The springs inside tuning lugs vibrate just as everything else on a drum. And once you notice that sound, it’s hard to unhear. Luckily preventing the springs from vibrating is really easy and best of all you probably have everything you need to silence them.
The most common remedy I’ve seen is filling the lug with cotton. Cotton will work but, there’s always the small chance that the cotton will get caught on the tension rods. Which will lead to the tension rod getting jammed in the lug and it gets stuck there pretty hard.
What is good then? Anything soft you can put inside the lug will stop the spring from vibrating. One material that works really well is the plastic foam used in packaging. Just cut pieces of the plastic to the size of your lug and stick it between the spring and the tuning lug. Make sure the plastic is thick enough so it is actually dampening the spring. If you tap the lug with a drumstick, you shouldn’t hear the spring.
