Damping Drums with Gels: They're Cheaper and Sound Way Better!

I'd have to say these little gel squares make synthetic drumheads sound extremely close to the way natural animal hides do. I used to damp my drums with muffling rings, either RemO's or Evan's E-rings. They made my drums sound great, however, they lose their muffling qualities after a while, and have to be replaced.

I have always read about placing little squares of gel (just about the size of a postage stamp) in strategic spots on each batter head, but had never personally met a drummer who used them, whether onstage or recording. Instead of using the same old muffling rings, I decided to give the gels a try, just to see if they lived up to the hype.

I went to the Knoxville Guitar Center and bought some Moongels, manufactured by RTOM Industries. They come in sets of 4, and cost about $6.00 a set at Guitar Center, so I bought 2 sets; enough to cover my kit properly. As cheap as these are, I found out later that you can use those little "sticky hands" that kids buy out of the gumball machines in the supermarkets and pizza joints. Wow. It would've cost me $4.00 at the most to use the "sticky hands" instead of the Moongels! Oh, well, live and learn.

Moongels and "sticky hands" can be cut to any size necessary with ordinary scissors, and It's best to cut them into square shapes (not just for practical purposes, but also because "sticky hands" will make your drums look extremely cheesy). Also, if the gels get dusty or dirty, they can be easily washed with mild detergent (like Dawn) and warm water. They must be allowed to AIR dry thoroughly before placing them on your drums.

"Yeah", you might be thinkin' right now, "but how do they sound?" Well, all I have to say is that the gels give my drums a dark, wet tone like Indian tom-toms! Especially on my floor toms; with just two gels on both of them, they don't just thump, they GROAN! It seems the elastic, gooey consistency of the gel material successfully removes those nasty, tin-canny overtones without hindering the natural resonance and tone of the drum.

I can only reason that these gels make synthetic heads sound so natural because, like animal hides, they have a rather fleshy consistency that resonates naturally. However, unlike animal skin drumheads, the synthetic kind do not react to variations in humidity or temperature (drummers used to insert heating rods into the soundholes of their drums to offset any such changes).

That's the wonderful thing about using gels on Mylar heads; you get the dark, damp sound of natural skins without the unpredictability and instability (not to mention the sticker shock!).

When using gels, I like to start with the largest tom. Start with one gel placed about 2 inches from the rim. Play something on the drum with the sticks you use normally. Now, place the gel about 2 inches from the rim somewhere else on the drum. Hear the difference? Now try putting them closer to the hoop. That's the thing I loved about using gels right from the start: you can change the TONE (not the pitch) of the drum by changing the location of the gels.

Now comes the fun of experimentation. Listen to how 2 gels placed at 6 and 12 o'clock sound. Now try them at 3 and 9, then maybe at 12 and 8; the sonic possibilities are limitless! Maybe it needs three gels. If three gels are too much and two are not enough, try cutting one in half and see how that sounds. Cutting your gels will not ruin them, and the halves will adhere to each other when rejoined!

Smaller drums, of course, require less damping, so therefore one gel (or even less) may be enough for toms 12 inches or less in diameter. When you find the sweet spot(s) on your toms, they sound thumpy, but also have a very pleasant decay that leaves a very musical sound. You can use them on snares as well; they take away the ringy "pop" sound, and make for a wetter, more staccato snare sound.

The thing I like best about using gels is their versatility and response. The Mylar rings are excelent, please don't get me wrong, but with them you only get one sound, whereas with the gels, there is no limit to the sounds your drums can make! After discovering gels, I'll never go back to using muffling rings again. They are dirt cheap, easy to use, easy to cut, and wash with soap and water (but air dry them only, please!). What more could a drummer want?