Muffling Your Snare Can Be Harmful | Season Five, Episode 27
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Clickbait? Maybe, but we're not kidding. It may seem crazy but there really are some potentially harmful side effects to muffling your snare drum. In fact, a lot of drummers muffle their snare drums for what we would generally consider to be the “wrong” reasons. We’ll explain and demonstrate why.
In the interludes today, we’ve used muffling as a creative choice rather than a bandaid.
PATREON:
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PRODUCTION PARTNERS:
GIK Acoustics (sonic treatment): sladl.ink/GIK
AKG Audio (microphones): sladl.ink/AKG
Evans Drumheads: sladl.ink/Evan...
ProMark Drumsticks: sladl.ink/ProM...
Signal chain:
Mics - Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB & OctoPre - MacPro w/Pro Tools 2022.5
Recorded at 48kHz / 24bit
Overheads: (Matched Pair in Glyn Johns - Cardioid) AKG C314 sladl.ink/C314...
Snare, Toms: AKG C518M sladl.ink/C518M
Kick Drum: AKG D12vr sladl.ink/AKGD...
No EQ or compression in use with drum demos unless otherwise noted
Acoustic Treatment:
GIK 242 Acoustic Panels: sladl.ink/GIK242
GIK 4A Alpha Pro Series Diffusor/Absorber: sladl.ink/GIK4...
GIK Evolution PolyFusor Combination Sound Diffuser/Absorber: sladl.ink/GIKE...
GIK Tri-Trap Corner Bass Trap: sladl.ink/GIKT...
Drums:
Pearl Masters Maple Custom Extra w/Ludwig 70’s LM400 Supraphonic
Cymbals:
22” Jesse Simpson clone of old Zildjian A, 15" Zildjian “Fat Hat” Prototype Hihats
Drumheads:
Snare: Evans UV1 / Snare Side 300
Toms: Evans G1 & G12 Coated / G1 Clear
Kick Drum: Evans UV EMAD / EQ3 Coated White Reso
Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production & Consulting: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
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Most of the overtones and unwanted sounds get swallowed up by the other instruments. It’s only heard by us, the drummer because we are so close and even then I usually don’t notice them. I think that what we hear when alone shouldn’t be the standard for if we muffle or not but what the situation calls for. We should learn both wide open and muffled and everything between so we can handle any situation thrown at us. Versatility is key. I love a open sound with minimal muffling, but it took a while to get there. Great video as always. I love what you guys do.
As a producer, this is a topic that comes up A LOT. I know the appeal of a muted snare drum, you get the thick, warm tone everyone seems to be using these days and there are million and one products to get dampening onto your snare, but here's what I end up telling clients all the time. It is a hell of a lot easier to remove unwanted information from a sound source than it is to add it back in. Meaning, if your snare drum is muffled too much, the microphone is getting less information, usually in the high frequencies. When the mixing engineer starts working on your tracks, they are going to try and add in some high end to the snare track to get some attack and clarity. Since the sound source wasn't producing much high frequency energy, boosting it will only lead to turning up the hi-hat spill over in the snare mic.
On the other hand, when recording a wide open snare drum that is tuned nicely, it is very easy to remove overtones and roll off the high end just using simple EQ moves.
What's the difference and why does it matter? It's really all about the hi-hat bleed. Regardless of how softly you play the hats, and how hard you hit the snare, if it's muffled too much, the transient (the initial attack of the hit) is going to come in at a lower volume because the "crack" and "attack" from your drum is usually higher frequencies. Hi-hats are naturally very bright with a lot of attack, so they cut through and create a louder transient. For argument sake, lets say it's a 4:1 ratio. Playing the hi-hat at 1/4 the volume of the snare, results in a transient of the same level. Compressors, and gates use the information from these transients to decide when and how much to compress or gate. If the hi-hat is as loud or just barely quieter than the snare drum itself, then compressing will just turn the hi-hat up, and gating to the point of removing hi-hat bleed will result in the snare sound like "pft" It's a no win situation for the mixing engineer, and you will end up with a sample replaced snare drum. And why would you spend your hard earned money buying a snare drum, and all those hours practicing to not even have it, or your performance on your recording?
