I got fed-up with mine on my vistalites. All three of the toms rattled so I removed the mufflers completely and they are now being stored in a box until I decide to put the drums up for sale.

This is always a big issue! Of the two major companies that used this style muffler, (Ludwig and Slingerland) Ludwig, by far always seem to rattle, just due to the way they are built. If the rattle isn't too bad, I've been able to eliminate it by flattening out the flared rivet that holds the metal plate and felt. Just did this a few days ago on the muffler from a 9x13 Ludwig tom. Quiet now! Ludwig uses what appears to be a cork washer that can become very worn with age. For these, I just let my girlfriend wrap black thread between the washer and rivet, which eliminates the play and doesn't rattle. She also does a wonderful job of tying of the thread with a nice not that hardly shows. Gotta luv her!

Ahhh yes!!! What a brilliant idea!

Hahah and it seems to be an ultimate truth that when asking "how do i stop the rattle from my internal drum muffler from bothering me!?" the answer is "get a girlfriend, thats how!" hahaha.

Ok thanks idrum4fun!! Oh last problem though.

With some of the mufflers ive noticed that the very end of the screw has been purposely dented so that the actual padded disc of the muffler cant fall off the screw if you turn the knob too far. This is great for making sure it doesbt dislodge...but that also means i cant remove the drum muffler at all!!!

Has anyone else had this problem? How did you guys remove your mufflers? Any advice??

I fixed mine by just squirting some silicone rubber (out of a tube) on the aforementioned rivet. It is dries flexible, is a reversible nondestructive change, does not require removal of the mufflers, and the mufflers still work as they did before. It goes under various brand names depending on where you are. And you can re-seal your fish tanks with the leftovers!

Rubber washers. That silences them and gives them a serious hold.

Seems like you've received some good suggestions here about how to deal with the rattle.

Regarding the purposely dented threads, the best way is to use an appropriate size die to clean-up (recut) the threads. You can buy die sets at Home Depot or Lowes (Tools). If you know someone that's into rebuilding cars they could probably help you...or, check with a machine shop. You can sometimes get it off by putting some light oil on the threads, holding the piece that screws off with pliers and using brut force to unscrew it. This is certainly not the best way because you run the risk of ruining the threads completely.

Hey guys,

Here is a nice solution that I just did to silence those mufflers. I have a 66' Ludwig Clubdate. I've used the mufflers in a lot of different situations and they are a great option to have. Plus, I hate seeing old drums with missing parts (breaks my heart). So....

I wrapped the muffler post with two kinds of thread, a nice thin tread to get to the post and then a bigger thread to wrap around the cork that is decayed. Then I used a little bit of fabric glue to make sure the knot doesn't come untied. Already fixed the problem. But, I thought why stop there while I have the mechanism off...

So, I put the soft side of some self adhesive velcro on the muffler holder where it meets the rod coming into it, as well as in the hole of the shell. Add a nylon gasket to the hardware and voila, years of non-vibrating muffler that is totally usable. Another fun fact, a thin thread can also be used to VERY CAREFULLY tighten up and silence a loose badge. Make sure not to bend the edges while wrapping them. Especially on those lovely keystones. Hope this helps!!

Hi Wood! and Welcome to the forum!

My girlfriend also uses thread to silence my Ludwig mufflers. Works great!

-Mark

+1 on using thread...

Cheers