When you have an un-dampened, un-muffled drum set at home, in most normal rooms, the drums usually sound very noisy. By that I mean you will hear the boom, bang, ringing, overtones and crashes bouncing off the walls, ceiling and floor. And if you tighten the heads so that the drums are nice and loud, to the untrained ear they can sound like trash cans.
Consequently dampening the drums for home use usually makes them sound better, especially to the untrained ear. And actually if all you ever do is play drums at home without playing in a band, dampening them to the max might be the best thing to do. Just ask the neighbors and see what they say.
About a year ago I started playing drums in a house band for an open mic jam night. And for the first time in my drumming career I was able to hear my drums being played by someone else in a band setting from the audience’s perspective. It really opened my eyes (ears). This was basically loud rock and roll with no microphones on the drums.
I discovered what the best tuning was for my drums, and probably any drum set in a loud band setting. The best tuning was with no dampening or muffling on any drums. And the heads tuned for the purest, loudest tone possible. (I do have an Evens EMAD batter head on the bass drum.)
A drum set sounds different depending on where you sit. You will hear one sound sitting behind the set and a different sound sitting in the audience. I would advise any drummer to go stand in the audience and listen to his or her band playing while someone else plays the drums. (Even if all they do is bang on your drums and cymbals while your band plays) It will help you learn how to tune your drums properly for the kind of music you play.
Note: At the bar where I play drums, I went and sat in a seat around the corner from the room where the very loud band was playing. From this vantage point the loudest instrument was my drums.
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