What is the "proper" way to mute bass drum heads?

[ussglassman]

What is the "proper" way to mute bass drum heads?

[MikeN]

Depends on who you ask. There's foam on the outside of the head, foam glued to the inside of the shell, pillows in the shell, pads taped to the heads, pre-muffled heads (my new personal favorite)...

Mike

[jonnyboy]

Whatever you choose, don't over muffle. A drum that sounds good from a few feet away often sounds like a cardboard box from the stands. I prefer a little ring up close that sounds like a nice drum tone from a distance.

I could go overboard with my response, depending on the reason you are asking about muffling. Could you dial us in on your specific needs? If you are looking for a cheap fast way for a few parades or a show band, I would suggest pads. If you want something that might be a bit nicer, I prefer foam, but foam can be messy and a pain in the ###. If you leave it on too long it deteriorates. If you change heads often, you gotta change the foam etc. I've never used the pre-muffled heads, they look like they would be nice to work with, but they aren't cheap.

[ussglassman]

Ive used foam weatherstripping in the past, but i think i overmuffled. Do you use foam to go all the way around the drumhead, or just halfway, etc?

[Gary Matczak]

Ive used foam weatherstripping in the past, but i think i overmuffled. Do you use foam to go all the way around the drumhead, or just halfway, etc?

if you prefer the foam method,..........consider symetry when installing,..........but I agree with MikeN, the premuffled head are great, tons of projection!

Look at the Remo PowerMax bass drum heads, all you have to do is put them on and tune!

[ussglassman]

We just purchased a set of Yamaha Power-Lite drums, and they will come with heads. We tend to make bass heads last a really long time, so I'd like to just stick with the stock ones, then replace them when they wear out.

Is there a "method" for applying foam to heads? Such as specific spots to apply and to not apply?

I've seen some basses with foam applied on the inside around the bottom half of the head, and ive seen some where foam is applied on the outside all the way around.

I need the most volume possible, and these are somewhat limited players...

[MikeN]

Here's a handy little guide, if you're interested in gluing foam inside the shell. Not an end-all be-all solution, but might help.

http://www.thelessonroom.com/LessonRoomResourceLibrary.Page?ActiveID=3033&MediaId=8160

Mike

[ussglassman]

I've always used the self-adhesive weatherstripping from Home Depot

[Gary Matczak]

Here's a handy little guide, if you're interested in gluing foam inside the shell. Not an end-all be-all solution, but might help.

http://www.thelessonroom.com/LessonRoomResourceLibrary.Page?ActiveID=3033&MediaId=8160

Mike

eh,..............I am not a fan of glueing the foam to the shell,..........if you later decide to go to premuffled heads you have the foam and glue to deal with on the shell, this kind of mess will really effect re-sale value later...........also, I think the sizing of the foam on the chart is a little too much muffling for my taste,...............

I use contact cement when glueing the foam to the heads, make sure you leave enough room so that the bearing edge can slip by the foam,.........my preference is that the foam does not touch the shell at all,.............

[Kevin Doherty]

Back in the lo-tech days of the sixties when I was tuning drums, we used felt strips across the heads taking into account avoiding the strike zone. Of course any time you're working inside the drum, you have to take the heads off-a major pain when making adjustments. I don't know the current state of the art, so I've contributed all I know about, but it appears that the current thinking is to mute the shell rather than the head.

I agree with SFZ that the sound close up may be different than in the stands and although you may be able to run a trial in an empty stadium, the audience has a muffling effect.

If the problem is that the bass drum ring is overwhelming the other sections, muting is an option, but unless you're in some kind of season-long score averaging situation (never heard of one), there's nothing to lose by experimenting in a live situation.

Kevin