Testing the WEIRDEST Drum Hacks I Could Find

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Merch: www.bonfire.com/chops-rdavidr/
Patreon: / rdavidr
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Gear Used (affiliate links)
- Sticks/Hardware -
Vic Firth Freestyle 5b Drum Sticks:
imp.i114863.net/045EO
Vic Firth VKB5 Beater:
imp.i114863.net/5bL929
Roc n’ Soc Drum Throne:
imp.i114863.net/1AXxm
Tama Road Pro/ Iron Cobra Hardware:
imp.i114863.net/AoBA4K
- Drums/Heads/Cymbals -
Remo Silentstroke Drum Heads:
imp.i114863.net/7mgdg5
Remo Emperor Clears:
imp.i114863.net/NK0qYv
Remo Powerstroke Pro:
imp.i114863.net/BjR9y
DW Collectors Maple:
imp.i114863.net/VykQmJ
- Microphones/Headphones -
Earthworks ICON Pro:
imp.i114863.net/7m6D5O
Pair of Slate ML-1 (as overheads):
imp.i114863.net/vn663A
Austrian Audio CC8 (as rooms):
imp.i114863.net/yRvLOv
Earthworks DM20 (toms):
imp.i114863.net/x9KmkO
Earthworks SR20LS (snare top):
imp.i114863.net/QO9Gyz
Lewitt DTP 640 REX Bass Drum Mic
imp.i114863.net/jW3Odn
Shure SM57 (snare bottom):
imp.i114863.net/DVeNMj
Austrian Audio Hi-X60 Headphones:
imp.i114863.net/kjvgKx
Earthworks DK7 Drum Mic Kit:
imp.i114863.net/mP25y
Today were checking out some weird drum hacks! Imagine 5 Minute Crafts, but for drums... Ever wanted to complicate your bass drum muffling technique and carry around a bike tire pump? Well you're in luck! But Tiktok drums are kinda interesting too. Just reverse your snare side head if its too worn out and won't tighten up enough. Concert toms are somehow making a comeback, but whats the best way to turn a regular drum into one? Maybe Remo Silentstrokes are the answer? Ringy Snare? Just fill it with silicone! But my favorite by far is using a microphone as a bass drum beater
Testing the WEIRDEST Drum Hacks I Could Find

[@rdavidr]

Thanks to Warby Parker for sponsoring this video! Visit warbyparker.com/rdr to try on 5 pairs of glasses at home for FREE! Home Try-Ons are only offered in the US.

[@Augfordpdoggie]

god your drums sound incredible

[@forrestmcelfresh521]

Shure SM-58 is a vocal mic, SM-57 is optimized for instruments. 58 has limited frequency response on both high an low ends.

[@rockycavignac6152]

Bro...... NO. Just Noooooo! Warby Parker??? Spend the few extra bucks and go to to an Optician. For instance, I would've NEVER let you walk out of my office without the anti-relective coating on your lenses. ESPECIALLY if you're gonna be on camera!!

[@jgreen2015]

Ya know... Apparently piezo sensors can work as contact mics.. Hint hint

[@jgreen2015]

Ya know... Apparently piezo sensors can work as contact mics.. Hint hint

[@alanduncan1980]

Instead of hitting a drum set with sticks, why not hit a microphone set with drums? It's the future.

[@TheMetalFreshTiger]

🤣😁🤘

[@heavymachete6235]

actually, the youtuber simonthemagpie did this for a video once

[@juergenkulmermusic]

My Thought !!! 😂👍

[@tepetti]

You only need 3 mics no matter the setup

[@heavymachete6235]

@@tepetti may I ask, what mic configuration?

[@_cosully]

David that freeze frame part at 1:43 was so funny it caught me totally off guard

[@unholymunk]

The fact that SM57 survived that kinda beating is just a testament to that mics durability!

[@freelance_commie]

You ever seen the marketing poster they made thats nine squares of different torture tests? I just remember using it as a hammer, dropping from like 50 ft onto hard floor and submerged in a pitcher of beer and still worked after that haha.

