Internal snare mufflers.... where are they?!

lefty2 said:

My supra has one and it works great if used sparingly. I think most people use too much pressure on them and they choke the drum. A little bit goes a long ways.

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same here, during gigs ill turn it to give it a little pressure so its adding just a little tone control if needed. I like the ring of my supra so I use it very lightly.

They could be out of fashion because Rogers and Sonor made clamp-on mufflers that worked similarly. Manufacturers can save cost and not risk rattling, and sell an extra gadget to drummers that need it.

plaid sabbath said:

I have a newer Pearl President snare. Comes with an internal muffler.

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I got the blue one last year:





The internal muffler is rare on new snares and I think it's a shame.
It is a much cleaner and better looking solution than external dampeners, doesn't leave residue or stains, works with all types of heads and can be adjusted from slightly touching to full contact with the head.

Cost might be an issue, although I doubt that is a real consideration for mid to high priced drums.

I found that the standard dial-adjusted ones work fine if it's to be set and left in one place through an entire gig. Personally, I don't dig the inability to quickly adjust it without having to hit the drum to see if it's right for a given song, since I like to adjust per song. Moongels allow me to rest it fully on the head for significant muffling, decrease the muffling by leaning it halfway on the hoop, or removing it entirely. Similarly, I've grown fond of the Tama One Touch internal muffler from the classic and reissued Mastercraft snare drums, because it has two adjustment knobs- a micro and macro. With the macro, I can quickly go from completely off, to mildly muffled by turning it halfway, and completely muffled by turning it all the way over. Same with the baseball bat style Ludwig mufflers, once discontinued after the 60s but fairly recently made available again on new drums- lever flat for no muffling, 45 degrees up for mild muffling with the smaller end of the pad, and lever up for complete muffling with the bigger part. For convenience, I've been considering getting either the Luddy bat-style or the Tama installed on some of my older snare drums, but my two Acros, my Supra, and my Pearl World have the knob style already, and I'm not sure I want to drill my two Pacific and one Mapex maple kit snares nor my Ahead brass for them, when my method with the Moongel works fine- seems like it'd be a bit of expense and effort to not accomplish anything different.

Rockdrill said:

Anybody know why they stopped fitting them?!

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Several of the Tama reissued snare drums have them.


My first snare drum, a Taiwanese COS from a pawn shop, had one. When it was off, it rattled like a baby shaker. It had to be removed.

Nowadays, I find the after-market options (Moon Gel, BFSD, Snare Weight, etc.) offer far more sonic variables, so that's what I use.

I owned a Rogers Dynasonic with that : I appreciated that it was easy to modify the ring of the drum quickly between two songs ; but I generally don't like much muted drums so the internal muffler barely touched the skin.
At least the Rogers one didn't rattle and was pretty reliable despite its age ; I remember playing old Tama, with awful muffler system, noisy and proned to rattling. Compared to the Rogers system, the Tama was made of more plastic parts with peeling false chrome.

Heck, if anyone wants one, just buy one and install it yourself. They are readily available and not terribly expensive.

Seafroggys said:

I never used them on any drums I've ever had. Think my Supra came with one, took it off.

It doesn't give enough control over muffling.

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You mean less control than where you place your wallet, or where and how much gel you stick on top of your head? Really???

Ludwig have two styles available, including the red felt baseball bat. Canopus have one for snares that I'm sure can also be ordered on toms. Gretsch have them as an option. Tama reissued the One Touch muffler last year for the 50th anniversary. They're out there, but you have to order them, and it costs a little extra.


I like them on snares (One Touch is my favorite) but find them utterly useless on toms. I don't think I've ever had anyone ever tell me my toms were too loud, and I agree that they're too heavy-handed for toms, where at most I may want to lightly control some errant overtones.

Rattlin' Bones said:

You mean less control than where you place your wallet, or where and how much gel you stick on top of your head? Really???

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Yes. Really.

Tamaefx said:

I owned a Rogers Dynasonic with that : I appreciated that it was easy to modify the ring of the drum quickly between two songs ; but I generally don't like much muted drums so the internal muffler barely touched the skin.
At least the Rogers one didn't rattle and was pretty reliable despite its age ; I remember playing old Tama, with awful muffler system, noisy and proned to rattling. Compared to the Rogers system, the Tamawas made of more plastic parts with peeling false chrome.

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The Tama One Touch that @dwsabianguy and I referred to, that I have on my old steel Mastercraft, functions perfectly. Don't know if that's what you had.

The tension it adds to the drum head is unnatural, for lack of a better word.

I think they’re a great tool for the people that enjoy them but I have had kits and snares with them fitted and I never used them so it’s just extra moving parts that I don’t need. I am a bit anti-muffling though, the only thing I use is a tiny felt or napkin on the edge of my snare.

Jasta 11 said:

same here, during gigs ill turn it to give it a little pressure so its adding just a little tone control if needed. I like the ring of my supra so I use it very lightly.

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same...both of my Supras have them, and i usually put them "half on"

timmdrum said:

The Tama One Touch that @dwsabianguy and I referred to, that I have on my old steel Mastercraft, functions perfectly. Don't know if that's what you had.

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It was on vintage Tama Royalstar : the parts in plastic, prompt to crack.

I have a few snares with internal mufflers, I think they're great to have as an option, but I don't really use them much anymore. No rattling on any of them, not that I've noticed anyway.

There was a time I wished every snare drum had one, but I've learned to appreciate the ringing from different types of snares rather than wanting to dry them out.

I don't like having something on top of the drum head though. So if I have to muffle more than say a Genera Dry can do, I prefer having the internal muffler.

I like them as you micro adjust how much muffling you want in your tone.

Rockdrill said:

BFSD, gel, wallets, dry heads but what happened to internal mufflers? I just bought an old Slingerland Spitfire which has one built in and I find it awesome. Gives me exactly the dry sound I want when I want it, no more rubbish adorning the snare head. I know the muffler pushes up from under the head but I have to say I didn't find that an issue. I'm definitely a convert.
They don't seem to be flavour of the month but I prefer it to putting all kinds of junk on head. Anybody know why they stopped fitting them?!

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I WAS WONDERING THIS EXACT SAME THING. Like, we've gone backwards. I bet some hipster drum brand will reintroduce it then everyone will start using them again.

I love internal mufflers, I couldn't live without most of my snares do have an internal muffler

Tamaefx said:

It was on vintage Tama Royalstar : the parts in plastic, prompt to crack.

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That one looks like it has the same functionality but doesn't look like mine... https://www.drummerworld.com/forums/index.php?threads/show-off-your-tama.34918/post-1786321 Earlier generation, maybe?

Jeremy Bender said:

Overhyped urban legend that they rattle and self destruct, a similar trend can be found with tom mounts on bass drums causing a "loss of resonance."

I sometimes wonder if it's musician's wants that steer manufacturer's design decisions or its marketing departments that convince players what's best.

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They absolutely CAN rattle and self destruct, though Ludwig had the clever idea of ruining the threads at the end of the bolt so the nut won’t fall off. And no, companies can’t convince people that they know what’s best. If they could, then there would be no failed companies.