NouveauCliche
Senior Member
Several threads have been launched as of late on the topic of overtone control, mostly as it pertains to toms. This thread focuses on snare drums. What do you do, if anything, to muffle your snare? Moongel, tone-control rings, tape, your wallet? Share your solutions and explain why you implement them.
For the most part, I like a tight, crisp snare drum, not a fat one, so I don't use heavy muffling. A strip of blue painter's tape positioned about an inch from the rim is my modus operandi. It tames a few rebellious overtones while permitting the head to resonate without severe restriction. Otherwise, I play my snare wide open.
I've really enjoyed the Snareweight M1. It clips on the hoop - it's a nice looking piece of leather that kind of floats on the head - it's got magnets on it, so you can flip it all the way up and go to zero dampening or you can magnet the sides into the middle for variable muffling options.
It's the by far the best looking and most versatile little muffling system I've ever used - photographs well too and costs $15. Comes in white, black and brown.
There's a wider version too if you want more muffling options called the M80 - that might be nice for some people because it's about twice as wide as the M1.
My only problem is that it didn't like my vintage style stick saved hoops that have that little bend in towards the head - every other kit/drum though it's worked like a CHARM.