[@SlyHikari03]

I feel like someone ether lit that mic, froze it or dropped in water and recorded a song with it.. At least that’s what I’ve heard once.. This thing can take a beating and stand the rest of time.

[@Starcrunch72]

I'll tell you what a 57 doesn't survive, 15 years of snuff spittle...that really cakes it up and assures that no one else will use your mic 😎😎

[@siddharthsule1479]

I use the mesh head as resonant trick, but it’s cos I use the mesh heads for when I’m practicing at home and have clear heads for gigs, so just a matter of turning toms upside down!

[@rdavidr]

big brain moves right there!

[@steamer2k319]

@@rdavidr It's been another long day. Thanks for the microphone-beater -based laugh at the end of the vid--I needed that.

[@TheMetalMarci]

At 2:09 he starts talking perfectly on beat

[@trollyou2731]

😂 you're right

[@davifelixmollergriebeler3313]

Hahahahaha

[@yevernotice9408]

Observant guy

[@manassehsimon4082]

Yea... Like he was rapping 😂

[@SlyHikari03]

Starts spitting fire

[@supraphonic88]

I've been meaning to try the mesh resonant thing forever but have just been too lazy/cheap to get around to it, glad to see it kind of works!

[@tbtdylarn8611]

Babe wake up the best beard on KZbin posted

[@JoeyyyyyDrum]

Yessir 😍

[@Desecrator6]

No I'm tired

[@M0M...]

stop simpin

[@EpicSHMOW]

I was recording once in a buddy's basement "studio" but we forgot to bring the subkick to properly mic the bass drum so we lowered a mic in through the hole for the tom stands and taped the cable for the mic so that it was suspended in the center of the drum. It turned out to be one of the best sounding kick drums I've heard

[@franktatom1837]

The microphone hack was hilarious. One hack I've tried with some success is waxing the unfinished edges of wood drums with good paste wax intended for furniture. I polished the edges to a fairly high shine before I put the heads on. Many years ago, I also used (get ready) WD-40 on the edges of metal snares, to help the head slide on the edge while it was tensioned. I just wiped the edge with a cloth soaked in WD-40 before installing it to give it a slight amount of that substance. Seemed to help, to be honest. I got the idea from the need to lubricate large sheets of metal when forming it on a die. The best/worst (i.e., hilarious crazy thought but works, hilarious crazy thought and doesn't work) hack I can recall was the suggestion to line the inside of a snare with maxi-pads to quell ring (you may have tried that already), from back in the "how much more dead can we make a drum sound?" 70's. Surprised shag carpet as a snare liner wasn't used then, instead.

[@johnpeccarelli2389]

I didn’t know Jim Root was so good on drums! 😂 🥁 Cool hacks…

[@frelopermanboy7426]

he doesn’t even look like him, lmfao.

[@mbj6555]

The mic beater is the funniest thing I've seen in a while.

[@millcreekrange]

On the V-Belt in a steel shell hack, years ago I picked up a Ludwig Hammered Bronze 6.5x14 snare in a pawn shop. Only had one die-cast hoop. Brought it home and put a new set of die-cast hoops on it and it had a lot of ring. I also had a new set of 30 ply maple hoops in my shop. Put them on the snare and I loved the sound as well as the looks. To date, those hoops are still on that snare. It has a nice warm tone to it with just enough ring to it.

[@arheru]

Did you use a belt?

[@millcreekrange]

@@arheru no, just used the 30ply Maple Hoops.

[@stevencooper564]

The two inner tubes actually sounded really punchy, surprisingly good sound honestly.

[@Sam3103s]

To be honest with his mics anything will sound good.

[@bilhamcobbly2957]

Hi David, I think I discovered a good bass drum hack to make it sound clicky/Electronic.depends on the size.Use a loose bass drum head,Or any one ply batter,That’s at least 3 inches undersized.Take two coins preferably quarters.tape them to the batter outside of the hack,Where the beaters impact. Then take the “prepared” head and it should rest inside the clamp on the hoop bottom.the top of the resting head will fall forward.Then tape just the 12oclock position.it’s ready.The coins should be hitting indirectly from inside that patch. Thanks

[@liamfitzdrums]

I apologize for bursting your bubble but I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Vinnie Paul was doing on those Pantera albums to get his bass drum sound.

