Every drummer needs a good drum rug to stop their bass drum from shifting forward. They’re vital for both stages and practice spaces, and it’s just a once-off purchase to make before having a reliable drum rug that you can use for decades.
Rugs come in all shapes and sizes, but there are specific ones designed for drum kits that are the best choices to consider. We’ve compiled a list of them to help narrow your choices down even more.
Read through our suggestions, pick the one you like the most, and you’ll have a good drum rug that will become an important part of your drum kit.
Top 3 Drum Rugs
The Ludwig Drum Rug is our Best Choice Winner. It’s a large rug with a black and white design that fits any drum kit aesthetic. It’s heavy enough to be durable, but it’s light enough to gig with quite comfortably.
The On-Stage DMA6450 is our Budget Pick. It’s the go-to option for drummers needing an inexpensive drum mat. It’s essentially an oversized yoga mat that works brilliantly for drum kits. It’s not anywhere near as durable as other rugs, but it’s much lighter.
The DW Large Drum Rug is our Editor’s Choice. It’s a seriously heavy-duty rug with industrial-grade construction quality. This is the kind of drum rug that you want to have living in your recording studio.
Drum Rug Reviews
Ludwig Drum Rug
The ultimate drum rug for size, portability, and durability.
This is a large drum rug with a simplistic black and white design. It’s an option that will work well for just about every drummer, and it’s durable enough to last decades of good use.
While the Ludwig brand name is what many drummers gravitate toward, we love how this rug is designed without taking the brand into account. It just has such a sleek and professional appearance that we immediately think it will look good under any kit you place on it.
It’s made of a heavy carpet material that keeps it securely placed on the ground. The corners aren’t weighted heavier, but they still stick to their place and never roll up as some other drum rugs do.
With a size of 63” x 78”, this rug is large enough to hold any drum kit you have.
We appreciate the inclusion of the hook and loop fasteners. When you roll it up, you can tie those together to keep the rug from unfolding. It makes traveling a lot easier. We also appreciate how easy it is to vacuum things off the rug.
Verdict: The Ludwig Drum Rug is one of the safest and most reliable drum rug options to consider. It has a simple design that fits any drum kit aesthetic, and it’s really durable. You’ll see a fair bit of debris from drumsticks very clearly after a while, but the carpet material is very easy to vacuum. We also love how you get hook and loop fasteners to keep the rug folded when you’re transporting it.
On-Stage DMA6450 Non-Slip Drum Mat
An inexpensive drum mat made from PVC material.
This drum mat is made from the same material as yoga mats. It’s just a lot larger to allow a full drum kit to be placed on it. It’s incredibly light to carry, making it a good option for using at gigs. It’s just not as durable as heavier and pricier drum rugs.
This On-Stage mat is the go-to option for drummers looking for something very affordable. It’s essentially an oversized yoga mat, and it works perfectly for drum kits.
This would be our biggest recommendation for drummers playing gigs in different venues every night. It’s far easier to transport around, and it’s large enough to hold drum kits of various sizes.
It comes with straps to keep it secure when rolled up. We’d suggest keeping good care of those, as they’re very easy to misplace. They’re not attached to the mat when you’ve rolled it out.
The downside of this mat is the durability factor. It will only last a few years, and it can easily get punctured if you’re not careful with your bass drum legs and their pointy parts.
If you’re wanting something solid and reliable for your practice space, we wouldn’t say this is the best option.
Verdict: The On-Stage DMA6450 Non-Slip Drum Mat is an amazing option for drummers looking for something affordable. It’s also one of our best recommendations for drummers that need to bring a mat with them to gigs that they do in dozens of venues. It’s the least durable mat on this list, though. It won’t last decades like all the other options would, so it’s not something that will hold up in your drum practice space.
DW Large Drum Rug
One of the heaviest-duty drum rugs available.
This rug is made from industrial-grade carpet, so it’s a rug that will last decades of regular use. It’s the kind of rug you want for a recording studio, as you won’t need to worry about getting another drum rug again.
We found this rug to offer the exact same feature that DW drum kits offer – luxurious durability. It’s a simple drum rug, but it’s designed to last a lifetime with the industrial-grade carpet.
It’s another drum rug with a simple black and white design to fit any room aesthetic. It’s mostly black, but the DW logos on all the corners are white.
The rubberized bottom stops it from slipping, so it always sits firmly in place on the floor. It’s quite heavy, though. We don’t recommend using this as a regular touring drum rug for that reason.
