Adding mufflers to my Ludwig set?

Ethan01

Senior Member
Hey guys! I have a Ludwig maple set w/ a 2009 Supraphonic 402. None of these drums have that vintage muffler knob where you could get as much or as little muffling as you wanted. I'm wondering if it's possible to simply add this to my 2 toms (13x11 and 16x14). I imagine it's just measuring and drilling a hole into the side of the tom, then screwing in the assembly.

I'd also like to add one to my Supra but I bet it's a lot harder as I'd have to drill through chrome. I do have access to a machine shop which could help me there.

Is there a guide to purchasing and installing these buggers? A friend of mine showed me his circa 1970 snare with one, and I fell in love with how easy it was to change sounds on the fly! Any help would be appreciated!!!
 
You sure about this? There's a reason they no longer use the things mate. I have a '66 Supra with the baseball bat muffler. The thing is rendered useless. Turn it so that it's fully muffled, two hits of the snare and it has fallen down.

Short answer is, yes it can be done. But in the day of easy to apply, external muffling like moongel, clamp on dampeners, gaffer tape etc, I think it's a better option. As I said, there's a reason why no-one makes drums with built in muffling anymore.
 
Whether you should or not is up for debate. I'd avoid the ball bat kind, but the screw-knob type tends to be a lot sturdier.

I'm not a fan of these, but vintage drum buffs still love them.

If you do want to mount one it should be pretty easy. Just make sure you have all the parts or it will rattle/fail. I've never seen a guide for installing one of these. However, my internal MacGuyver would imagine you would want to note how far the muffler travels from on to off, and tap your hole accordingly.
 
I'm on the fence about this too, even on my toms that have mufflers, I don't use them. The snare is a different animal though, and I do occasionally use the muffler if present. But I also don't miss it on the newer drums, or the older ones I have where it's been removed.

I'd think twice about whether you'll really use them, before permanently altering the shells.

Bermuda
 
Hey guys! I have a Ludwig maple set w/ a 2009 Supraphonic 402. None of these drums have that vintage muffler knob where you could get as much or as little muffling as you wanted. I'm wondering if it's possible to simply add this to my 2 toms (13x11 and 16x14). I imagine it's just measuring and drilling a hole into the side of the tom, then screwing in the assembly.
That's pretty much it, providing you have all the correct hardware to install, after you've drilled your shells.

Is there a guide to purchasing and installing these buggers? A friend of mine showed me his circa 1970 snare with one, and I fell in love with how easy it was to change sounds on the fly! Any help would be appreciated!!!
Use your friends snare as your "working example". That's the "old school" method. Perhaps there's a guide available, somewhere, but I've never seen one.
I'm pretty much with everyone else, on the "don't do it" side of the fence. I think most "vintage" guys just want their drums 100% factory, is why they re-install those mufflers .... just about every drum I ever owned, I took them out. But to each, their own.​
 
I removed all of the mufflers from my classic drums years ago.
They tended to rattle and losen up as I played.
I also realized that the head choices that exist today make them obsolete.
I recommend selecting heads that have built in ring control when you desire it and going with them.
 
I'm going to jump on the pig-pile of those screaming: "Don't do it!" (wait a sec, am I the first to scream? my bad)

Think about it. Drilling brand-new shells to put on an abandoned technology? Think of what it could do to the resale value. Someone may pass on your for-sale drums, or lowball you on price, because they're not going to want permanently-installed internal mufflers anymore than they're going to want the unsightly holes left behind after they take them out.
 
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