A Drummers Review of Drumtacs
You may have noticed these subtle circular black tacs showing up on drumheads all over the internet. They are spreading like wildfire. What are they and what do they do?! No one likes to be left out, so let’s join the party! They are called Drumtacs, the new drum dampening product on the market. They were designed to control unwanted buzz or overtones on the kit. Similar to other drum dampening products on the market, what is it that Drumtacs brings to the table that the others don’t? Let’s take a look.
Drum dampening is not a new concept. Drummers have been using things like duck tape, gels, or muffling rings in order to achieve a desired sound. Some more practical than others, Drumtacs offer to be the most practical solution. Always skeptical and weary of “gimmicks”, I had my doubts and reservations. But I had to find out for myself.
Running around $20.00-$22.00 for a pack of four tacs on amazon, my initial thought was that the price was fair compared to other products on the market. However, Drumtacs are designed to be reusable which can prove to be inexpensive in the long run.
Unpacking: The top portion of the tacs consists of a black foam like material. The bottom comes with a thin paper backing used to enclose the super tacky surface. After removing the paper backing, the tacs are ready to be used. Drumtacs recommend placing the tacs approximately an inch from the rim, moving inward towards the center of the drum for increased dampening.
Snare Drum: For my first application months ago, I started with my snare drum. Looking to remove a bit of unwanted “ring”, I placed the tac about a half an inch from the rim. I instantly noticed the difference in sound. The tac removed the unwanted ringing and gave me more attack. The sticky backing held the tac in place without any problems.
After trying various placements on the batter head of my snare, I noticed that the bottom of the tacs remained sticky and continued to hold a firm grip on the surface of the drum head. I also noticed the tac left NO residue or markings on the drumhead. A huge plus in my book.
Toms: I was looking forward to trying them on my rack tom and floor tom. If you’re like me, I play quite a bit of rock music and look to achieve deep tones from my toms. I tune my floor tom quite low for example, but always end up with a really loooooooong resonance which could be good if your looking for that sort of thing, but in most cases I’m not. I started off placing one tac about half an inch from the rim of the floor tom and ended up leaving two tacs total, one on the top and one on the bottom head. Once again I was able to achieve the right amount of dampening I was looking for. Testing out the tacs in various situations and rooms, I noticed certain rooms required an additional tac on the batter head. What I liked most about them in these applications was that I could easily remove the tac and save it for future use.
Cymbals: It turns out, you can also use these tacs on cymbals. Why would you want to? Well believe it or not, music studios have been using various methods of dampening on cymbals for years. Tape in my experience has been one of the most common. A lot of us are not afforded the luxury of having hundreds of cymbals to choose from when hitting the studio. As a result we are left with limited options. That’s where cymbal dampening comes into play. Depending on the song or genre of music you might record, dampening your cymbals can be a very cost effective way for you to achieve the sound you are looking for.
I worried about what the sticky side of the tacs would do to my cymbals. Just like the drum heads, there was no residue or markings left after removing the tacs. I placed the tacs underneath the cymbal and had no issues with them becoming loose, or falling off. My extent of their application on cymbals was limited to studio use only. In live application, I ordinarily look to cut through with cymbals, rather than dampening the sound. I found that the use of the drumtacs on my cymbals was a much better solution, compared to using tape in years past.
The Verdict:
Products come out every year that promise to do one thing or another. Most of the time, they fall short. In the case of Drumtacs, they surprised the hell out of me. For more reasons than one. They addressed an issue that all drummers encounter, regardless of your music genre or skill level. Ringing and overtones happen to all of us. They are practical in their use and they deliver. They aren’t messy to use and best of all, are reusable. In fact, I’m still using the same drumtacs I purchased months ago on my kit. They exceeded my expectations!
There are several drum dampening product on the market. I choose to write about this one because I actually use it. I’m glad I gave it a chance, and maybe you should too. If you don’t, that’s ok too! I simply want to let you know what’s out there. I’m a drummer, just like you. If it worked for me, maybe it’ll also work for you.
As always, help support the Drum Community by subscribing to the blog. Don’t forget to spread the word, it literally takes 2 seconds.
