Brian Murphy - Posted - 04/20/2026:  12:26:50

Saw this on a FB thread. I have no experience. But an individual posted that trying these on the underside of your head alters the tone in different ways, depending on placement. And reportedly, they remove without leaving residue.



I have no idea, and I'm just posting because I had never heard about them.  Here is what he was talking about: LINK

DLLawrence - Posted - 04/20/2026:  12:29:20

I know absolutely nothing about this; however, I am looking forward to seeing the discussion.....

Silver_Falls - Posted - 04/20/2026:  12:39:11

Snake oil mostly. Used them on hand drums briefly -- until I developed better technique...

These ones sold in music shops are spendy. You can get (or used to be able to anyway) the same thing in dollar stores -- the gel thingies kids play with and stick on car windows. Come in all colors shapes sizes. Some colors may stain your head though.

Owen - Posted - 04/20/2026:  12:40:07

Why would the big banjo corporations even care?   

Edited by - Owen on 04/20/2026 12:40:47

The Old Timer - Posted - 04/20/2026:  13:46:18

Big banjo corporations....LOL

pinenut - Posted - 04/20/2026:  13:47:32

meinlcymbals.com/en/blog/split...rum-honey

Meinl Cymbals Drum Honey Dampening Gel Pads

EEB - Posted - 04/20/2026:  15:42:22

I’m imaging that there must be a man-made atoll somewhere in the Pacific consisting entirely of discarded banjo gizmos.

The same island chain that contains George Forman Grill atoll and Foot Spa atoll.

Edited by - EEB on 04/20/2026 15:48:42

EEB - Posted - 04/20/2026:  15:54:47

quote:

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Originally posted by pinenut

 

Meinl Cymbals Drum Honey Dampening Gel Pads

 

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That's what you get if you put the German for 'ear wax' into google translate.

banjered - Posted - 04/20/2026:  17:20:09

"I’m imaging that there must be a man-made atoll somewhere in the Pacific consisting entirely of discarded banjo gizmos."

Hey, it'll help Epstein from getting bored! banjered

TimFoster - Posted - 04/20/2026:  17:46:39

This stuff has been around in the drum world for at least 30 years or so, originally marketed as “Moongel”.



It was a mainstay in recording studios to dampen drums and kill excess resonance that tends to build up when close-micing a drumkit. For example, a heavy foot on the kick drum can cause sympathetic vibrations across the heads on the floor tom, etc…all that buildup leads to a muddy messy sounding recording. “moongel” was one way to dampen and control things when needed (along with tea towels placed on the reads, Mylar dampening rings, etc…)



It works as advertised, but imo it’s not ideal for banjo (i tried it early on in my playing lol). It’s silly looking, likely to fall off and didn’t seem to target the kind of resonances people tend to want to kill off better than other methods related to banjo setup. But of course, just my limited opinion and sounds like some folks would beg to differ — so who knows.

Edited by - TimFoster on 04/20/2026 18:00:58

Owen - Posted - 04/20/2026:  17:58:02

quote:

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Originally posted by TimFoster

This stuff has been around in the drum world for 30 years or so,.  <snip>

I'm pretty sure it was mentioned/discussed in a BHO forum/thread a while back [months... maybe a year or more??] but I'm too lazy/disinterested to check into it.

jdeluke137 - Posted - 04/20/2026:  18:25:00

quote:

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Originally posted by EEB

I’m imaging that there must be a man-made atoll somewhere in the Pacific consisting entirely of discarded banjo gizmos.

The same island chain that contains George Forman Grill atoll and Foot Spa atoll.

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Probably right next to the Island of Misfit Toys.

BRbanjer - Posted - 04/20/2026:  18:55:15

quote:

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Originally posted by The Old Timer

Big banjo corporations....LOL

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aschweigert - Posted - 04/20/2026:  19:57:40

I started getting back into playing drums a year or so ago and had some of these around so I've tried them on various banjos and do actually like them, sometimes, for some things. You really have to get the placement right on the head and you might find that even cutting one of these gels (don't buy the brand name ones, they're all the same) in half is better than a full one. I prefer a more open sound without a lot of muting and find these to be a useful tool in the toolbox to tame certain overtones and get a more focused sound, but it definitely takes some trial and error and depends on the instrument and the rest of your setup, etc.

Dan Gellert - Posted - 04/21/2026:  08:32:19

Must be 30 years+ since I tried one of those Moongels on a banjo, and they sounded good, but wouldn't stay on. Soon after, I discovered that the disposable electrodes used for EKG's were a wad of a very similar gel, on an adhesive patch. At least one of my banjos still wears one. Unfortunately, those electrodes are no longer made with the same sort of gel, and not nearly as much of it.