Drum Mufflers

[N8theGr8]

hey, i've been looking into getting a some drum mufflers, definately for my floor tom at least. they sound fine on recording, but they don't actually sound like that in real life. im working on some blink182 (adams song) which uses a 1/4 note beat on the floor tom, mine rings WAY too long. It sound like im hitting an Indian drum of some sort. just wondering if anybody has any suggestions? percussive innovations seems good, http://www.drumsandpercussion.com/more.htm they're sold at mars music.

[Emeric]

I've never tried those muffler things on the link you gave. There cheap enough, maybe worth a go.

0-rings can work well enough though, never had them 'fly' off the toms like the muffler guys claim.

If you save your old top heads you can make 0-rings easy enough by just cutting a thin circle out near the rim.

I'm also not familiar with blink 182, so I don't really know what sound it is your after. I personally like ringing. If you want to deaden the hell out of it, to make the notes more staccato a bit of tape and kleenex should eliminate the ringing. Key is to still retain some of the tone without it turning into a carboard box.

[mikemoritz]

my old drummer used the o-rings.....he also had the best sounding drums I've ever heard. They work really well, especially on the low low floor toms. They didn't make an o ring big enough for his lowest, so he just used the biggest one they had and taped it down with a few strips of duct tape. Killer muffling, without that muffling effect.

Peace and chicken grease,
Mike

[Tim Brown]

Originally posted by N8theGr8
they sound fine on recording, but they don't actually sound like that in real life.

Wrong.

Tape doesn't lie. That is exactly what they sound like, it i YOU that hears it differently.

What kind of heads are you using...I would suggest that you switch to either Aquarian Studio X heads (the first choice) or Remo Powerstroke heads (second choice) which have a bilt in muffling ring, instead of using some external muffling.


These are both drum heads with an O ring built in underneath the head(so when you put it on the drum, the O ring is inside).

They will dampen down the overtones, but still let the drum breathe and not just be some dead thump.


Tim

[N8theGr8]

im not using a decent mic setup because all ive got are 2 SM57's and 2RS's (which i dont use), so ive the SM57's in XY and i just don't think the toms sound the same. the ring seems to completely go away. thanks for the suggestion on the powerstroke 3's, i already have 1 for snare, and both batter and resonant on the kick (INCREDIBLE sound). im thinking either pinstripe or clear powerstrokes for toms now. also, how important are the resonant heads on the toms? i still have the crappy pearl ones that came with my set 4 years ago, and for batters i have Remo coated ambassadors. i think i'll still get the muffling for the floor tom today, just to see how it sounds.

[N8theGr8]

well, its official, those Percussive Innovations mufflers suck the big one. the 16" floor tom doesnt match my set anymore, it sounds like a cardboard box. maybe i should've gotten 2 more mufflers for the 12 and 13"...i dunno. not what i expected at all.

[Emeric]

How new are your heads? Replace the top and bottom and work your way up from there if you didn't already.

[N8theGr8]

top heads are a year old, bottoms are 4 years, oh yea!