Drum Muffling Placement for EQ | Season Six, Episode 11

It’s widely understood that muffling affects overtones but you can actually get quite specific with intentional placement of muffling on a drumhead in order to control specific frequency bands. In this episode, we’re comparing the effects of various amounts of muffling in different locations on snare and floor tom batter heads.
Muffling used: Evans EQ Pods
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- Mac Studio 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...
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
Cymbals:
22” Jesse Simpson clone of old Zildjian A, 15" Zildjian Kerope Hihats
Drumheads:
Snare: Evans G12 coated / Snare Side 300
Snare Wires: PureSound Custom Pro Steel 20-strand
Toms: Evans G12 coated / G1 clear
Kick Drum: Evans UV EQ4/ EQ3 Coated White Reso
Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production & Consulting: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
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[@ManoBey12]

Very tight way of showing how to use muffling gels as a musical tool. Loved the editing in this one! Straight and to the point but the episode did not feel rushed.

[@tomasshannon6537]

+1 on the editing and pacing of the video! loved it, great job

[@doranoon10]

1:47 comedy gold

[@michaeldurham8856]

One variable is where to put the gel in relation to close microphones? We tend to put them away from our playing position but I imagine you get a little less of the natural sound of an open head if you're micing over the most dampened area.

[@TsunamiBeefPies]

I've never used any external muffling. My old Ludwigs all (even the Super Sensitive snare) have those adjustable internal felt pads, and they've always given me all the muting that I've ever needed. The only drum I actually have ever used it in, though is--no surprise--the floor tom. Fascinating stuff, though, as always, guys. Thanks! And Cody was knocking my socks off with a couple of those infectious grooves!

[@brichpmr]

Something worth trying also. Clip on a Freer snare drum mute. I use with Evans UV1 on a Tama 6.5/14 snare. I like the result. Also, Aquarian Studio Rings work well on toms.

[@DanielFalter]

Very interesting! Thank you for diving into this topic. I've always put my gel between two lugs. If I need to add a second gel, I put it about a 1/3 of the way around the drum

[@johnreardon4944]

At my blues venue, I went from half a Moongel on my toms to no Moongel at all. I don't mic the drums. Only the kick. What happened was we added good room treatment and started to mic the guitar amps. Our volume went up only very slightly. But the fullness of sound increases a lot. So the fullness of unmuffled toms was a tasteful integration. On a side note, my brass Sensitone Classic II used to have a CS Dot head and half a Moongel. I changed the head to an Evens Dry Genera. No muffling at all now. In fact, the overall snare sound quality in my venue increased ten fold! It's the magic combo of the Evans head and the Canopus Vintage Dry wires! And I'm a Remo fanboy with all coated Ambassador heads top and bottom (minus the Emperor FT batter)! When I get a bigger venue, we will experiment with gels and our already purchased Audix DP-7 mic pack. We're dabbling in daytime recording for bands now so I'll share this video with my awesome sound tech. We work together well. Thanks for the cool and very helpful video! You guys are always expanding my mind to new sounds and live music possibilities!

[@editbyStar]

I really prefer this way of muffling. As you said, it allows the drum to resonate more. Anyway it was way more difficult for me to find the difference between the different positions-sounds of the gel in the floor tom. Good video!

[@richardliles4415]

Thank you.

[@dadodetres]

Hello, If you ever do a "answering questions video" here are 2 questions: -what type of drum heads should I use for the most amount of harmonics with sustain/ring? or could be phrased: what drumhead will sound the most full spectrum for the most time?". -how can I tune in the lower limits of a drum without losing all the tension in the rod and have the head not resonate at all? It seems like the lower limit of a drum is really fine and hard to maintain the tension. Thanks !

[@GUSCRAWF0RD]

Personally I feel like moving the gel to the middle adds more fundamental, so i actually might suggest one in the middle AND the side to get super punch. I actually glue a foam circle into the middle of the head on the bottom before putting it on my shell, like a super dot

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Yep, This makes sense based on what we know about physics and have demonstrated through previous episodes.

[@JacobS0527]

Similar to what someone else said, I always put my gels between lugs about an inch from the rim but I noticed that you guys (almost) always placed the gel directly in front of the lug. Did y’all experiment with gel location relative to the lugs? Does it matter?

[@DreamyBongos]

I use small strips of gaff tape I got at an art store.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

We *love* the subtle effect of tape for certain scenarios.

[@BeatsAndMeats]

How did you get those Evans Pod thingy's to stick on the drum head? I put them on and they fly off in 2 or 3 hits 😒

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Weird! Ours are EXTREMELY sticky. Almost too sticking. If you’re having issues with yours, be sure to let them know.

[@BeatsAndMeats]

@@SoundsLikeADrum I’ll order another pack… maybe I just got unlucky. I did a shootout with at least 10 different “moongel-esque” products, and half of them did not stick to a new coated batter head at all.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

It’s definitely worth letting them know. I’d be surprised if they didn’t send you a replacement.

[@dalekay9ine]

Mine were super Sticky as well.