On the other hand, if you record your snare wide open, it's transient will be much stronger than that of the hi-hat, making compressors and gates a much more useful tool. You can also, like I said earlier, remove overtones to taste, and shape the high frequencies of the snare mic without the hi-hat intruding as much.
Nothing compares to the sound of a good snare drum, beautifully tuned. I learned very early on that there are lots of different sounds that can be produced by hitting the snare in various ways, and on different areas of the batter. My Ludwig Super Sensitive came equipped with a muffler that can be raised up against the underside of the batter head, but I always leave that disengaged. My favorite batter head for it is a Remo PowerStroke, and that gives me just about every sound I could want. If I really want to dull the sound, all I need is a small ring, otherwise, this snare does damn near everything i want it to do.
Thanks again for another excellent video, buys! My favorite moment was Cody trying to play with brushes while the snare had the cloth on it. I laughed out loud. Keep up the great work, and happy holidays to you! Looking forward to more great stuff from you in 2023.
Another interesting debate. I think one of the main reasons snare drums get muffled is because of ‘ring’. I guess we possibly feel it’s unwanted and it sounds unpleasant.
In the same way we muffle toms as we don’t like the boom or the resonance.
It certainly starts with understanding your kit. Plus it always sounds different out front. I need to clone myself so I can hear what I’m playing 😂
I don’t think the ring in the snare is unpleasant I like for my snare to ring cuts through the music better it’s my preference
Muffling is just the way to expand the sound palette of the drum. Some songs simply deserve really short and dry sound, while other might benefit from longer sustain and ringing overtones. There is no general reason to stop muffling snare drums. But the title of the video is rather clickbait anyway...
You can't judge the sound of the snare in isolation, because that is not how it will be heard when you play. You have to listen to it with the rest of the instruments and see what it sounds like in that context. That is what actually matters.
Watching you guys over the years, really helped me get into exploring combos to build the sounds I like through head choice, tuning, drum position. Minimal snare muffling for me, except in contexts where the room or mix needs it. Good point about EAD10 and muffing for practice - I use EAD to facilitate song practice, but also really notice the disconnect with my acoustic sound.
First off, the 2:40 - 2:50ish mark was pure infomercial gold, but I get what you’re saying. There are so many factors that play into snare drum tone. Shell material, bearing edges and snare bed shape, head choice, head tension, snare wires, sticks and ultimately the player behind the drum. I personally try tailoring all factors mentioned above before deciding to use further muffling techniques. I’m also a firm believer in getting a drum to sound how I want it to sound to my ear before going down to tape and then fixing it later. THAT to me is bad technique. Choosing the right gear to fit your style and desired sound takes A TON of trial and error and finding a the right drum can me an extremely steep challenge. Each drum behaves differently and has to be treated differently. Learning HOW to treat the drum to get the best, most pure sound from the source in and of itself is an art.
I echo this. 👏🏻 I recently revamped the entire church kit with new heads. (Fully miced kit with full drum room) I worked with the sound tech & strived no muffling. We found that the mics we picking up so much ring even with crisp nice tuning. We found that a light muffling did the trick. We simply run the clear Evans Rings for a better balance. I’m grateful for this channel & these brain storming experiments. 10 out of 10! TY SLAD! 🤓👍🏻
I totally agree. There are so many sounds to be made all around the head of the snare and toms. If you want a drier sound, hit the damned thing in the center. But once you deaden the sound, that's all you have to work with. It's true that for some styles a dead, swampy sound is the right fit but playing live I don't want to shuffle tea towels and dead ringers between songs. The most I ever use are a small CP Taco beanbag on my floor tom, which I can easily flip on and off with a flick of the stick, or recently, Drops to just knock back the ring a bit if I need more articulation from my toms. I find the UV1 to be just the right fit for my snare--it sounds nice and open with just a tiny bit of ring attenuation. The texture also lasts forever for brush-playing. Another great video, Cody and CIM.
This is why I just use a snare weight … if, I need to.
The tone of especially your snare is what gives the drum its own unique sound.
Edit: that ‘example’ was me like a little after starting like 3 1/2 years ago. I’m glad I’ve followed you guys here, Drumeo, Steve’s Drum Shed, rdavidr, and more people just doing it right.
