Drummers use plastic shields to control the sound of their instrument. This article will these shields are important in controlling the sound of the drums and some tips for getting the best sound out of your drums.

On most modern drums the top surface is made from acrylic and with foam rubber bottoms for strength and durability.

The shields are used in front of the drums to control the sound and are not only crucial for the drums to play but also for making the percussion ring in unison.

Without the shields, the sound of the drum resonates off of the cone into your headphones. With the shields in place, the sound travels over a mid-range with extra bass that hits you in the chest.

You can make your own shields by cutting the foam rubber into 5/16-inch diameter pieces

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Do this before you ever play any live music! It is very difficult to make the same shape shield again once the sides are cut off.

If the shapes are even, you can cut the foam rubber into pieces 5/16 and 1/8 inch thick to allow for a bit more of a lip to your vinyl pads.

Use your Exacto knife to cut out the shape and keep the edge of the foam rubber long enough to match your controller tape.

I like to use a UV black sharpie to make sure I do a quick clean-up.

After you have cut the foam rubber you can glue it around the inside and outside of your drum pads.

This will provide a much stronger and nicer sound. Don’t make the mistake of doing this if you are not ready to play live music with your drums.

Don’t glue it onto the outside of your drums too soon because the glue may come off on your pads and be difficult to remove. Wait for it to set up a little before you glue it on.

When you glue the foam rubber around the outside of your drum pads make sure it is a straight fit. If it’s not straight don’t worry about it and just glue it on as a makeshift plastic shield.

But if the foam rubber is curved you will have an extremely loud volume mismatch on your drums.

So make sure that you glue the foam rubber so that the inside is flat, leaving a shallow lip around your drum pads.

Other ways to get the best sound out of your drums

The only other thing I think is important for a good sound is to get the best drum pads you can. There are 2 main ways you can get the best pads.

Either get the best drummer pads you can afford or buy online.

Getting the best drummer pads can be very expensive so it is important to know what you’re getting into.

The easiest way to get the best drummer pads is to find a used drum store near you.

Here is an example. I used to have a pair of Vic Firth Stealth Cadence and were some of the best pads you can buy for the money and best sound.

These pads had a very narrow mid-range and could generate a great booming tone. However, at a larger kit, it was very difficult to maintain the volume control and start at a consistent tone.

I can’t afford to buy these anymore but I wish I had them back when I started. It may be that the best price can be found in a garage sale or second-hand store.

The second method is to buy the pads online or at your local music store

There are quite a few drum stores that offer vinyl pads on top of the drumheads. The only downside to this method is the cost.

The skins are quite heavy and expensive. For the same price of two or three of these pads at a music store, you can buy two or three high-quality Vic Firth Stealth Cadences.

These pads sound much more professional and have a much nicer tone and volume control.

Since I started to buy my own drums I also started to look into the quality of drum heads. There are quite a few websites with drum heads you can buy.

These sites also have upgraded drum heads that come with an upgraded motor. You can get drum heads that also come with a lightweight and foldable motor if your kit doesn’t have one.

These motors are meant for drum sticks but they work very well with the bass drum motor. I don’t have any of these on my drums yet but I do plan on buying them eventually.

A good drum pedal also helps to make a good drum sound. There are several brands and brands all claiming to have the best pedals on the market.

Your best bet is to take a close look at the pedals you see in the stores and online and make sure that they look and sound good.

There are some really good pedals on the market but there are also a lot of terrible cheap pedal sets for sale.

Before you buy any pedals check out some of these sites and make sure that the pedal is actually good for the money.

A cheap pedal sets are more likely to look nice but have a terrible sound.