules, Heaven and Hell, and Born Again by Black Sabbath and one of the things that I love is the way that these records sound...they have a .....a timeless sound to them for me....

For heads, I suggest Pinstipes for the Batter/top heads (no matter what you route you choose) and if you choose to go with bottom heads, I would suggest either a set of clear ambassadors for the resonant/bottom heads, or a set of clear "diplomats" for the resonant/bottom heads.

These are all Remo heads.
I can't really tell you about other companies, because I just use Remo. (To make a long story short - I like to use all the same type drum heads on my kit for a uniform sound. I have a 20" diameter floor tom..and that sized tom was discontinued about 20 years ago, but Remo still makes heads that will fit on them.....so I buy Remo.


Tim
 
Without the bottom heads you get almost no tone at all...if you muffle them too that is. My friends dad has A Ginger Baker 1973 Replica all steel drum kit and he only had the top head on and it wasn't that bad although they werent bieng muffled. I picked up a few drum hoops from the garbage they need some chrome polish but hopefully they can sell on ebay.
 
I am a big fan of Moonl Gel for taking out some ring from drums.

If you use tape, have the common sense to use masking tape vs. duct tape -it leaves far less tape residue.

Long before there were commecial products like muffle rings & moon gel - the standard practise was some tissue (or toilet) paper folded into about a 1" square and secured with masking tape. That's what I used from about 1964 (when I learned for drummers older than I was) through about the late 90's. In the 90's I changed over to Moon Gel.

In the late 60's early 70's I went through the whole single headed drum phase (what a terrible time for drum sounds). There was also the phase of fiberglass drums and steel drums and various synthetics (man we went out of our way to avoid a good wood sound with some tone & yes even some ringing).

Thankfully, drummers gained appreciation for wood once again..
 
Moon Gels are great - I just got some for my melodic toms and they sound much more lively and open than they did with zero rings and tape. Plus they're really easy to reposition until you find just the right spot.

BTW, gaffer's tape leaves very little residue behind. Masking tape adhesive hardens over time.
 
I think O rings are great and moon gels can work really well as well, but its a little extra work.

When you deaden the drums make sure your really move your overheads around to get a nice over all sound. You will want to capture some of the "life" of the toms from the overheads and use close mics to fill in a little extra body.

You are smart to fight the battle. A lot of people do not realize this but the ring on your toms has a big effect on the sound of all the other drums (some times good, many times bad.) Tight tom sounds will help the whole kit sound more clear and punchy. The toms do not have to be dead but tight. When I recorded Terry Bozzio we had 16 toms, but they are all tuned perfectly and the kit still sounded open and punchy. A 4 piece kit with one or two ringy toms will muddle up the whole kit.
 
I don't think you want "muffled" per se,I think you want more of a controlled tone ie. one that cuts the "ringing" yet allows the full charactaristic of the drums to come through.

What sizes of drums do you have in your kit?
 
All you have to do is get the right heads and learn to tune them. When they ring uncontrolably, you tune them again. Thats how you tell they are out of tune.
 
bat63 said:
I don't think you want "muffled" per se,I think you want more of a controlled tone ie. one that cuts the "ringing" yet allows the full charactaristic of the drums to come through.

What sizes of drums do you have in your kit?

14" snare
14" rack tom
20" floor tom
24" bass drum

yes, its that traditional monsterous 70's drum set.
 
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