Rimshots are the biggie for. After very much muffling at all rimshots just so flat. I grew up in drum corps, and my ear is really used to a full "crack" from rimshots. I can't get used to rimshots on heavily muffled snares. As you say, there are times when that flat sound is the right sound, but thanks for promoting the idea of letting drums sound like they sound.
As a soundengineer who started drumming I love the sound of a muffled snare drum! 😅 But I’m always amazed how good the unmuffled snare sounds in your videos! 👍🏼
When the drum is in tune, you can get a very clear, articulate sound without a tone of sustain (if that’s what you’re looking for) but so many people don’t bother to take the necessary steps. They crank the snare side, which only promotes stray harmonics and wonky overtones after the initial hit, and then just slap on muffling as a bandaid. Of course, we love muffled drums too, particularly as a creative choice rather than a compromise for laziness in tuning. It’s all about matching the sound to the context, right?
As a soundengineer I agree with the response of Darin McKenney. It depends on the type of music and recording technique, but overtones are usually lost in the mix etc. Or all the drummers I worked with weren’t good at tuning. I don’t know.
All I know is that a snare sound different when using a mic than it sounds acoustically.
I’m looking at this from the perspective of a soundengineer and in a busy mix everything has its little place. And don’t forget all the processing involved, like eq, compression, expanding, ducking, gating, sidechain processing, effects etc.
It’s different from when you only record drums, especially just with a certain type of stereo technique with a few microphones.
Anyway, all I’m saying is that I apparently like the sound of lightly muffled snares. 😊
Your comment about nuance is really critical and spot on. I don't believe drummers, especially ones in their early drummer experience, understand that as well that as they/we should. I'm a 'senior' who has been playing for years and it's only been within the past few years that I've really begun to understand how that impacts what we hear when we hear our favorite drummers. Thanks for mentioning it.
One thing I think about with snare drum muffling is the choice of drum that we make. For instance, I like a drier snare sound - so it makes total sense that I have an aluminum snare as a favorite. I once had a person tell me that their snare was too ringy, and they had a beautiful Black Beauty snare that was just trying to sing - as they do! The drummer thought that the BB was a great choice (and it is a classic snare) and bought it with their first kit, but they did not like the overtones that brass snares are known for. So, lots of issues to balance - heads, muffling, etc. - but I also like to try to match the snare to the preferences of the player.
You do excellent work there. I've been playing since 1964, but whether I know about the subject you're discussing or not, I find it all interesting. Sometimes validating what I already know, sometimes a new idea. This is great for new players in particular, who can learn from what you do, rather than depending on years of experience that they'll get later. Nice.
Maybe it’s because I come from the world of punk/pop punk/emo, but the sound of the wide open snare sounds grating to my ears with the prevalent overtones. Not sure if you’ve done this yet, but a video about context and bias when it comes to how we hear sound might be a cool idea.
One thing not "said" in this video - let someone play YOUR drums - so you hear more of the drums in the room from another perspective. Time and time again as a sound guy - you'll find the less muffled kits sound so much better in a mix. It took me a long time to adjust to the fact that the sound I hear sitting behind the kit - isn't necessarily what others are hearing - much less what's being sent through a pa
Excellent point!
This video is so well timed for me. Lately I’ve been playing the same 2 exact kits, one at my house of worship, and the other is a kit that I haul around. It’s been awhile since I’ve played on anyone else’s drums that sound different than mine, and are arranged differently then mine. Last night I went to an open mic, and when I got on the house kit, I fell apart because it was so out of my comfort zone. Ironically I wasn’t even aware how much I’ve been handicapping myself with muffling not only on my snares, but on the whole kit. Even my muscle memory was completely throwing me under the bus because my body had not played on any drums that sounded different, that were set up differently, and I couldn’t adapt on stage to save myself. It was humbling. I have been relying on gear hacks such as muffling for so long to get a specific sound, that I’ve forgotten how to play anything but that sound on those exact drums.
Talk about a reality check. I don’t want to be a robot, or in this case, a player that loses all his skills on in-muffled drums/snares.
Thanks for the content!!
From a recording perspective I always start with the drum wide open and tune it till it’s the best it can get. If under the microphone there’s too many unpleasant overtones, typically 1/2 a piece of moon-gel sorts this out and leaves the drum with a more pleasant sustain.
