Internal muffler options

wsabol

Gold Member
I planning a vintage snare drum build, and don't know which internal muffler to use. I can get a round one, with the knob for cheap anywhere. OR I can get a legit baseball bat muffler off ebay for 3 times the price.

I don't have any experience with the baseball bat mufflers, and the round one would be fine, I just like the look and authenticity of the baseball bat muffler. So I was wondering if it has any operational issues. Is it an only On/Off muffler? or can you choose the tension like the round ones? does it stay engaged well? or fall while the drum is being played?

Thanks in advance.
 
If I was restoring a vintage drum, I'd keep all the parts original. So If I had a pre 1970 Supra then I'd use a baseball bat muffler. After that date, I'd keep it authentic and use the round one.

As for their effectiveness. I have a '65 supra with a baseball bat muffler. Yeah, it can be fully engaged, partially engaed or completely off......doesn't really matter as the thing is useless anyway. I've noted that it never stays in place for too long and if I ever wanted to muffle that drum then I used an external muffling source (namely moongel or gaffer)......however, it's also just possible that that's my drum (and my old man who also has a '66 with BB muffler...he doesn't use his either) and not common to others. Perhaps I just need to do a bit of work on it to get it back into working order, but quite frankly, I just can't be bothered as it's not common for me to muffle my snares anyway.
 
Very common is/was the practice of taking those internal muffler devices out of the drums, completely. They don't work so well, they rattle, they work ... but not the way you want them to....​
If you're building a brand new drum, and you want it to look "authentic" ... I don't see the point of using a baseball bat type muffler .... just use "vintage" looking lugs, and leave it at that. You'll get the "retro" vibe ... with modern performance.​
If you're doing a "vintage" restoration, then use as many correct, vintage parts, as you can. If you want the drum to have "vintage" value.​
Also remember, not all vintage drums came with mufflers. Guys would "special order" their drums without. Either because, they didn't want any mufflers .... or they wanted to install a different type of muffler ...​
 
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I really prefer internal mufflers though, so I guess I'll go with the round one.. Actually, more to the point, I can't stand snare ring. I know that some snare ring is "in style" or something, but I really can't handle it.

I recently bought a B/O Supra with the muffler taken out. I put a coated PS3 batter and a moongel on it to get rid of the ring. Sure enough the ring was gone, but it was dead as a door nail and sounded like ass compared to my cheapo Percussion Plus steel snare with a normal Coated Amby and an internal muffler. I don't know what wrong with my ear, but Roy Haynes doesn't mind them since he special requested an internal muffler on his Yamaha sig snare. I guess they can't be that bad...

Thanks again for the replies guys.
 
I recently bought a B/O Supra with the muffler taken out.

In that case, "authenticity" on a B/O supra cries out for a round knob muffler. Of course that doesn't mean that you can't use whatever you like....but if you're looking for that true vintage flavour....then round it is.
 
If I was restoring a vintage drum, I'd keep all the parts original. So If I had a pre 1970 Supra then I'd use a baseball bat muffler. After that date, I'd keep it authentic and use the round one.

As for their effectiveness. I have a '65 supra with a baseball bat muffler. Yeah, it can be fully engaged, partially engaed or completely off......doesn't really matter as the thing is useless anyway. I've noted that it never stays in place for too long and if I ever wanted to muffle that drum then I used an external muffling source (namely moongel or gaffer)......however, it's also just possible that that's my drum (and my old man who also has a '66 with BB muffler...he doesn't use his either) and not common to others. Perhaps I just need to do a bit of work on it to get it back into working order, but quite frankly, I just can't be bothered as it's not common for me to muffle my snares anyway.

What the heck is a baseball bat muffler??
 
I'll be damned. Just when I thought I'd seen everything, I see something I had never seen before.

I take it you've never owned a 60's era Supra, mate? :)

You have helped me to improve my knowledge about this field. Thank you so much for sharing.

Thanks so much for spamming. Glad we've managed to enlighten you some on the internal workings of a LM400 muffler. Perhaps a 500 word essay outlining what you've just learned and how it's improved you, will go someway towards convincing me you're not just FOS??
 
I take it you've never owned a 60's era Supra, mate? :)



Thanks so much for spamming. Glad we've managed to enlighten you some on the internal workings of a LM400 muffler. Perhaps a 500 word essay outlining what you've just learned and how it's improved you, will go someway towards convincing me you're not just FOS??

Very good post, just what I was looking for. I've bookmarked your site for sure! Interested in my Russian-made, Viagra-dispensing Rolexes?
 
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