It can’t be vacuumed as easily as the Ludwig rug, so that may be a frustrating aspect for some drummers. The high price tag is also something that may chase a few away. However, this is a rug you should get if you never want to buy another one again.
Verdict: The DW Large Drum Rug is a top-tier drum rug option. It’s one of the best available drum rugs to get, and it offers unmatchable durability. It’s very heavy, so it’s mostly an option for drummers who want to leave it in a single spot. It’s also a bit pricey, but the price tag is worth the idea of never needing to buy a new drum rug again.
Roland TDM-20 Large Heavy-Duty Drum Mat
A rug designed by Roland, made specifically for electronic drum kits.
This is one of the few drum rugs on the market that is made to cater to electronic drum kit players. It’s designed for shock absorption and a bit of noise reduction, helping players who live in close quarters with others.
While any standard drum rug will work well for an electronic drum kit, we highly recommend this TDM-20 rug from Roland. They say it’s designed for V-Drums kits, but we found that it works just the same with any electronic set from any brand.
The standout feature is that it reduces a few of the vibrations that come from the kick pad, leading the kit to sound a bit softer to people that hear it in different rooms.
It’s the perfect rug to get if you live in an apartment and have people living underneath you. It won’t completely take the kick drum sound away, but it will help a fair bit.
It’s large enough for every electronic kit design, and you could get away with using it for acoustic drums as well.
The only downside is the high price tag. We’re not sure how appealing this will be to many drummers, considering that it’s almost the same price as the DW Large Drum Rug. You should definitely pick this one over that if you have an e-kit, though.
Verdict: The Roland TDM-20 Large Heavy-Duty Drum Mat is an ideal option for electronic drum kit players. It has a 3-layer structure that aids in reducing the vibrations from your kick drum pad that reach the floor. It’s worth getting this if you live in an apartment and have to do everything to keep noise levels down. It’s just very expensive, so it’s not something that we’d recommend everyone to get.
Meinl Oriental Drum Rug
A popular drum rug option for drummers who want a bit of color.
One of Meinl’s most-loved drum rugs. It does its job of keeping your drum in place very well, and it looks great while doing it. The benefit of the bright colors is that you can’t see dirt as easily as with a black rug.
If you’ve found the previous few options a bit bland, you should check out this Meinl Oriental Drum Rug. It has vibrant warm colors all over it, and it’s large enough to hold most drum kit setups.
The biggest benefit that we’ve found with colorful rugs is that they make it very hard to see drumstick shavings. So, you don’t need to vacuum this rug as much as you do with darker ones, making the upkeep a bit easier.
The colors also bring a drum room to life, which many drummers are looking for. We just wouldn’t recommend using this rug if you already have a bright and vibrant finish on your drum kit.
For the sake of touring and playing gigs, this rug works perfectly. It’s heavy, but it’s not as heavy as a few of the previous options that we’ve listed. So, you can take it with you, and it won’t be too much of a hassle.
Verdict: The Meinl Oriental Drum Rug is an amazing option for drummers who want something a bit livelier and more vibrant. It makes your drum space pop aesthetically, but the biggest benefit is that it makes it harder to see clutter and dirt on the floor. This stops you from having to vacuum as much as with darker rugs. The attainable price tag makes it an overall solid choice.
Drum N Base Vintage Persian Style Stage Rug
A great option for drummers wanting a bit of style with their drum rug.
This drum rug is incredibly stylish, and it’s an excellent choice for drummers who have a taste for artistic pieces of furniture. You could easily use it as a standard rug for a living room if you wanted to.
This rug isn’t as on the nose as all the other drum rugs on this list, so it’s an excellent low-profile option for drummers who may use it for purposes other than setting a drum kit up on it.
It works brilliantly for drums, though, as it has thick material that stops any of your hardware from moving.
We love how it has a waterproof design. You can feel safe washing it with soap and water when it gets dirty, whereas other drum rugs can be questionable in that area.
The other thing we love about this rug is the large number of color options. You can get vibrant colors or plain designs, and all of them look incredible.
This is the type of rug for any musician to get for their practice room, whether they play piano, keyboard, drums, or guitar.
It’s not as big as some of the other rug options with its 72” x 63” size, but you just need to make the call yourself on whether you’ll have enough space.
