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Drummers: best way to keep a drumkit as quiet as possible.. in a high rise.

Obsoleet

Obsoleet

Platinum Member
I considered electronic drums but honestly, I just want my real kit and am willing (forced) to put massive pads on the heads. What is the best solution for pads and sticks, all I want to do is to practice the motions on my real kit.. I've never played on deadening pads but I really missing my kit. Also looking for the best deadening pad for the kick drum too.
 
High rise... I think the whole neighborhood knows there's a drummer on the street, even if you play in a sound-proof garage. In a high rise - don't even know what to say.
 
lol, do you drum? I figured with the right brush sticks and pads it would be horrible, but extremely silent.
 
from my front door i can hear an acoustic guitar down the hall. from my living room i can hear the piano 2 floors down. i can hear my neighbor fucking like i'm right there with her.
 
Look up soundproofing for a room... It's your only option and you will have to do it seriously. (i.e. monies)
 
You can get really, really convincing drum samples now a days with Superior Drummer or BFD, but perhaps the sounds aren't what kept you away from an electric kit?
 
This solution certainly is quiet, and with no stick response you have to work harder which is good practice (along with practice w/o the pads).

http://www.amazon.com/Vic-Firth-prep...346176&sr=1-17

But there is no sound from the drums themselves.

A cheaper way is to simply drape a thin cloth over each drum. For the bass you can remove the front head and stuff a pillow or comforter in there.

For something a bit less drastic than pads but louder is that there are many types of muffling materials for drum heads. You do not need to pay a lot at a music store, Dr. Scholls adhesive foot strips work for example, or different types of tape.

With cymbals you can experiment with strips of duct tape on the bottom. Crash cymbals are going to be loud no matter what, but try to control how hard you hit them (dynamics).

As your skills develop, you will be able to control your volume to a certain extent.

Really you also need to sound-proof your practice room if possible to be able to have at least some experience playing your instrument as intended.
 
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I appreciate all the suggestions. Its strange but I have an attachment to my kit, I want to sit on it and go thru the motions again. I don't care if there are 4 inch rubber pads on the cymbals and drum heads. I intend to find a way to make little to zero noise with my kit.

The sound is not what kept me away from an *electronic* (not electric) kit. It's the attachment I have to my kit, and it's yet one more thing I have to sell when I no longer need it. I'd spend up to $1,500 on one, but no more for a lame electronic set. Everytime I look at them they just turn me off completely, drums are meant to be real and I think I'd rather play on rubber drum covers with brush sticks until I'm back in a situation where I can go to town on them again.
 
I have used the vic firth pads and they work pretty well at deadening to sound but you do lose some stick response and you still hear a little thumping. Hnnestly though, it kind of sucked playing with them on.

I used to feel the same way about e-drums as you do, until I bought a Roland TD3. Being able to play along to an ipod with headphones was great. Then I bought a drum amp. Then I upgraded from the TD3 to the TD12 and I am in love with them. All mesh heads and can play as loud or as soft as I want. Plus no tuning and through software can get many many different sounds. And thanks to Rockband/Guitar hero, I play along to real songs minus the drum track.

Dont get me wrong, I still love my Tama acoustic set, but with the E-drums, I can play whenever and wherever I want.

Still not sure what I want to do with the TD3
 
Get these kinds of practice pads so you'll actually get stick response.

drum-practice-pad.jpg
 
You can't keep them quiet unless you build a special soundproof enclosure.

Get a guitarist or two and a singer, and start doing private concerts for charity in your apartment. Ask your neighbors for contributions. Extra points if you invite sick kids over to your place and play especially for them.
 
I've got a set of mesh heads that work pretty well. They are made like an actual drum head and mount on the shell the same way as well so you tighten them down with the lugs as normal.
I've got the 22" for my bass as well. I like them much more than the plastic 'thud' deadening pads. It still isn't the same as the real deal obviously but it works.

I can't remember what they are called but I think I got them from Musiciansfriend
 
drum said:
I've got a set of mesh heads that work pretty well. They are made like an actual drum head and mount on the shell the same way as well so you tighten them down with the lugs as normal.
I've got the 22" for my bass as well. I like them much more than the plastic 'thud' deadening pads. It still isn't the same as the real deal obviously but it works.

I can't remember what they are called but I think I got them from Musiciansfriend
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ahhh forgot about that option...The Pearl Rhythm traveler comes with these
 
You could maybe build your own soundproof drum cube, sort of like a mini recording studio.

Honestly though, it would be extremely difficult to keep that sound from getting out. It would take some mega soundproofing
 
This is one of the reasons why I'm not living in a high rise in downtown Atlanta. I instead decided on a house in the burbs so I can keep drumming at home. Sounds silly, but it was a huge factor in deciding where I live.
 
KentState said:
This is one of the reasons why I'm not living in a high rise in downtown Atlanta. I instead decided on a house in the burbs so I can keep drumming at home. Sounds silly, but it was a huge factor in deciding where I live.
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Not silly at all....it was a huge factor for me to have a basement and that didn't have water problems specifically for my drums. I still built a riser just in case.
 
PatrickBateman said:
Not silly at all....it was a huge factor for me to have a basement and that didn't have water problems specifically for my drums. I still built a riser just in case.
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The next place will have a basement for sure. Would like to put up some acoustic insulation and be able to record. The room I'm in just has to much echo.
 
I mess with the Yamaha electric drum set sometimes when I'm in Best Buy, you put on the headphones and rock the fuck out with nobody hearing anything. Yeah, they're not a real drum set, but they sound fantastic.
 
QueBert said:
I mess with the Yamaha electric drum set sometimes when I'm in Best Buy, you put on the headphones and rock the fuck out with nobody hearing anything. Yeah, they're not a real drum set, but they sound fantastic.
Click to expand...

Yamaha doesn't make a kit with nice mesh heads the last time I looked. A kit from Roland will feel much more like a real kit from what I've experienced.
 
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