Hello everyone! I wanted to take a moment to talk about the question I probably hear the most. “Chris, what is with the tape on your drums?” Drummers routinely get on me and tell me to “Let those toms sing, man!” You would be amazed at how many say that exact line, verbatim. So here is the deal in a nutshell. It serves a few purposes. First and foremost, it slightly dampens the stray oddball frequencies at the very top end (16k-24k). The beauty is that the electrical tape is very thin, flexible, and moves with the head. Most importantly, it doesn’t really affect the overall tone of the drum. Simply reigns in the super high end, giving it a slightly more focused sound. As a soundman myself, I care alot about making it as easy as possible to get a great sound in the mics. While as a drummer, I am somewhat of a purist, and I do love to hear the drums sing, but I have been in the game for a good while now and I know that most pro sound techs are not interested in working super hard to get the perfect drum sound. Especially when they are running sound for a festival or multi band show and you are literally playing for like 30 minutes. In other words, it is best to try and meet them (myself included) halfway. Tune your drums, don’t make ridiculous demands, and use some kind of dampening if they ask. Honestly, they are trying to help you sound good to your audience in a limited time frame.
So, the next question is usually, “Why not Moongel, O-Rings, or Gaffers Tape?” My answer for that is simple. I want subtle dampening. O-Rings completely change the tone of your toms and literally turn them into an impulse with none of the natural attack and literally no sustain. Granted, for electronic music and hip hop, it sounds awesome, and it also helps with drummers that cannot or will not tune (as a quick fix), but O-Rings are a no for me, dawg [insert image of Randy Jackson here]. Gaffers tape works, but again, shuts down the drum and keeps it from really resonating. A small piece is fine in a pinch. Way better than duct tape. At that point, you might as well just put your wallet on the drum, or take off your resonant heads and go full 70’s mode. I have avoided even owning moongel…until recently. I just switched to UV2 Coated heads and really don’t feel the need to dampen them, but the moon gel is there in my hardware bag, just in case an engineer is feeling a bit lazy (or rushed/overworked). For your pleasure, here is a listing of common dampening methods and where they rank on the subtlety scale (from most subtle to dead);
1) No Muffling (Wide open, Bonham style!)
2) Electrical Tape (Very Subtle, reduces stray highs, does not alter tone)
3) Moongel / Gel Dots (Subtle, but dampens head movement, slightly alters tone)
4) Gaffers Tape (Moderate dampening, weighs down head, alters tone)
5) Duct Tape / Remo Muffls / Cloth Strip Under Drumhead (Dead, might as well be a bucket)
Aside from the subtle muffling that the electrical tape provides, I also enjoy taping in geometric patterns as kind of a signature thing. Also, the goal is to kind of make a dampening circle near the outer edge, but using strait lines, you have to segment it, so that is what started that trend, so I ran with it. Another thing to consider, my pack of moongel cost $7, and takes care of 6 drums (ideally, with 1 per drum) at a time. For $1, I can buy a roll of Electrical tape, and take care of as many as 30 drums, and the tape comes off easily if I decide I want less/no dampening. I have a toolbox that I keep all of my spare allan wrenches, drum keys, felts, sleeves, tuning rods, wingnuts, washers, spare parts, etc, and on either side, I have a roll of electrical tape. I carry this with me when I tour so I can always take care or whatever needs done while on the road. I consider it the quintessential dampening material. Guitar player accidentally frayed his instrument cable? Bam! Electrical tape to the rescue! And if you need an emergency stick wrap at the show, it works for that too! Electrical tape is a drummer / sound tech’s best friend!
– Chris