Drum Dampening Gels & Pads

Drum dampening gels & pads are small, sticky pads that you place on a drumhead or cymbal to reduce overtones and long sustain. Here you'll find RTOM Moongel, Evans EQ Pods, Meinl Drum Honey, Vater Buzz Kill and Wambooka Performer Pad gels. The range also includes thin, self-adhesive Aquarian Tone Tab pads for light dampening. The gel stays in place through its own tackiness, so you can move it or peel it off at any time and adjust your drum's tone as you play.

How do drum dampening gels & pads work?

A piece of gel on the drumhead reduces some of its vibration, giving the drum a drier, shorter sound. Near the edge of the head, it provides light dampening; moving it closer to the centre shortens the sustain more noticeably. One piece is often enough on a snare, while the amount you use on toms and a floor tom depends on how much overtone you want to remove. On a cymbal, stick it to the top surface when you want to shorten the decay of a crash or ride. When the gel loses its tackiness, wash it with water and a drop of washing-up liquid, then leave it to dry.

Moongel, EQ Pods or Drum Honey: what's the difference?

• RTOM Moongel – blue gel pads in a plastic tub. The manufacturer recommends washing them with water and washing-up liquid.
• Evans EQ Pods and Mini EQ Pods – red gel pads in a metal tin. Mini EQ Pods have smaller pieces for finer adjustments.
• Meinl Drum Honey – orange gel in three pack options: a tub of pads, a set of 12 pieces in different sizes and Drum Honey Slab, one large, thick piece of gel.
• Vater Buzz Kill – clear gel pads for both drums and cymbals.
• Wambooka Performer Pad – sticky gel in a metal tin that you can rinse and reuse.
• Aquarian Tone Tab – five thin, self-adhesive plastic pads for when you only want to dampen the head slightly.

Gel, muffling ring or snare drum damper?

Gel makes a subtle change to the sound: it dampens at one point, and you can change its effect simply by moving it. If you want to reduce overtones around the entire edge of the head, choose drum muffling rings. You'll find weighted dampers that clip onto the hoop among the snare drum dampers. For quiet practice at home, drum mute packs that cover the whole head are a more suitable choice.