[@bilhamcobbly2957]

@@liamfitzdrums Ha! No bubbles bursted here.I know that fact.Mine is slightly different.Sorry for not being clear.Vinnie taped his with the coins facing the beaters directly.With the possibility of the beaters sticking to the tape as it heats up from playing.Mine is a hack that can be placed against the head or quickly removed for the booming regular tone.My coins are hitting from the underside of the head/Hack

[@paulgriffingatorgrooves]

Thanks for sharing! The bass drum / mic beater is hilariously ridiculous, or ridiculously hilarious! I have a hack for the overstretched snare side head: Take another old trashed head, and cut the Mylar completely off and throw away. Use the rim from the old head to place between the current head and the rim to create a spacer which allows about 1/4” additional tightening potential for the head.

[@codyjasso5325]

Hi David, I'm not too sure where I got this hack from but putting cotton balls in all of my toms really helped to get rid of overtones and that's the only sort of mufling I use now!

[@glengamble526]

I use that too. Old school and works perfectly.

[@pinelybones]

You know the trick to fatten a snare by putting an upside down head on it? Try it on a floor tom, it can sound pretty good and resonates well if the batter head is tuned a little low

[@notasilicaanimus]

The best muffling solution that I've found for the bass drum is a remo muff'l ring and a falam patch.

[@RaphHwang]

When it comes to the silicone filled bearing edge hack, Tama actually makes a snare that way (the Soul Toul signature model). I think it's JDM exclusive

[@DulceDul217]

I screamed laughed so hard when I saw the image of the mic drum beater 🤣

[@tharrock337]

alright, david, we are going to need you to test every mic you have in every position on that beater you can imagine. clearly the problem here was not the idea but it was your execution. Sincerely, your entire audience without any exceptions.

[@ljdunsmore1]

Wouldn't it make more sense if the mic was stationary? If it were in a fixed position and you struck it with a beater that would make a lot more sense to me. Iv watched a guy play a kick mic with a felt beater and a few socks wrapped around the mic for padding. It actually worked pretty well.. it was consistent and had low frequency, what more do you need? Seems like phasing was a big issue considering he was literally moving the mic every half second. Besides also getting the wobble and spring sound of the pedal.

[@derikhancock1224]

Enjoyed the In The Air Tonight fill snuck in there.

[@tb7077]

There are times I really love a good honky snare.

[@TylerOath]

I also saw the other day on Instagram where you put actual corn kernels in a popcorn snare instead of snares. Cant wait to try it! Lol

[@GeraldSmallbear]

That's basically a wave drum. Small ones work quite well as snare drums.

[@andrewallason4530]

Great to see the old Royal Star mentioned. I have a Royal Star kit (possibly early 1960s ‘oil-slick’ blue) with all the original hardware AND skins! I’ve had it since 1987, and absolutely love it. I use modern hardware and skins (though I still use hydro-heads, which are well out of fashion and getting harder to find replacements) and the original stuff is ‘protected’ in old gear bags.

[@hendrickroy7481]

Your toms seem to have more character as concert toms. Pretty cool sound!

[@yelltempus]

David, David, David I suspect you might be just a tad young to know about the original reason for fan belts & silicone in flanges & beards. It wasn't dampening, it was directing the air column inside the drum over the entire bottom head. Hopefully increasing the sensitivity. The dampening factor was just an unexpected benefit. We would epoxy the fan belts in place. It was most common to just epoxy a fan belt in the flange that made the bottom bearing edge. Of course people started filling the bead & the top flange as well & that's probably when the dampening factor started to get noticed.

[@yeetsus5449]

The last one sounded like a good les claypool impression

[@Crumpelstiltskins]

You make such great and well polished videos. I really like your editing and approach to content production. Thanks!

