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Step 3Make Some Drum Accessories
Another way to re-use your old heads is to make some drum accessories out of them. Rather than shelling out the cash at Guitar Center for things like muffle rings and impact pads, you can just make them yourself with your used heads.
Muffle Rings:
If you have some clear tom heads, making muffle rings is pretty easy and straight forward. Simply grab your used head and a sharp pair of scissors or a knife, and cut the head along the shoulder, separating the metal rim. Now, pierce a hole in the middle to cut out the inside edge of the ring. Depending on how much dampening you want to produce, determine the thickness that you should cut it at. Common muffle rings sold at stores are between 1 and 1.5 inches in thickness. The most common use for muffle rings is on snare drums, but they can be equally effective in dampening the extended ring of a large floor tom.
Beater Pads:
Making beater or impact pads out of old drumheads is a great way to reduce cost and actually increase the life-span of the head replacing the old one you have. You can experiment with using impact pads on any drum, but they really shine when used on the batter head of your kick drum. Cut out a circle of around 2 inches in diameter from the old head. I would recommend using at least two layers of pads for your kick drum, and as many as 4 could be used depending on the thickness of head you are using. Once you have glued the layers together, determine the exact spot that your bass drum pedal beater(s) makes contact with the batter head, and attach the pad here. Glue is the best bet for this job, but double sided tape can be used as well.
Snare Wire Straps:
Another easy thing to make from an old drumhead are the plastic straps used to attach your snare drum wires to the snare mechanism. You might be using a string for this purpose as well, but most snare wires come with a slot that accommodates straps as well. Cut a couple of strips that will fit in the slot and toss them in a drum bag just in case. You never know when the straps/string may break and you'll be SOL without a backup.
Muffle Rings:
If you have some clear tom heads, making muffle rings is pretty easy and straight forward. Simply grab your used head and a sharp pair of scissors or a knife, and cut the head along the shoulder, separating the metal rim. Now, pierce a hole in the middle to cut out the inside edge of the ring. Depending on how much dampening you want to produce, determine the thickness that you should cut it at. Common muffle rings sold at stores are between 1 and 1.5 inches in thickness. The most common use for muffle rings is on snare drums, but they can be equally effective in dampening the extended ring of a large floor tom.
Beater Pads:
Making beater or impact pads out of old drumheads is a great way to reduce cost and actually increase the life-span of the head replacing the old one you have. You can experiment with using impact pads on any drum, but they really shine when used on the batter head of your kick drum. Cut out a circle of around 2 inches in diameter from the old head. I would recommend using at least two layers of pads for your kick drum, and as many as 4 could be used depending on the thickness of head you are using. Once you have glued the layers together, determine the exact spot that your bass drum pedal beater(s) makes contact with the batter head, and attach the pad here. Glue is the best bet for this job, but double sided tape can be used as well.
Snare Wire Straps:
Another easy thing to make from an old drumhead are the plastic straps used to attach your snare drum wires to the snare mechanism. You might be using a string for this purpose as well, but most snare wires come with a slot that accommodates straps as well. Cut a couple of strips that will fit in the slot and toss them in a drum bag just in case. You never know when the straps/string may break and you'll be SOL without a backup.
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Jul 3, 2009. 11:02 AMjp_pianoguy
says:
Awesome. I just bought a cheap shell kit, but bought a better set of heads at the same time. I was totally wondering if muffle rings were made of the same material and if the old heads would work. Thanks for the confirmation.
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