Drum Muffler

If you are considering a drum muffler of some sort, there is a decent selection of products to choose from. You can find both internal and external muffling methods and below, I’ll break down why I think external methods are far superior to the internal mufflers. Before you consider purchasing a muffler though, I think you should check out the lesson on How To Tune Drums to be sure that you even require muffling.

Internal Muffling

Anything that you put inside your drum is going to pretty much kill the sound. The only exception being the bass drum (see bass drum muffling). A pillow inside the shell will not deaden the tone that much. However, on toms and snares, internal methods are horrible. I’ve actually used the Muff’L rings that fit underneath the drum heads and I can not stand them. They make the head so unresponsive and they kill the resonance too much. A drum is supposed to ring to a certain extent. But an internal muffler kills the sound too much. You can hear it for yourself in my Drum Muffler video. The video also shows you how to create your own muffler.

External Methods

These options are far superior. With the internal rings, you aren’t allowed the opportunity to tune your drums openly, which is how they need to be tuned. When you tune your drums, you need to do so without anything dampening the sound. This way you can get the most resonant pitch from your drum. Muffling should always be done after your drums are tuned. Plus, with your muffler on the outside, it is easier to make adjustments if you find the sound is too dead or not killed enough.

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