Newbie needing advice

[Ally]

Hi, I am drum novice. I was hoping somebody could give me some advice.

I have been gifted a pearl export kit to use at home. I was wondering what ways I could limit the sound. I understand I'll need to play quiet but I was also wondering whether choice of drum head or tuning can affect sound.

I see Remo do double ply heads. If I were to put double ply heads on top and bottom of the drum and tune the drums up would this produce a short sustain type sound. I understand Coated drum heads sustain less than clear heads. Also does muffling help reduce the sound?

Also, the toms are currently mounted on the bass drum. Can I mount them on clamps attaching to cymbal stands if I buy clamps?

Hope you can help.

Thanks
Ally

[JBoom]

Head selection and/or muffling aren't going to make a huge difference in noise level (unless you really muffle a lot). The best way to bring down the level is to use drum mutes, but that's for practice only (as you wouldn't be producing much of a desirable drum sound if you are playing with others or recording yourself).

Also, stick selection will make a difference. The smaller and lighter the stick, the quieter the sound. Pro-Mark makes a series of sticks called "Hot Rods" which bring volume down a lot. I think there is also a stick out there that's specifically designed to bring volume down, but I don't remember what they're called or what company makes them (perhaps someone else here knows?).

[edvia]

Pearl makes some mesh heads that are great for bringing the volume of your drums way down. Then you'd need to figure out something for your cymbals, and I don't know of a good solution for that. You could try SoundOff cymbal pads, which aren't the greatest, but I can't really think of anything else.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums...-traveler-drum

http://www.interstatemusic.com/34326...te-SO-CYM.aspx

[Ian Williams]

You can go the old but effective way...use a clean soft towel! Ringo is the master...

[alparrott]

I agree with the mesh heads approach for toms. For your snare, get a practice pad of some type and put it over the top. I use a Vic Firth 12" practice pad, fits snugly on the snare.

For your kick drum, the best muffler is the Sound-Off. Kick beaters tend to wear through mesh heads on kick drums. Another great technique is to stuff the bass drum completely full with dense blankets or comforters. I used to have a fake mink blanket that weighed about 30 pounds all by itself. I stuffed that in my kick and it completely eliminated any resonant sound from the drum.

For cymbals, you can buy a set of the Pintech Cross Trainer cymbals.

[BradGunnerSGT]

Originally Posted by Ally

Hi, I am drum novice. I was hoping somebody could give me some advice.

I have been gifted a pearl export kit to use at home. I was wondering what ways I could limit the sound. I understand I'll need to play quiet but I was also wondering whether choice of drum head or tuning can affect sound.

I see Remo do double ply heads. If I were to put double ply heads on top and bottom of the drum and tune the drums up would this produce a short sustain type sound. I understand Coated drum heads sustain less than clear heads. Also does muffling help reduce the sound?

Also, the toms are currently mounted on the bass drum. Can I mount them on clamps attaching to cymbal stands if I buy clamps?

Hope you can help.

Thanks
Ally

So is your goal to make the drums quieter for other people outside of your room, or to sound quieter/better to you in your practice space (or both)? Sound-off pads usually work fairly well, but if you have neighbors below you then there are still vibrations that get transferred through the floor (unless you are lucky enough to have a really thick floor between apartments).

Double ply and coated heads usually cut down on the sustain of the drum, by cutting down on the perceived attack of the head. Muffling with o-rings or Moongel or tape usually serves to eliminate "ring", i.e. the overtones caused by the heads reverberating, not to decrease the sound coming out of the drum. Too much muffling can reduce sound volume, which is why bass drums filled with heavy blankets sound like cardboard boxes.

Oh, and yes, you can buy "dogbone" clamps to attach your tom mounts to your cymbal stands instead of the bass drum mount. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibralta...31-i1139070.gc

[TakenHigherByU]

Just throwing another option out there. it's cool that you had a kit gifted to you, but if noise is a huge worry you could buy an electronic kit too. That way you can play as loud as you want into your headphones w/out disturbing anyone else.

Food for thought. Good luck ;)