Good points, all. Thanks for all your very useful conten, and thanks to the Patreon peeps who make these possible for the horrid noobs like myself, but noobs who still want to improve. And you're 100% correct in my case, I muffle to reduce the obvious inconsistencies of my own unfinessed drumming. It's like overuse of reverb and delay in my guitar playing, also known as "mistake mist." Thanks again.
I truly appreciate you guys. You've been a lot of help for me over the time I've been watching and you both seem like very very nice and accomplished people. Thank you for your work and the help and entertainment
Thanks so much for the kind words, Lance! Happy Holidays!
Your tuning tutorials saved me from feeling like I had to use muffling for my "core" snare sound. Even the cheap stock heads on my new snare sound great. Now I use muffling only to modify the sound for specific purposes as a "specialty voicing." Such a great discussion! Wide open may be "less forgiving" but it also rewards precision by providing a variety of tones and techniques.
I'm a guitar player mainly (almost 20 years) and I only picked up drumming about 7 years ago. It certainly took me at least 3 years to get a good wide open tone. I noticed every time I changed heads I was using less muffling. Now I dont use any at all on the Toms and only occasionally drop a moongel container (yea the whole plastic container with about 3 moongels in it lol) around my snare to dial in the snares resonance if a shorter duller tone is what im after. I still play on an SPL kit that has all upgraded hardware. I think that's part of what took so long to get a great open tone also. I finish sanded the inside of the shells and did three very light coats of wipe on poly on the insides last year (made the wipe on myself with min wax warm clear oil based poly and mineral spirits, 50/50 mix ratio) and that made a huge difference. They project much better now and the snare is much easier to dial into high through to low tunings. Just finish sanding the insides and cleaning up the bearing edges made a huge difference though. Anyways, I agree. Muffling should be an option not mandatory for you to get the tone you want. Good stick control (especially left hand for right handed closed playing position players) also will make it much easier to use little to no muffling.
BFSD Donut and/or a 1inch e-Ring are my go-too for tuning low. Easy enough to remove if you want to open the drum up for a song or two. I try to tune for it to sound good wide open, but most of the time I want a dry sound on purpose.
Thank you so much for this video. As a person that always muffles my drums. Feel like this video was just made for me 🤠
I love the sound of my black beauty with a non-muffled batter head and the right tuning for some beautiful overtones and a lot of dynamics depending on where and how hard I hit it. What matters is the full sound of all instruments together. Not the single one, because that's not how you listen to it. Sure I need to pay attention to where I hit it, but it's like having three snares in one. Heavy muffling kills it and you can essentially have any snare at that point because they will all have the same flat dull sound at that point IMO.
Awesome video. I rarely muffle my drums
I might have said it here before but I came up with a set of snares that work great together... My Ludwig Pioneer is a cool little drum that sounds great with coated Emperors. My Vistalite snare I find works well when it's a bit played in. So the routine goes where I play the Pioneer with fresh heads tuned tuned to medeum tension for that crack with a little bottom end. As soon as the crispyness of the new head sound wears out, I cycle the head over to the Vistalite and crank it up to get that tight but slightly dead sound I like from that drum. That cycle keeps going an I always have nice fresh heads on the Pioneer and semi used heads on the Vista!!
You guys make video's near and dear to my heart! I don't muffle any drums, including the bass drum live.
I fully agree. For me, the unfortunate fact is that I’ve needed to cut down on volume in most rehearsal, recording and a lot of gig situations. The easiest way to do that is with a muffle. If I have a gig where I get to be on a quality stage or I’m outdoors, I’ll play everything wide open. I do like being able to shift tone between tunes as a matter of taste/texture but that is a time and place thing.
Glad we finally got this episode 🙌
I never muffle any of my kit, dual 26" ludwig vistalites with zero muffling. Proper tuning and i can play almost anything and it sounds massive.
Can't play 90% of music made in the 70's though and have it sound right. Their heads were about 40% covered with tape, lol. Can't get that precise and crisp sound from only tuning :)
Half a Moongel. Cut longways. That's it. Almost every time. In my small live venue, we only mic the bass drum. So everything else is heard straight. My house snare is a black nickel over brass Pearl Sensitone Classic II with zinc die cast hoops. Brass, mind you. Half a Moongel. That's it. From blues, to rock, to quiet music, and everything in between, it sounds phenomenal. The half Moongel shortens the sustain a bit, but naturally controls excessive overtones. Naturally controls without taking any breath or characteristics away.
