Drum Dampers

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Drum Dampers

Drums damping

Drum dampening is the process that drummers do to reduce undesired sounds from their drums. Snares drums and toms will make a lot of over tones depending on where you hit it. Most drummers glue tapes closer to the edges of the snare drum. Placing tape this way will muffle the snare drum by adding additional weight, thus reducing vibrations, or resonance. The tape on drum heads is also responsible for sound mitigation, but changes in volume due to tape will not be significant. However, this method of damping is not suitable for the bass drum. The first drum that every drummer muffles is the bass drum. Because the bass drum usually carries a lot of overtones and resonance. Usually a pillow or blanket is placed inside the bass drum. Many drum head manufacturers offer heads with built-in dampening, but sometimes further modification is necessary. To mute drums you can use:

  • Tapes
  • Gel dampers
  • Rings
  • Drum mufflers
  • Pillows

Tapes

If you’re on a budget and you need muffling for your drums, definitely go ahead and apply some tape to your drum heads. The primary reason why drummers apply tape on the surface of their drum heads is for the reduction of over tones or sustain. Applying tape also allows for better studio recordings and it can help reduce the volume of the drums slightly. Start off with just a little tape. One strip toward the edge of the head can be enough to tone down the sustain. If you need more, try another strip next to the first one and so on. Too much tape can take away the attack of the stick hitting the head. A huge amount of tape on the drumhead will give the most muffled drum sound, reducing volume and projection quite a lot.

Gel dampers

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 muffling, you can just place more gels. It’s much nicer using these because you can take them off so easily without any residue being left behind. You can move them around the drum head to change the sound and presence of the effect. Plus they can all fit in a small case that you can just throw in your stick bag. They work great but the tackiness gets lost overtime, especially if they are removed too much.

Rings

When you hit the drum, the ring jumps up to let the drum ring for a tiny bit before damping occurs. Although you can get some good tone from the rings, they do rattle when the microphone is close. Fine for live performances where a noise like this is not audible. Drum rings are usually about 1 inch wide, made of thin plastic, and rest around the diameter of the drum. These work great, especially if you need a lot of dampening because they are made to run the whole circumference of the drum, so they are very powerful and can muffle the drum a lot.

Mutes

The mutes use non-slip rubber which provides a realistic bounce and won’t have an adverse effect on your playing technique. Drum mutes allow you to practice on your acoustic drum kits without being too loud. It ensures that you do not disturb your neighbours as well as your own family members while practising.

Pillows

This option is for kick drums. Put a blanket or pillow inside your bass drum. Experiment with the placement of the muffling. When inside the drum there are a multitude of placement options, each with its own tonal characteristic.

You can combine the different methods for a greater drum dampening effect, and modify them depending on your environment and situation. Do not use too much muffling, or your drum will lose all resonance and sound dull. Instead, start with a small amount of muffling and, bit by bit, add more, until you reach the desired tone quality.

Buy drum dampers in Musician.UA

You can buy drum dampers in our stores. It is also possible to place an order in the online shop. Delivery is carried out all over Ukraine. Thanks to the wide assortment, everyone will find a suitable product for themselves. You can always count on professional advice and assistance. We care about the quality of service and do everything we can to make sure you are satisfied with your purchase.