Honestly, Jon I think these would almost be required on Al's gig. If you use two floor toms having "Happy Birthday" on one and 'Champ' on the other would be magic for any top drum cam shots. But it's all personal preference. I know I wouldn't want a farm yard all over my kit when playing! A little bit of The Hand Drum Gel does what I need in the studio nicely, and looks a little more professional! You’ve got to think outside your instrument and play outside your instrument. You’ve got to think about the music: What is the Music? Where are the other players? What’s going on? Where’s the groove?” - Stewart Copeland I have a e-ring on my metalwoks snare, it works good, but when i play without it, everything else just gets rid of the ringing sound. so really if you are playing live, the guitar/singing etc will cut out your overtones. It really depends on the sound that you are going for....moon gel adjusts some of the ring out of the drum - maybe just some of the annoying (if any) overtones. E-rings are going to dampen most of the overtones out the drum, giving a fat sound. I have always been a fan of the tom sounds on Bryan Adams' early records and I think that this may have included muffling in the form of the E-ring, precursor - cut the outer edge off of an old drumhead and tape it to the head.

Where Do You Apply Moongel (And How to Do It) | Music Gear Heads

I'm a fan of the bar napkin, much easier to throw on the snare on the fly while at a gig. I just wipe my brow with it so it'll stay in place. I like what Moon Gel does in very small doses and this solution is just great when you consider the price and value. Window gels are sized different too, the bigger ones on bigger drums etc. can't do that with squares, they're all the same size Services Guitar Workshop Electronic Repairs Workshop Music Store Events & Workshops Piano Showroom Music Lessons Recording Studio Rings are another effect as well, attenuating the harmonics that live at the edge of the head, and accentuating the funamental punch.Window gels come in a myriad of shapes and colours too, you can even get seasonal with the designs, way more fun than plain old squares! There's always threads about Moongel alternatives on this forum. We found some, and we're bringing it to the UK (fresh from Italy!) Let's see there's the peace sign, the hitch hikers sign, the pinky swear sign, the devil horns sign, there's the thumbs up, the thumbs down, the Vulcan live long and prosper sign, the I got my fingers cut off on a table saw sign, the high five, the high four, three and two....I feel like I'm missing some... I really like how you can choose how much you want to dampen. If you want to dampen just a little bit then lay the moongel so it's 1/2 on the head and 1/2 on the rim(this is what I typically do). For my snare I lay it directly on the head about an inch from the rim and I get a nice snappy snare sound that I like. Clear looks cool, and they say it lasts longer than MOONGEL. The problem with this stuff isn't lastage, its losing them and for that matter the cheap window gels are a viable alternative.

drum dots, drum tacs, moon gel? - [DFO] Drum Forum drum dots, drum tacs, moon gel? - [DFO] Drum Forum

There are number of 'drum wallets' or mufflers that can be applied/removed. I have something similar to below (not the same) and gives instant access to a muffled or open tone which I just have for a snare in mid performance. The Honey Gels are more for lighter muffling or even for toms if I want that particular sound for that moment. It's different, but maybe not better: I use one or two small rectangles of Dr. Scholls Mole Foam (not the Mole Skin) on my snare drum. The really cool thing is that you can tailor what you take out of the sound by where you place the gel. On a cymbal, placing it by the bell takes out overtones. Near the edge takes down the sustain. I get similar effects on drums. Gel tends to vibrate with the head, so there is a more controlled dampening. Sometimes it's not enough, and which case either more is needed, or go to the napkin & tape, which really damps the head and provides a short, tight muffle. Yeah, you can easily see that in the red gels, closest to the can are slightly larger... but still no hearts, moons, cloversWorth noting that there is a difference between gel as a damper, and a napkin/kleenex pad held on with gaff tape. I've attached a pic of the carved up target along with a freshly harvested piece of gel. Not a pretty sight but certainly very economic, You are able to cut much more customized pieces out of whatever size slab you cut out with a safety razor than the gumball rubber hands....unless you like you're drums having little rubber hands on them (....not judging. LOL!) Ladies(Les?) and gentlemen, I feel the need to bring this up although I have mentioned it in other threads.