[Timmy]

To muffle, or not to muffle--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous overtones
Or to take arms against a sea of dead sounding drums
And by opposing end them.

[LlLDrummerBoy]

the only drum that should be muffled is the bass. snares and toms should be able to resonate properly and play the sound they were meant for. At least thats my opinion

[FourPieceMetal]

IMO, you should muffle the Bass drum, if you need to, and you should always muffle the toms, unless you're in a live situation, or recording situation. Snare muffling, I'm a little biased. I used to love a muffling ring on it, but then, I thought the snare still rang too much. So, I put a moongel AND a ring on it, and the drum was dead. So, I just stuck with a pre-muffled head.

[TheYonderGod]

Whatever sounds better to you for the sound you're going after.

[The Mimic]

ONLY MUFFLE BASS DRUM imo I muffled mine and I finally got the sound I wanted

[CJohn364]

TheYonderGod, on 21 February 2012 - 06:16 PM, said:

Whatever sounds better to you for the sound you're going after.

This. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. If you think your drums sound better with a bit of muffling, go for it. It won't hurt.

[FourPieceMetal]

I have a question about my toms, and I think it may or may not have to do with muffling. Is it normal when the deeper your tom, the more it'll resonate? My 10 inch tom resonates very little, my 12 inch tom resonates a fairy decent amount, but still doesn't resonate fully, my 16 inch tom resonates really good, and so does my 18 inch. My toms all have the same muffling: O-Ring. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm thinking it's either muffling, or tuning.

[Poco Askew]

I do think deeper shells resonate more than shallow shells. But in my experience it is even more about their diameter. An 8" tom has very little resonance. As you go up in diameter you get more and more. That's one reason I think many drummers have trouble tuning floor toms and tend to add dampening to them even if the rest of their toms are left "naked".

[FourPieceMetal]

Poco Askew, on 22 February 2012 - 11:06 AM, said:

I do think deeper shells resonate more than shallow shells. But in my experience it is even more about their diameter. An 8" tom has very little resonance. As you go up in diameter you get more and more. That's one reason I think many drummers have trouble tuning floor toms and tend to add dampening to them even if the rest of their toms are left "naked".

Yeah. My 8 tom resonates very little. But, I'm not talking like I just noticed this increase in resonance. It's more that the 10 inch tom and 12 inch tom resonate less than I feel they should. The 10 tom sounds a little better than a tuned thud, and my 12 tom has just a bit less resonance than I'd like. I found out that some of my drums are definitely O.O.R. The wrap on my BD has small bubbles in it where the wrap starts. If my tom was a bit out of round, could THAT be a problem? IDK how it could be, seeing as their defect is SO hard to notice, that it doesn't really look, or feel any different.

[Poco Askew]

It is partly your E-rings, I bet. I can see adding a little dampening to the larger toms, but I would never add that much dampening to a 10" or 12". Dunno about the out of round. I know I've asked you a few times if you ever measured them, but AFAIK, you haven't. If they are slightly out of round, probably no big deal. If you pull the heads off and find they are way out, then that is a problem, IMO. You also said the don't sit flat. That more than likely means your hoops are warped. Those two things combined are bad news for tuning and resonance..

[FourPieceMetal]

KK, so I guess I got warped rims, which I don't want to care about right now. And, my drum makes a good tone. Just doesn't resonate. I had the same problem with one of the toms earlier, and I think it was fixed once I tuned it higher. LOL. I might try that, and if that doewsn't work, I'll put on less muffling. If THAT doesn't work, then I'll see if there's a drum tech around where I live.

[Poco Askew]

FourPieceMetal, on 22 February 2012 - 01:07 PM, said:

And, my drum makes a good tone. Just doesn't resonate. I had the same problem with one of the toms earlier, and I think it was fixed once I tuned it higher.

Drums that are tuned to low will not "open up" and resonate. If you can tune it higher and it starts to "sing", then you just have it tuned lower than you should. The head needs to be stretched a fair amount to vibrate the way it is designed. That could also explain why the hoops are not sitting flat - not enough tension on the lugs to hold it true (be sure the head and rim are seated correctly and your bearing edges are still in good shape).

[FourPieceMetal]

Well, I figured out the problem. It turned out there was a tuning lug on my 10 tom that wasn't even tightened!!! I didn't ear tune it. Just tightened up the reso head ha;f a turn, and the bad lug like a turn and a half. Now, my 10 tom sounds more resonant! But, sadly I have proven that something is deff wrong with my BD. Not only are there small bubbles at the start of the wrap, but there are two tuning lugs at the top of the drum head that are sorta wrinkled. In other words, when I rub the edge of the drum head, it's completely flat, except for the top two. So, I have a good sounding 10 tom, and a warped Bass Drum. Either that, or a great kit with a warped wrapping on the BD. lol. Either way, I just am trying not to care. The whole kit sounds good, there's only a few things bad about some of the individual drums, and all in all, it's a decent used kit. The drums are warped a bit, but that only is messing with my tuning. I'll start worrying when my hoops fall through the drums, or something weird like that. LOL.

EDIT: I think my BD is on the floor, and the legs aren't pushing it in the air, so much as just keeping it from rumbling. I may push the BD legs up tomorrow, and see what that does. The head could just have some pressure on the bottom, transferring to the top, causing the SLIGHTLY wrinkled lugs.
Nope. Just went out and did it, and with the BD suspended slightly in the air, it still has the wrinkles in the lug spots. Oh, well. It was the thought that counted. lol

This post has been edited by FourPieceMetal: 22 February 2012 - 05:52 PM