[@hieronymus1288]

Always such a pleasure watching your videos. Keep em' coming!

[@rdavidr]

🤘

[@SeeMick1]

Fun fact: My friend took the original pic of the SM57 kick beater while working at a recording studio. It was a slow day.

[@cisumsevolbor]

Totally enjoyed your video. Thank you. My favorite was the mic/beater. I totally cracked up.

[@williammayer6829]

Everytime I see you've posted my day is made! Thank you for being amazing 😊

[@snoowy3]

His look of pure disappointment at 9:48 as he looks down at the mic haha

[@extremelycreativeusername3190]

6:10 my drumset that i play shows with does not have reso heads on the toms. i have the rims on however so the bearing edge is safe. i mic up the toms from the bottom and they sound even better they did when i still had resos and would mic from the top. surprisingly a great thing to do to your kit for shows!

[@zikandgroovefr]

I thank you for making this video from the bottom of my heart. It gives me some idea to improve my video recording.

[@bwrinn8]

I'm confident I speak for everyone when I say... We need more like this.

[@TheMilford]

practical twist on the mic trick: Check out the kick sound Tejas, by ZZ Top. Supposedly the mic slipped and was resting on the head during recording, but it ended up sounding great.

[@SamXDesc]

9:50 should definitely come as an effect to an e-drum module.

[@thecowboydrummer]

Thanks for featuring my flip the bottom head hack! 🤠

[@JDogTheDrummer]

I used alien gel tape for my muffling! You can get a roll of it off Amazon or Lowes or about $10. Its shock resistant, leaves no residue when you take it off, and you can wash it and reuse it!

[@honkytonkinson9787]

My son got a pack of superhero window decals that worked perfectly for muffle gel. Captain America was always on my snare and the hulk on the floor tom

[@freelance_commie]

@@honkytonkinson9787 like just vinyl static cling (or whatever is holding them up!) decals?

[@honkytonkinson9787]

@@freelance_commie close. They were similar to moongel but opaque. They also seemed higher quality; didn’t get dirty as easily and didn’t bleed color into coated drum heads. I wish I knew what brand they were, or where to get more, but it was something my son got for Christmas years ago and I sort of stole them lol

[@rusticsurviving2606]

I use a old couch cushion cut to a 22" circle pushed against the head...Mainly to reduce the volume but it sounds great..I use a 20 lug bass drum with a Natal double bass pedal..thanks for your videos

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

I like that silent stroke reso head trick a lot. Seems to really reign in those toms and make them sound more controlled. Probably wouldn't need a gate for them live. Also, won't have to worry about a big PA system causing any sort of floor tom sympathetic feedback resonance, which I have run in to in the past with a super resonant floor tom. I wonder if it works on a snare drum to make it not so damn loud lol. Sometimes my band plays some places with really challenging acoustics, and the snare just clatters around in there. Every band that plays there has that problem, not just us, but that doesn't mean that I'm not interested in finding a solution lol.

[@indi2174]

Best way to start my day off great is at @5:56 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣💝 and now you have concert times

[@areyoujelton]

A small woven rug draped on a kick makes a very lovely dampening effect. (And also allows you to place things like a wallet or keys on your kick without fear of them falling off.)

[@chinmeysway]

I’ve been doing this with a few blankets. Just didn’t have anywhere to put them! But was wondering if it’s good for the sound to bleed less from the kick into other mics maybe.

[@BB.156]

Since silent strokes came out I’ve been hoping someone would try that out. I immediately thought that it would be a great use for playing at regular volumes.

[@MyVideoJournal]

Love your channel keep up the awesome content! Wanted to suggest if you ever get into sampling sounds to a drum module that kick mic sound was very interesting! I think this would give you more control. Happy Holidays!

