Jean-Paul's drums are not dampened or muffled. Sometimes a small pillow or towel is inside the bass drum on which a shure sm91 microphone rests to capture the batter side of the drum. Tuning is generally open and resonant. "Lately I've been tuning the resonant side of my tom toms about a half step higher than the batter side. That tuning approach seems to make the toms punch thru the band a little more. Right now I'm playing a Gretsch USA custom kit. Those drums seem respond very nicely to this approach".