Moongel kills opposite lug!

AzHeat

Platinum Member
I’ve never seen this discussed here before and something I just ran into. I wanted to do a quick tune of my Gretsch 12” tom, so I popped it off the stand and set it down on carpet and went around each lug to quickly check if they were where I left them. I was getting over a cold and feeling lazy, so I didn’t pop off the moongel. I know, I had time and energy to pull off the tom, but not the gel? That’s a beating for another time. Anyway, it brings me to this post...

The 12” and smaller Gretsch toms have 5 lugs and I’ve never noticed this before, but if you put the gel between two lugs, it totally kills the opposite lug when tapped. I do mean kill. There’s literally nothing more than a flap tone from it when struck.

I’ve always read do/don’t use, how much to use, etc., but never a conversation about where to place moongel in conjunction with the lug. I always just stuck them above the logo. It just seemed like the logical out of the way spot and never realized what it did to a 5 lug tom. Impact isn’t as severe on toms with 6 or more, but thought it was interesting.

This maybe nothing more than one of those Geico commercials to some, where the cave man slides his rock back and sees something obvious to the rest of the world, but thought it was interesting!
 
Looks like it did what it was designed to do, which is why I dont use them. Whatchoo need that gunk for anyway?
 
On a drum with an even number of lugs, tightening one lug will raise the pitch at the lug, and also at the lug across from it. On drums with odd lug numbers, the pitch is still raised at the point directly across from any lug you tighten. Think of the head as “guitar strings” going across the drum. If you mute one end of a string, the whole thing gets muffled.
 
Makes sense it would kill opposite lug, as vibrations of head may be more pronounced as they move away from one side to the other. Like with a cymbal with rivets on just one side, you get the most rivet sound with rivets away from where you hit cymbal, not closest to where you play. Must have to do with physics of the vibration/wave moving away from one side to other.
 
N O T H I N G

But, before the barrage of abuse starts, I'm not saying it's wrong to use it. It's just not for me.

OH BOY a barrage of abuse! Wait, don't start until I get some popcorn made up.

Let me be the first. Here is my opinion.
When I'm playing in a band with electric guitars; no dampening at all.
When I'm playing in the studio or with a low volume acoustic band a little Moon Gel or Gaffers Tape is called for. (because my drums are set up to be loud)


.
 
This is why I use Evans Hydraulic heads. They give me the ring control I want, with the durability I need.

I have used Moon Gels on my rides from time to time if they get too washy. The tackiness of them keep them in place unlike the magnets that tend to shift around as the cymbal vibrates.
 
This is why I use Evans Hydraulic heads. They give me the ring control I want, with the durability I need.

Durability wise how do you tell when the deadest heads ever made are dead and need changing ;). I dig the thinking behind it though plus everything sounds like 70s Gadd.

I have emergency tools - O-rings/Moon Gels/Wallet if I get a real shitty room. Last resort in most cases.
 
I gel my snare drum batter all the time.

I don’t gel my toms, I use o-rings or towels if called for. But normally, no muting.

I tried Moon gel on a cymbal. It’s very effective but it left residue, now I use tape (not as effective as Moon gel).
 
The 12” and smaller Gretsch toms have 5 lugs and I’ve never noticed this before, but if you put the gel between two lugs, it totally kills the opposite lug when tapped. I do mean kill. There’s literally nothing more than a flap tone from it when struck.

Yeah, I have had this happen many times. I can't tune any drum now without removing all gels for this exact reason.

I’ve always read do/don’t use, how much to use, etc., but never a conversation about where to place moongel in conjunction with the lug. I always just stuck them above the logo. It just seemed like the logical out of the way spot and never realized what it did to a 5 lug tom. Impact isn’t as severe on toms with 6 or more, but thought it was interesting.

Did you find that there is a best place to put it? I haven't really ever paid attention to where it's placed. I pretty much apply it, try it out, and then move it towards the center if I need a bit more dampening.
 
Did you find that there is a best place to put it? I haven't really ever paid attention to where it's placed. I pretty much apply it, try it out, and then move it towards the center if I need a bit more dampening.

I was trying to tamp down some wild high overtones my mics were picking up. Since discovering the impact, I can't help but to rethink the whole moon gel thing. They have to have bigger impact away from the drums. When I first discovered it, I thought I had discovered a bad bearing edge! I was using a tiny dot too. Nothing like the actual rectangular moonge!
 
Looks like it did what it was designed to do, which is why I dont use them. Whatchoo need that gunk for anyway?

My thoughts exactly. Never understood why anyone would want to use that stuff, but what do I know?

Read an interview with Roger Hawkins where he called moongels 'the greatest things ever.'

Horses for courses, I guess. I never use moongels when playing with my loud rock band, but I've found them very helpful in my lower-volume gigs. And I could see how they'd be useful in a studio setting.
 
Durability wise how do you tell when the deadest heads ever made are dead and need changing ;).

When you're in the right tuning range, they sing pretty well. I'll admit they can sound very flat and boxy if you're not where they should be.

And heaven forbid you split one. Oil goes everywhere (at least that's what a friend told me) =-D
 
Dang it. Did I miss an abuse barrage?

Rats!~
 
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