[@RainMakeR_Workshop]

I've been thinking about trying mesh heads on the resonant side of my toms and kick. Mostly so I can have a quiet practice kit and loud rehearsal/gigging kit with just one kit (not a lot of space at mine, so I can't have multiple kits). Just a few slight mods would be needed. But it seems pretty simple... in my head at least. The biggest being adding extra leg brackets to my floor tom and possibly extra spurs on the kick drum. Which isn't much.

[@SlyHikari03]

“So how do you wanna mic your set” “Yes”

[@sdothark]

Using the Pyle mic for the beater was a nice throwback, that budget recording video got me into your channel!

[@bengozzy408]

I'm going to make that beater for myself. Um, the Vic Firth one. Definitely not the 57!

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

5:15 - sounds great to me. Maybe a bit reverb-y, but definitely great.

[@partondrumworks]

The Mic on the kick pedal is definitely an interesting hack. Wonder how it would sound if you had a small towel taped to the head to absorb some of the impact. I know it not practical at all but is an interesting concept.

[@CornerStoreDrums]

There we go! Love the channel! 💯🥁

[@ItsBigRickSon]

Imma be honest, the mic kick actually has a cool sound. Kinda reminds me of like movie montage bass hits.

[@sammcdouall4849]

How you need to try smaller bike tubes for the snare and toms. Maybe try something like half an old shirt across the tube when you pump it up. Maybe wrap around the tube and staple the cloth back on to itself, then do again on the opposite side.

[@diegomonteirobatera]

The concert tom/silent head trick was pretty slick. I'm doing that!

[@marshalmallow1844]

The "mic as a beater" trick turned your kick sound into "Default crappy keyboard MIDI kick" instantly. I am curious as to what a cheap contact mic attached to either the beater or the beater pad would sound like though. Although now I've written it down, it does just sound like I'm reinventing a drum trigger

[@TyAllyn_BeastBeats]

Thanks for these awesome videos David!! I just had to sell my drum kit. I was building it but by bit and ran into financial issues. These videos help me get by since I can't drum!! Thank you!!

[@gregonline6506]

Hilarious 🤣 The mic against the bass drum.

[@TechNiVoltisgr3at]

One of the ideas I came up with in a drum shop, is to get one of those giant water balloons, fill it with water, and put it into a bass drum as muffling. Never got around to it though

[@craigs1266]

My first thought on using a microphone as a kick drum beater is using a Shure Beta 56.

[@famitory]

the mic thing would probably sound better just putting a contact mic on the head on top of where the patch goes so a normal beater can hit it.

[@Ronsonic]

Back in the early 70's a few guys used a big pooffy beater directly onto a Shure SM57. Unlike the way you did it - backwards - mount the mic where the head would be.

[@andrewjohnson388]

Love this channel but with Heads, em, use coated heads!! both sides, and tune to pitch. Never muffle, including bass drum, with felt strip across on front, with no holes! Tuning!

[@jeffbridges6110]

LoL. The "Mic/Beater" thing cracked me up.

[@ThaClancyFam2]

The section starting at 9:30 🤣🤣 I am rolling bro. You just earned a sub from me.

[@Thundergaming4900.]

I like how he keeps the drum key on a tension screw while he is playing with the silocone dampened snare

[@sundayswithjeremiah]

Last clip got me like 😂...What the flip was that

[@reifygfx]

dude really forged his own kick drum mic adapter for this video. major credit

[@Journeyman.71]

Variation on the last one: use a good beater, attach a small lavaliere mic to the shaft, below the beater head.

[@zombies418]

I’ve once heard Vinnie Paul from Pantera would tape quarters to his bass drum where the beater hit so that it gave a clicky sound.

[@PintsofGuinness]

6:56 dear god that tone is massive

[@HamptonGuitars]

I use a small pillow filled with buckwheat husks (?) that works great. Also Tell Warby Parker to offer glass lenses!!

[@Jonathan_Doe_]

Tungsten or lead wheel balancing weights could work inside a snare shell to add mass and deaden the shell (or at least lower it’s frequency).

[@simonr9870]

At least we all know that an sm-57 is a good choice since they can take a beating.