Verdict: The Drum N Base Vintage Persian Style Rug is a good option for drummers that want to add a bit of classic style to their drum space. We love how you can easily clean this rug with soap and water, and the polyamide velour material and no branding make it usable for more than just a drum rug. There are some epic color options as well.
Drum N Base Vegan Cow Drum Rug
A vegan cowhide rug option for drummers that are a bit more adventurous.
This mat gives you the shape of a cowhide, but it’s completely vegan-made. It gives you a bit of style without needing to worry about where the material came from. It’s not for everyone, but some drummers may find this more appealing due to the fun nature of the design.
This is undoubtedly our wildcard option for this list, but this is the type of thing that a country rock drummer would love to have under their drum kit. It would make a perfect drum rug for a practice space with a rustic vibe.
It’s made from polyamide velours, and it has a 1.5mm non-slip rubber surface on the back that keeps it firmly in place at all times.
As with the previous Drum N Base rug, you can wash it with soap and water when it gets dirty. You just need to make sure to vacuum all the stick shavings before you do that. Otherwise, things can get a bit messy.
This rug is extremely light, making it a more durable option than the On-Stage mat that you can use for gigs. It will hold up for much longer, and it will turn more eyes.
Again, it’s not for everyone, but we felt it worthy of adding to the list! You can also choose between black and white or a natural brown color.
Verdict: The Drum N Base Vegan Cow Drum Rug is a great option for drummers looking for something a bit different. It has a cowhide design that perfectly suits environments with a farm-style aesthetic. While this won’t cater to everyone, we love how durable, light, and reliable this rug is. Country drummers will love it, so it’s a worthy addition to our list.
How to Choose the Right Rug For You
Size
Size is the biggest thing you should be looking at when choosing a rug for your drum kit. You need to make sure it’s large enough to fit your entire kit, but getting a rug that is too large may make things difficult when you transport it around.
If you’re a gigging drummer that needs to take a rug with to performances, we’d suggest getting one that is just larger than the footprint of your drum set.
If you’re just getting a rug for your practice room, the size won’t matter too much, and a larger rug may even make your space feel a bit warmer.
Most drum rugs have a rectangular shape, but we’d recommend looking at square shape ones too.
Material
You’ll find drum rugs being sold with all kinds of materials. They have various qualities, but the most important thing is that you get a rug with non-slip material added to the bottom.
If it doesn’t have non-slip material, you’ll feel the rug moving slightly every time you kick the bass drum. The whole point of using a drum rug is to prevent that, so it’s essential for the rug to do that job.
The choice of material after that just depends on what you prefer. Some rugs are made from fiber, others are made from rawhide, and the cheapest ones are made from PVC.
Weight
The weight of a drum rug will depend on its size and material. Heavier drum rugs feel a lot more stable and durable, but they’re harder to travel with.
We’d suggest getting a heavy rug if you’re just going to leave it in your practice room. It will be the only drum rug you ever need to get, in that case.
Gigging drummers will need lighter rugs to use, but they won’t be as durable. This is why gigging drummers often go through several drum rugs throughout their performing years.
You could also find a rug that balances both aspects of being durable and light enough to carry around comfortably.
Design
The design of your drum rug will have almost as much of an effect on your overall setup aesthetic as a drum kit finish will.
You have two choices here. You could either get a low-profile rug with a solid dark color, or you could get a colorful rug with vibrant patterns.
When you look at your kit from a flat angle, the rug won’t be too noticeable. It will be very noticeable if you’re someone who films drum videos to post to various platforms. People will also see the rug when you play gigs.
The design you should choose will just depend on your personality type and what visuals you prefer. It always works to get a drum rug that matches the vibe of your drum kit.
Brand
The final aspect to think about is brand choice. Knowing what the good drum rug brands are will narrow down your choices and make it far easier to pick the best option.
Several of the big drum brands make excellent rugs, including Meinl, DW, Tama, and Roland.
However, there are also some fantastic brands to check out that you may not know of. Our favorite ones are Drum N Base and On-Stage.
Final Thoughts
Our top three choices on the above list cover all the requirements that you may have when looking for a drum rug. They just don’t offer colorful options, so check out our other recommendations if that’s what you’re looking for.
Here’s a quick recap of all our top picks. The Ludwig Drum Rug is our Best Option, as it ticks most of the boxes that people are looking for.
The On-Stage DMA6450 is our Budget Pick, as it’s inexpensive but highly reliable. The DW Large Drum Rug is our Editor’s Choice, as it’s the heaviest-duty drum rug you can possibly get.