Gel for drums – What is that?
Drum gel – or drum gel dampeners – are small pads made from a transparent, soft and adhesive gel material, enabling them to very easily stick to the batter – or resonant – head of the drum.
In contrast to the old gaffer tape solution, these gel pads are both much easier to re-position or to completely remove. Also, the damper pads won’t leave big piles of residues from dried up glue on the drum head after it has been removed.
Another brilliant thing about these gel dampeners, is that they are both very versatile, pleasant to the eye as well as practical. You can simply peel them off once you need either alter the sound, or go back to the original sonic state of the drum.
The dampening effect from these drum gels can be very subtle, but also very prominent. It all depends on the size of the damper pads, how many you use, and how you place them.
These are all parameters to experiment with, but there are some general rules you should follow, in order to get the best results.
Which brand should you use?
We like to think that the most versatile, thought through gel drum dampeners on the market are SlapKlatz.
And here is why…
These dampeners are not only proven to stay on the drum head in any given situation. Batter or resonant side. Even on the largest floor toms you can get, they stay put on the resonant side.
They also come in a very versatile assortment, making dampening and sound adjustments such a breeze. (No need for scissors to cut in half – just pick the right size – and done.)
SlapKlatz drum dampeners are also very good for cymbals, timbales, cowbells and other percussive instruments. The ability to make fast and subtle changes to the sound, is what makes them stand out.
You can get SlapKlatz in different colors too. This way you can decide if you want to make a visual statement, or if you want to go with the invisible look (see the image to the right).
The fact alone that Benny Greb, Anika Nilles, John JR Robinson and Gergo Borlai has chosen SlapKlatz as their preferred drum dampener solution, pretty much says it all.