Drum Mutes for Quiet Kit Practicing

rebonn

rebonn

Senior Member
I've never had any of these for a drum kit but I think it's about time. I'm looking for some that dampen the most and could have less rebound than a regular head but not more rebound. I'm really not interested in mesh heads I have to take on and off. The Aquarian Super Pads look intriguing but are the most expensive. I was wondering what others have used and liked or disliked about such mutes as Evans, Vic Firth, Ahead and Aquarian or are they all basically the same. THANKS
 
AzHeat

AzHeat

Platinum Member
Aquarian Super Pads and Zildjian L80s all the way. I like the Black Hole solution too, They have a rim you can mimic rim clicks on, but the mesh feels unrealistic. I've been on Super Pads and L80s for months. When I get on a wide open kit, it feels better, so I actually play better. That's a win for practice pads. The Super Pads end up with less rebound than you'd have on a snare, but more than on a 16" FT. They feel exactly the same regardless of size. That's what the Black Holes have over them, but they are still mesh.
 
LarryJ

LarryJ

Active member
I'm pretty close with AzHeat. Spent several months doing side by side comparisons of Black Holes, Silent Strokes and Super Pads. I was wanting realistic sound as well as feel. Ended up with Super Pad on snare, Black Holes on toms, and Silent Stroke with 4"x6" duct tape beater patch on bass. Silent Strokes felt and sounded awful. Super Pads sounded too dead on the toms. The Black Hole as batter on the snare had a bad snare buzz when the rack tom was hit. No idea why but I couldn't tune it out. I didn't try other bass drum solutions, the Silent Stroke was OK and I was tired of spending money.

The end result, with L80 cymbals, is close enough to realistic that I find myself practicing a LOT more than I did with my electronic kit.
 
ottog1979

ottog1979

Senior Member
I am a giant Aquarian Super Pad fan. Using the same set going on 5 years now. Worth the money. I can practice more often, longer and a wider range of times without concern about the wife & neighbors enduring my practice.
 
Last edited:
newoldie

newoldie

Silver Member
Acquarian Super Pads are the way to go if you're primarily looking for a practice surface with the a realistic yet quiet sound.
I place a 14" one over my snares when practicing, the rebound being the most realistic compared to the way-too-bouncy Silent Stroke or regular rubber pads. I haven't found the SP have less rebound than a regular snare, they seem very close. But any pad will never be 100% just like a regular drum head.
To achieve an even quieter sound w/SP, just turn off the snares. For a bit less rebound, but not a dead bounce- and an even quieter sound, try the blue prologix pad. I practice with both a SP and Prologix blue to cover the different rebound feels.
 
rebonn

rebonn

Senior Member
Sounds like the Super Pads are the way to go. Are the Super Pads quieter than the rubber pads by Evans, Vic Firth and Ahead? Do the Super Pads have a piece of wood in them?
 
Odd-Arne Oseberg

Odd-Arne Oseberg

Platinum Member
I have both the Super-Pads and Black Holes. I've also had access to the Sound Offs at many places i've worked.

Right now I don't use any of them as my practice kit is made up of other things and in the shed I don't need to dampen anything during reasonable hours.

Choosing between SPs and BHs there is a lot of personal preference involved. Some even like to use a combo. Black Holes are just mesh, but the dot in the middle reduces the trampoline feel a bit. You can always add another patch to change the feel even more. The big ones I could at least get pretty close to my floor toms in feel, but not my preferrence for the snare at all.

Two things.

1) Your preference for bass drum may be different than the other and you probably will need to do some extra treatment to reduce volume on that one.

2) Snare feel is very individual and you may actually and up wanting something completely different there. Depends on your style and how you typically tune.

For full disclosure my needs may be a bit differnt than others. I made myself a practice kit that's not where I play oit's all about feel and practicing very specific things away from the kit. The L80s(only hats and ride) make most of the differnce there. Then I have a Xymos laminate pad for snare and just a bunch of 7" Moongel pads on light Evans pad stands that I set up depending on need. I have several other options for this setup if I have to travel light, but it's easily customisable just theway it is. It's just a question of size and what I use for the feet.


rebonn said:
Do the Super Pads have a piece of wood in them?
Click to expand...
Yes, they're solid and can be used on their own.

You may want to check out this video.



If you want to go standar mesh heads then you don't want silent strokes. You want something really good like Dum-tec Pro or something to standard.
 
AzHeat

AzHeat

Platinum Member
rebonn said:
Sounds like the Super Pads are the way to go. Are the Super Pads quieter than the rubber pads by Evans, Vic Firth and Ahead? Do the Super Pads have a piece of wood in them?
Click to expand...
No wood in the Super Pads. They are pretty light. They are also quieter than rubber pads with much better feel. The video posted above does a great comparison.
 
rebonn

rebonn

Senior Member
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top