The secret is good tuning and proper playing techniques. I've taken this snare to other venues, with and without mics, and have never had to change anything. It's a brass drum! With die cast hoops! That's my testimony.
Rings are good for playing at home to keep quiet. Not for live music. I don't understand why anyone would excessively muffle live. Half a Moongel, tuning, and technique.
The other possible factors for using excessive muffling could be for a unique sound in a studio, poor live PA sound, or poor EQing by a sound engineer. I think I'm right about this. And I'm a person who is very open to experimenting. I can't fix what ain't broke on my end.
i agree, as usual, with basically everything that was said. i typically go wide open on my snare. if i'm going for a fat, retro-ish sound, i'll use my makeshift version of a big fat snare (an old drum head cut out). occasionally, as rix29 said, i'll use a bit of tape to dampen the head just to control ring. i could probably spend a few minutes tuning it out, but i just use a small bit of tape. sometimes i'll fold it over to get a little more muffling, sometimes just a little flat square is all i need. i use electrical tape, because it's not super adhesive and it doesn't cost 30 frickin dollars like a roll of gaff tape.
All generalizations are false! 😂 Love the vids. I speak out against any absolutes in muffle/no muffle conversations, but the premise of what you are getting at is a good one for everyone to think about.
For me I only use muffling for tone shaping and not problem solving. JMO but if there’s a problem it’s almost always better addressed in another way be it tuning, head selection, maybe even drum selection, etc.
I love this topic. I hear too many amateur drummers over muffling their drums to the point that their drums sound like cardboard boxes. I'm all for creating that 80's boosh sound, but in general, less is more
I never muffle my snare or any other drum other than my kick drums. In the studio i do use moongels on the toms if needed but i think muffling just takes away alot of the drums natural tone and causes the drum to choke out or sound flat. I love my drumkits natural tone along with my snaredrums. Ive been playing for over 35 years and over that time ive learned to tune them to the desired sound im looking for
I guess i see one aspect of muffling that would be beneficial is when you want to control unwanted ring in a lower volume environment but playing lighter helps too
Can you get a whole band in there? You could test the effect of muffling in a live context in the room. Would even be interesting to hear low and high tunings and different snare materials in a live band context
The ringing sound is what gives the drum the drum a unique old school sound
Absolutely agree with leaving the snare sound open,the whole kit open actually.🗽🛸
great episode as always.
Can you maybe make and episode on "if you want your drums to sound like this AFTER processing, they need to sound like this BEFORE processing"? if you know what I mean.
I know that there is no right or wrong it's jst that I always have a hard time deciding for what may be beneficial and what may not be.
I think it would be fascinating to start a series on how to adjust one's technique to counteract the effects of "wrongly" tuned drums.
For instance, how to adjust your playing if a drum has too much ring, or too much sustain, or...
Sorry, I'm a bass player so I don't really even know what's possible. I watch the channel because I have a studio with a drum kit and I'm always looking for little things to try to make my recordings better.
I use two snares: Walnut or Brass shell. Same diameter, similar depth. When tuned to the same note and with the same (and slightly muffled) drumheads there wouldn't be much difference in the sound actually. Without muffling the difference is significant.
I have three snares and I don't control or like any of them really in recordings. I don't have a big room either so it's hard to listen without ear muffles. I did not do enough testings with different heads or mic setups. I do use a kind of basic setup with a sm57 on top and a sm58 under. I usually think there is too much overtones in the recording.
This did, in fact, come across as a referendum on how drum muffling is bad - LOL. This video seemed a bit rushed. Oh well... holidays, I guess. One aspect of this, I think, doesn't get enough attention is that in some cases people are muffling because they don't have the right drum for the job. And by that I mean that the immediate solution might not be to run out and spend money somebody doesn't have, on a new snare. Sometimes, you need a certain sound, you get as close as you can with what you have/can afford at the moment, and then it needs a little help in some area. Eventually, you change your style/interests/or get more money, and problem solved.
