Muting Drums

[tsl92802]

Hey guys, this isn't recording, but I can't think of a better board that would be able to help with this. I need to completely mute my drums and cymbals for a video shoot I'm doing with my band this weekend. I figured out that I can just throw some towels in the drums and that works great, but I'm at a loss for muting the cymbals without it being seen in the cameras. Any advice would be really helpful. Thanks!

[Uladine]

I've seen drummers throw a bunch of tape on their cymbals in music videos. But thats the problem- I've seen it. Maybe consult with the director about what angle hes going to be shooting from and try to put tape on the opposite side of the cymbals for each shot. I can't really think of anythbing else. Maybe have the film crew where earplugs? If you just play the song at a as close a tempo as possible to the recording at fuill volume they should be able to edit the shots to sync it up later.

[mitosis]

Video shoot as in music video or video shoot as in promotional material? And do they have to be muted for the sake of someone taling over them or they have to be muted just becuase the director doesn't want loud sounds? I say just shoot the thing and take out the sound later, it's a lot easier.

Or I'd go get some rubber from a hardware store (like snap together rubber flooring) and cut a 2-3'' wide strip about the length of your cymbal's radius. Drill a hole at one end and put that on your cymbal stand and mute the cymbal with it. Depending on what angle you are shooting from you might or might not be able to see it.

If you can easily see it, try making a strip just a little longer and put it on the underside of your cymbal stretching from the center and folding over the edge about an inch. Tape it there and when you hit the cymbal, make sure you hit the edge with the mute.

I use this technique for muting drums for practicing and it seems to work well for how cheap you can make it.

[Elton Bear]

I was snooping around the stock room at work yesterday, and I found some transparent car mats... I reckon they'd be great. Just cut them the size of your cymbals and slot them over the stand - from a short distance they'd probably be invisible, or near enough. Obviously close-ups will be a bit trickier.

Either that or coat your sticks in something rubbery and try to limit the force you attack your cymbals with. Let them move but dont whack it like you would when you're playing....