Vic Firth Drum Mute Prepack with Mutes Sized 12, 13, 14, 16, 22", Hi-Hat & 2 Cymbal Mutes

I bought my first set of drums recently, a very loud Premier set. I was rather nervous about playing them in my condo-- even though the units next door on both sides were empty, I really didn't want to upset anyone. I began looking around for a product that would allow me to learn to play without being loud enough to disturb anyone a room or more away. I decided to try this Vic Firth pack, and I'm very glad I did. First, lets get through the potential negatives: There will obviously still be some noise, as there has to be enough volume to allow you to hear the difference in tone between the drums. I'd say the noise reduction is 75% to 80% on the toms and bass, 90-95% on the cymbals (80-90 on high-hat), and 60% on the snare (unless you disable the snare mechanism, then it's the same reduction as the toms). This is perfectly acceptable to me, as it really is difficult to hear the drums being played 2 or more rooms away and even though they're still audible from a room away, even the lightest sleeper would still be able to fall asleep. There is slightly less stick response, which is impossible to get around. I actually view this as a positive as I imagine everyone who uses this product will be using it to practice, and having less bounce forces you to focus on your technique a little bit more. Finally, I can imagine that the product will start to wear down after a while. It's inevitable with anything to do with drums. I imagine that intense drumming and heavy hitting will wear them down in 6-9 months (especially the snare), but standard drummers will probably get a lot more use out of them. Everything else about this product is absolutely fantastic. They're supremely easy to install, they look great, they're big enough on the cymbals to not have to worry about missing, and they fit all their respective drums perfectly. The noise reduction is better than what I was expecting, and they still allow you to hear the various tones of the respective drums, which is very important. I would definitely buy this product again.

They are awesome at reducing the sound, so you can practice with reduced sound. Really nice to play the drums without having to wear ear protection for a few minutes. They do smell a bit, but that is because of the material, and it goes away fairly quickly. If you play them for a bit, you get used to the feel and can groove like there are no worries there. I love them. I am even buying a couple extra to dampen a couple of other pieces in my set so that I can strike all the toms and both crash cymbals. Get them if you want to play your set without changing heads, and play quietly whenever you want.

I got these pads back in September,(my parents bought them, I was driving them mad with all the noise. even though my drums are in the room farthest from the kitchen.) and when I got them out and first and put them on they did their job well. They did have an odor, but it went away after four or five days. The pads don't really change the tone of the drums, which I was glad of, but the do sort of cut the reso short. I was mainly disappointed in the cymbal pads. first of all, no where did I find the measurements for the cymbals, so when I got them, they were all to big. The pads come for 14" hats, 16" crash, and 20" ride. I have 13" hats, 14" hats, and 18" crash/ride. no big deal though, I don't use them. second of all, they cut the sound short, and make the cymbals sound like weird synth. they came off after like a week. the hi-hat pad is a joke. it doesn't mute them at all if your playing open, and the hats just kept turning whenever I hit them harder for an accent or whatever. The bass drum pad, isn't near as good as the other pads. it's just piece of foam, with a small pad glued to it, and a vel-crow pad to keep it attached. after roughly two months of hitting it, the pad is starting to come off, and the foam tends to hold its shape if left in awkward angles (like propped up against the wall). the only reason I am giving this a four star is because of the bass drum pad, because the cymbal pads are understandable (I mean really, how do you mute a cymbal without choking it?). I hate to say it, but I am disappointed in vic firth on the account of the bass drum pad, I think there could be a better way of making that, and I would consider these pads complete. overall- I think these pads are great, and they also make it a lot of fun to be able add little bongs with the toms randomly. the pads are extremely durable, and can handle a ton of beating. one thing, is when I play with the snare pad off (which I do often) the stick will carry little bits of the pad and leave a residue stuff on the snare head. Last thing, they do help protect the heads. before I had these pads, I kept finding tons dents in my tom head (which is also the cause not holding the drum sticks properly and cheap heads that came on the drums), and now my heads nice and dent fresh. I would get these pads again, if I had too, and I would give them a 4.5 star rating if I could.

I got my drumkit as a birthday present about 1 1/2 years ago. My wife was about 2 months pregnant with twins at the time. Needless to say, once the twins were born the time I had to practice and play decreased dramatically (partially because we had newborn twins who take a lot of time and partially because the drums are loud and it makes it hard for them to sleep). I've barely touched my drums in about 9-10 months because of this. So when I saw these and saw the good reviews I immediately ordered them. I am really impressed. They do a good job of reducing the noise without totally erasing it. That's what I wanted. I can play my drums at any time of day, even at 11pm while my wife and daughters are sleeping. I should mention that they sleep on the 2nd floor and my drums are in a below-ground basement. The material feels very sturdy and durable and it couldn't be easier to put these on your kit. Also, I will note that these things stink when you first get them. I'm not going to subtract any stars for that because it is slowly fading and it's not a big deal to me.

I enhanced the DW Smart Practice rig with the Pintech five-piece practice cymbal kit (mounted on my original cymbal hardware), further deadened the sound of the whole lot with Vic Firth mutes, and rubber banded an old doubled-up sock to the bass drum pad (two thick-a** bands on either end of the sock) to complete the assembly. Yes, I was able to operate my Tama double kick pedal with plenty of space to spare on the bass drum pad. Wish I had considered this apartment-friendly solution years ago. Oh, by the way, to fit my existing bass pedal more snugly to the rig, I just doubled up a piece of cardboard and wedged that glorious mother f***er right in there. Beautiful. Let's rock.

I read the comments about the smell, but I figured it was probably no big deal so I went ahead and bought them. Well, these things positively reek. It's not the smell of a rubber doormat or whatever - it's a powerful stench from another planet that will completely envelope your drum kit. I felt like I needed to wear a HAZMAT suit to play drums. They left a permanent stench on the head of my snare and I guess I'll have to replace it. As for the sound reduction, these work pretty well - but if you have a sensitive nose (or maybe you're concerned about whatever kind of fumes are off-gassing from these things) I would just try to play quieter.

I was surprized at how much these pads were able to control the volume of my set. The construction is good, and they have held up to 200hrs + of practice and show no signs of tearing or thining. They also seem to 'stick' to the toms (somewhat angled) and I've never had an issue with them sliding off. The bass drum is muted ok, but can still be a bit thumpy outside a practice room. I fixed this extra padding in the drum and a sock on the beater. The only other thing that is not really muted is a high hat chirp (but a closed HH is muted fine). I was able to mute the HH 'chirps' a bit more by cutting out a piece of cardboard (1/4" wider than the HH cymbal) and placing it between the top and bottom cymbals (which didn't affect the feel as much as I thought it would). Overall, these are much much cheaper than an electric set and much much better.

I bought these to keep from disturbing other people in the house. They absolutely muffle the sound to pretty much nothing, so I can now play in peace without disturbing anyone else. The only thing I noticed is the snare sound, but if I release the snare chain then the snare sound is muted. They pretty much completely mute sound. Works exactly as advertised.