Yep. This is surprisingly biased towards the 90's trend of open ringy drums like that's the correct drum sound. We know that sounds like a drum are purists and are conservative in that regard, but I didn't think it was by this much. For jazz, I play open because it's organic sounding and I need the ring of each drum to cover up space in the sparse arrangements. The more good sounding decay I can have, the better it sounds to me. However, more busy stuff like funk, disco, or certain types of pop music often needs a muffled snare sound, no matter how high and crisp or low and fat you tune that snare. You can't have too much ring or decay because it doesn't fit the music. And as an audio engineer, if you're only going to have a little bit of ring, it's a lot better to just eliminate it completely to keep things clear and neat in the mix. There's no point having information on there that isn't really audible, but still clutters up the mix. I agree with the sentiment that it's a lot better to play wide open to learn proper technique and not cover it up, but I also say that 70% of the music you play should be played by various degrees of muffling, just because that's how it sounds best for most people. For example, to me, the correct sound of a 70's Supraphonic used in music from around that time is it being tuned rather high and crisp, and with HEAVY muffling. Like Jeff Porcaros snare on Gaucho. Can't beat that.
I muffle my snare drum with a 15 pound weighted blanket. 🤣 Jokes aside, I actually like playing a triplet groove at 120 bpm on the snare drum with the snare off and really explore all the sounds I can get from the drum head depending on where and how hard I strike it.
I tune my drums wide open, then I use a 1" Evans ring on my snare, various amounts of cotton balls floating in the toms, and a pillow touching both heads of the kick drum. Works perfectly.
Volume control on stage, relative to the room and the sound re-enforcement setup, is the variable on this topic in my of my experiences.
it is largely out of my hands.
Recording is an entirely different topic and I typically defer to the engineer or to the way it sits in the mix
I understand this argument. It makes sense. But if we need to adjust our ears away from recorded sound, then maybe people should stop putting things inside the bassdrum? Well I don't know about you guys, but I feel like my bassdrum need to sound a certain way. Same for a snare drum. I love the ringing of a snare... But man the sound of a disco snare drum sound is just so nice.
But at the end of the day, we need to acknowledge that we as drummers should be able to tune drums and be able to replicate sounds we know work or that we like.
For me... The Steve Gadd 80's snare drum sound is still my all time favorite snare drum sound.
Dear SLAD I need help tuning up a very old nickel over brass Ludwig Pioneer. It's just outta control without muffling!
why muffle when single-sided internal muffler style snare wires are like 20$ and sound fantastic as a top head option. gives you the transient processing of muffling (make the drum short with lots of energy up front and then a rapid falloff) with the pleasant tone of extra wires and basically no loss of top-end freqs.
muffling with soft objects means they're absorbing and dissipating acoustic energy, while bells, shells, extra wires, a splash on top, are all mostly transforming energy to greater or lesser extents. feels a lot nicer to play in my opinion and can result in similar effects to the frequency response, dynamics and transient shaping of the drum, which is what all this stuff is actually intended todo
I have been playing 50 years now and other than very rare and specific times, I never use any muffling on my snare drums. If there is something offensive going on, it's because the drum isn't tuned properly and needs to be addressed. How the head sits, what heads being used, tension, resonant head properties, wires used, tension of the wires, the quality of the bearing edges..you get the point. I always go there before I would ever consider going to muffling.
I think this has become a crutch and honestly think it is also being lazy. A poorly tuned drum, with muffling is simply that. A muffled, poorly tuned drum. I blame engineers a lot for this as they don't know in many cases how to properly mic drums, so they work at their best.
But it always goes back to the drummer. Learn to tune your drums first!!
...or to "tension" them as Buddy Rich would say...
Another great video. Recorded drums don't give us the raw sound that we hear when playing them. This can make it tough for someone new to playing the drums. Hey you changed your pants 😀
I Always enjoy your vids, and agree theres a time and place for muffling. BUT you just cant get an expressive rimshot with muffling. Takes all the fun out the snare drum. imo
Agreed 100% and the demo we did here proves it!
Just before i go to unmmufling my snare, a question: This same principle could be, or even should be, apply with toms and bass drum?
Great video, guys.