[@sapiera0917]

Laughing my ass off that last one bro 🤣😆

[@primalaspidgod3571]

I like how at the end you can see his reflection as he turns off the camera XD

[@LarkVsOwl-de3op]

Thank you for trying the bike tire! Really tempted to try it now on a kit that never leaves a rehearsal space that doubles as an engineer's smaller studio. Sounded good to me! Glad you enjoy Sylvia's book as much as many others have!

[@tjwreds1]

really enjoyed the mesh head reso sound.

[@markitux]

that Colliseum snare!! 😍

[@deathkorpsofkrieg7639]

video idea, put moongel on cheap and expensive cymbals. or perhaps put giant moongel on say like a 22" ride

[@DrumRoody]

I love that tire kick sounds!

[@TylerOath]

Bonus benefit with the concert Tom thing is you could try to flip the drums over and you go from a real kit to a practice kit easy! The floor and the kick may be a little wonky though.

[@rdavidr]

never even thought about that!

[@TylerOath]

@@rdavidr it’s worth a try! have an extra snare with a mesh head ready, swap it out and boom! Lol

[@SagaContinu]

Use a rubber camping mat and cut it into a circle for the bass drum is what I do. Works well

[@mal2ksc]

Layer some socks over the bass drum beater maybe? For the snare, the easiest option is probably to just own a second snare for practice. Maybe one that doesn't actually have snares.

[@Drumsholic]

The mic beater....just hilarious!!!

[@junkyardmagic]

I really liked the mic hack - it sounded loke a cross between a kick drum and someone dropping a mike

[@ralphbenites1312]

I made some drum rings out of old drum heads and thair asome.what about mounting a tennis ball 🎾 on a foot pedal beater the threads have to be long enough to tighten up the bolts.

[@kuyamatter2231]

Putting that mic on kicks is insane😂

[@nghiado1177]

I used fabric strip to cover the kicking side head and sound fine

[@jbu999]

Turning snare head upside down to extend life - we did that in marching band

[@mal2ksc]

It's one of those "why not, it's trash anyway" things that's generally worth trying so long as it doesn't break something else. I wonder if this could be combined with the heat gun method of restoring head tension. Maybe remove the head, get as much slack out of it as you can with the heat, and then put it back on the drum whichever way it fits better. If the heat gun worked well, this may be the "right way up". If the heat gun didn't work well, you get one more use out of the head by flipping it over.

[@cartoune]

Was curious about mesh heads; if you use them enough, will they jack up the bearing edge????

[@rhuebner82]

Awesome man! Do you find yourself using a “blast beat” hand technique on the snare and tom rolls? Or dumb question?

[@niteshades_promise]

mic beater? if you want distorted clipping for a kick maybe. inner tubes was interesting.🍻

[@samuelroth1684]

You should try and mic your snare bottom by facing it under the snare parallel to the bottom instead of pointing at it, can sometimes get a much smoother sound

[@mal2ksc]

It seems the problem with the last one was inertia. Maybe try a condenser mic that weighs almost nothing? It will almost certainly need some degree of covering, quite possibly more than its normal wind screen can provide, but perhaps the ball cage of an SM-58 can be added to that without adding a ton of weight.

[@WaghRules]

I wanna see the buried cymbal for patina and darker sound!

[@pmatamnpm3159]

Good promo for Shure because that SM57 will still sound good after

[@respectfulremastersbymetal8336]

I once had to mic a kick where this dude had a chunk of 2x4 glued (i think it was glued) to his kick so that his wood beaters would smack it. You know 'to get that good attack'. Yeah. It was ... ooof.

[@CarlDaCool168]

An actual decent drum trick for your bass/kick drum For some fast double bass drum notes, if you don’t want to use so much muscle or it’s just so fast that it is physically impossible, and you do not have two bass/kick drums, a technique you can try is that right before you do the double bass drum notes, you slide your foot back in a way so only the front part of your shoe is touching the middle of the pedal, and you quickly slide your foot forward until the whole foot rests on the pedal. It should hit the kick drum twice, and it should be much faster than just brute forcing it.