What kind of drum heads are you using? Trying a 2ply head ( Remo emperors are 2ply..so are pinstripes) might be an easy solution. Aquarian Studio X heads have a muffling ring built into the head. Dampens the sound, with the rings flying off the head. Which reminds me, you could put some Remo rings on your head, cheap, dampens the sound, but, they do get loose.

There is a product called Moon Gels, that you keep in a small container, pop it out, put it on your drums when you are playing, put it back in the container when you are done. Studio producers like the Moon Gels, they're cheap, too ,about $7. Moon Gels do not damage the head at all and they stay on the head.

Old school, put a towel on your drums like Ringo. Check out the Get Back video on this site, it has Ringo playing with a towel on his snare.

Oh, I just wanted to add, if you wanted to use tape..duct tape or the felt tape, a piece about the size of your thumb, will be fine. Don't flatten it, just lie it on naturally, on any edge of the drum head.

I have used all of these techniques, but, I perfer no dampening at all. My Gretsch rosewood kit, I use coated emperors, my late 60's Rogers I use coated ambassadors.

No more tape here for me. Yeah, I was young and stupid once, but I'm wiser now. I use different heads on different kits. I can recommend the Studio-X heads as I have them on a kit right now and they do a nice job of muffling without sucking all the life out of the sound.

I frequently use moon gels as well, but I have an even better/cheaper/cooler solution. They are known in most places (the US anyhow) as sticky hands. A childs toy, made of the same sticky, stretchy, goop. I actually have little soccer balls instead of hands, but they all work the same.

Big difference is, I got a big bag full of these things (like 24 or so) for around $5.00 at a "Party store".

Moon gels are around $6.00 for 4 little square pads.

As stated, the great thing about them is you put them on and take them off without leaving any residue behind. I've had them sit on a drum for months and not leave a trace behind. Try that with duct tape.

Tape is out... Sticky hands are in!!!

Outside of moon gels and sticky hands/walk walkers (they are made of the same stuff, although moon gels are thicker), there are plastic muffling rings you can buy (Aquarian Studio rings, Remo-Os, etc.). They too have no effect on the heads at all, although they don't allow the versatility in muffling like moon gels which can be placed on different parts of the head for different amounts of muffling. You also have to go through the trouble getting the right rings in the right sizes.

There's these Min-EMAD lil clamp mufflers but these are permanent. Some people like them, but some pretty harsh reviews on there.

Evans have their EC2 and EMAD series of heads that have internal muffling, and these are fairly popular.

Finally, if you want less overtones you can always tune your heads unevenly, causing less resonance to bounce between the two heads and drying out the sound.

I have an uncle who played drums pretty seriously in the '70's, and he swore by...ahem...."feminine napkins"....they stick, muffle, but don't stay stuck forever. Not necessarily the best stage presence, though!

I'm trying to clean duct tape off of some old calfskin heads now, so I'm not a fan of that. And snare wise, sort of along the lines of Ringo and his towel, I read somewhere that Al Jackson Jr. (Booker T and the MG's, etc.,) would just toss his wallet onto the snare when he recorded. I love the sticky hands idea, though. I just wish I had read that before I shucked out 6 bucks for moongels!

(And, not a suggestion but just as another take on muffling, I bought an old Slingerland marching bass drum a few years back that someone had stretched gym socks across on the inside to muffle the head.)

Actually mini emads are not clamp on, its a strip of velcro that goes onto a round velcro pad on the head and on the drum. Me=not a fan of these.

Besides the self muffling heads, the moongel, the remos/studio rings, you could also try EXTERNAL snap on muffler....Rogers started this idea and sometimes you can find them on ebay, but a version is still sold by Gibraltar for not a whole lot of money each....just another option to go.

And yes, Al Jackson did actually toss his wallet on the snare to tone it down in the studio when needed. (Confirmed by both Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn in interviews over the years)

agreed on almost all here....

i have been playing drums for quite a while now. and i find that (normally) different methods work for different people, and it all comes down to taste most of the time. my opinion on the different methods:

- moon gel: IMO great for almost every sitiation because it is so versatile, as already said in different posts. big advantage: removes with (almost) any visible remnants.

- soundmuffling rings like remos are dampening the sound way too much. i have a few as well but only use them in emergency (e.g. when i play a rock-gig in a very small location - maximum power at minimum volume so to speak)but sometimes i also put my wallet on the snare-edge, same effect.

- duck tape i also still use, because... well... i always did ;) and i still like it. on most gigs i play (bigger opene airs or bigger clubs) they add well to my there used drumkit (pearl seesion kit with emperor clear heads)

On my vintage kits (ludwig hollywood and ludwig vista) and my vintage snares i use no dampening at all. if really necessary, i use the internal mufflers.

All of the above IMO totally depends on the location. obviously, a drumkit sounds different in a practiseroom (10 sq.m.) a club (100 sq.m) or on an open air stage outdoors..... and you will always need to not only "re- damp" but also to re-tune. no matter how great your kit sounded the last time you played it.

One last comment on the Remo muffling rings - I've seen way too many drummers accidentally get a stick underneath one and whip them off the drum head. Kinda funny if the ring slides down the stick and over the hand.

I've used the wallet trick as well. The cool thing about this method is that when you hit the drum, the wallet jumps up off the head ever so slightly, allowing the drum to ring a bit before it's damped by the wallet again. It is a little different than say a moongel or duct tape because once you put them on, they stay with the head as you hit the drum.

I devised my own muffler which works similarly to the wallet, but is much smaller and so muffles less. Pretty simple - You need gaffers or duct tape and a hihat felt (the one which goes on the stand, not the top cymbal - It's the BIG one). If you want more damping, you can also add a Quarter or similar sized coin to the mix for added weight/damping.

Just peel off a 3" or 4" hunk of tape, lay the quarter on top of the felt in the center, then apply one end of the tape over the felt/coin and press down firmly to get the tape to stick to the felt/coin. Now apply the other end of the tape to your hoop/rim in a spot which won't be in your way.

There you go - easy wallet type muffling for any of your drums. Cool thing here is that you won't accidentally walk away from your kit/wallet during a break at a gig (yes, I've done this). Don't forget to remove the muffler when you're not using it - You don't want the tape to leave any goo on your hoops/rims.

Very cool tips guys! I think I will try the hi hat felt trick. Someone asked what type of skins I use. I use coated ambassadors.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Oosh....y'know...this is precisely WHY I just love the old-school internal mufflers....I equip all my renovated kits w/ 'em, out the door....

...you don't have to deal with ANY of that other stuff.....

(there are also external rim-clip mufflers...dunno if those are made anymore, but there used to be 'em...I have a few old ones lying around, somewhere, I think....)[/COLOR]