Absolutely! And again, it's important to experiment with muffling as well and learn how to use it creatively. We like relating this stuff back to cooking and, in the case of this episode, we're warning against the use of muffling like overusing spices to cover up a poorly made dish. Cheers!
Oh yeah, I've tried to play a gig doing rim clicks with o-ring with my sweaty hands. It was a nightmare. Every time I had to lift my hand with a drum stick the o-ring was taken out of my snare drum.
When I see other drummers muffling their drums in a pure acoustic gig, it's almost certainly because they don't know how to tune their drums.
As a muffleboi I feel personally attacked
We still love you but your snare drum feels otherwise...
But, but, but that Beatles movie and but, but, but Fleetwood Mac!
Opening beat: Restin' Bones?
I do a lot of live playing,just lucky,I do not muffle my drum set,that includes my bassdrum,I use an e mad 2,half of thick ring,.let them ring. I'm using earth work,s over heads,no more close miking,just the snare and kick,what a differen e hearing through iem,s.i equip my drum,s with internalmuffler,s,for me that,s all need.the sound man does the rest.great topic.
Sick. Opening drum beat almost kind of sounded like a remix version of Restin’ Bones lol.
Great!
Never do!
I'm using coated Ambassador or C.S. Never muffled.
How about do whatever you gotta do to get the sound you want?
That's generally what we recommend. The thing is, and we covered this in the episode, sometimes you're actually making things more difficult for yourself when there's an easier solution without any sacrifice. You have to be mindful of the context and the tradeoffs involved with these decisions and the key point in this episode was about practicing intentionality with your sound and setup.
@@SoundsLikeADrum y’all are the best for a reason. Thank you so much for the reply!
Thanks for the kind words!
i learned it's better to crank ur snares vs mufflin' lol
The only reason I muffle my drums is so I dont fuck my neighbours off. Otherwise, everything's wide open and loud af. I do use tape and moon gels in the studio when required though
Wait, I’m not supposed to emulate Instagram drummers by putting dumbbell weights, cowbells and random garbage on my snare?
Dude you're hell of a muffler...😂
hmmf, i disagree good sir. I will continue putting multiple beach towels over all my drums so that i cannot hear them, as they should be heard.
Stop muffing your snare toms and bass drums
Is this guy's snare over-muffled? th-cam.com/users/shortsmV5sdArmI6s
Carter McLean Signature ?
Overmuffling makes both expensive and cheap snares sound the same most of the time…
It’s true- going to extremes will start to level the playing field with homogeneous performance. That said, if it’s the sound that you’re looking for, it shouldn’t ever matter how much the drum cost because no one is listening to the sound of the receipt.
😱😱😱
I know it's an unpopular opinion, but I can't stand the sound of those EAD10's. I can hear those immediately and they sound horrible. The kick is WAAAAAAYYYYY too compressed, and the snare sounds like it's encased in candle wax.
Yeah, the heavy compression setting is...rough. The EAD10 can be a blast for using creatively (as can muffling as demonstrated throughout the interludes of this episode) but you can completely skew your understanding of your sound and technique if you're only listening to the output of an effected drum sound.
No. I will not stop muffling my snare drum! LOL 🙂
Every instance of muffling on your snare drum in this video sounded great to my ears. Whereas I very much disliked the wide open ringy sound of your snare without muffling. I have a very expensive snare drum and it is majorly muffled with THREE different company's products at once! LOL. I love it and often get complimented on it. For what its worth, a good friend who is a very popular Juno nominated producer agrees. No pingy snares! Of course, there are NO rules. Each to their own. ☮❤🥁
We could line up some other professional engineers, producers, and drummers that will agree that a drum sound without context can't really be judged and that decisions in sound should be informed by the rest of the musical material and performance environment rather than personal preference alone. This pretty much goes for any decision to be made in music so why should drum sounds be any different?
@@SoundsLikeADrum I dislike ringy snare drums in most contexts. I apreciate your response.
Cmon man it's a supraphonic
Remove from box
Tighten tension rods
Hit repeatedly
We could do this with literally any drum here in the studio and the concept remains the same.
@@SoundsLikeADrum true. I just love the supraphonic so much
@@patdeniston3697 We do too!
I have light muffling on my snare. Don't know why you have a problem with that, if I think it sounds good, I don't care what you think