What do I buy and do?

lrod1707

Member
Hello all,
My post has 2 parts that I need help with. I would love to hear some opinions. I have been away from drumming for 10 years and now I am ready to start playing again. I have been playing for about 35 years. Here are my 2 issues:

1. I just bought a single family house. Drums will be on the second floor. The houses are pretty close to each other. My issue is, I don't want to piss of my new neighbors. Noise inside my house doesn't matter. The issue would just be the neighbors. I don't know if to go the electronic route or acoustic route with some muting. I have always played acoustic so I would feel weird playing electronic. If I go electronic, I have chosen the Roland TD-17. If I go Acoustic, it would be a set with Remo Silent strokes heads and Evans cymbal mutes or low noise cymbals. My question is, would an acoustic set with that setup be quiet enough to not disturb the neighbors?

2. If I go acoustic, what do I buy? I used to play Pearl years ago but have been doing a ton of research and I don't seem to like the sound of the new drums they have. From everything I have heard, Ludwigs seem to sound the best. By the way, I know that with Silent strokes the tone is pretty much gone. But whenever I can, I would play with regular heads. I would choose from these 3 sets: Ludwig Evolution Maple, Pearl Decade Maple or Gretsch Catalina Maple. The Ludwigs sound best to me then the Gretsch and last are the Pearls. But maybe you guys can persuade me one way or another. I heard everything else: Tama, Mapex, Yamaha etc.. Didn't like any of them! Construction of the Ludwigs seems solid as well. I will also be buying all hardware and cymbals (Sabian) etc.. Let me know what you think!
Thanks
 
Since you've been playing for 35 years already, I'm not gonna recommend what brand of acoustic kit you should buy. You oughta' know by now, I say - and not much has changed in ten years anyway ;)

As for not making your neighbors angry, perhaps you could do a 50/50 acoustic deadening job. I took one of my bedrooms, and installed 4'x4' panels of acoustic foam (I put four of those on the walls, and some on the door). The windows, when I bought the house, had already been replaced with a double-paned window which goes a long way to keeping sounds inside the house.

It will make noise outside, but not as much if you didn't have any of those things. Would that be an option for you? It'll take some DIY-ing on your part, and maybe you already have double-paned windows in the house? If not, maybe it's time to do that anyway as it really helps with the house staying cool or warm in an infrastructure way.

Of course, if you're using silent heads and Zildjian's silent cymbals, those go a long way to keeping the noise down. But if you downsized the kit too - like maybe get a small jazz kit with an 18" bass drum, that also brings your volume down.
 
In this case I'd go electric, not worth the hassle of falling out with your neighbours. It's a waste of time having an acoustic kit if you have to use silent heads and silent cymbals.

Alternatively have a look at a lockup somewhere so you can make as much noise as you like and get the best out of an acoustic kit.
 
Depending on when and how long and how often you intend practising, you may be able to have acoustic drums and good relations with your neighbours.
 
Do what I did. Tell the neighbors you play the drums. Ask them what are some convenient hours or time frame to play where they won't be bothered..much. Work with them, don't try to hide it, as if you could. I do not play before 9 AM nor after 8PM. If they have a special function that they need extra quiet for a time, work with them. My neighbors tell me if they are outside they can hear me, but they have their own TV, music etc., going on that if they are inside they don't hear much. I play with music through headphones so the music source isn't turned up to 11. If you try to play over a stereo source your drums will be crazy loud. They only hear a bit of drums. Don't get into a legal mash about what are the legal times when you can't make noise. Most areas now have nuisance laws that can be enforced at any time of day. People use to say , I can make all of the noise I want up to 11 PM. Wrong. Some areas will stop loud noise at 2 PM. Take the lead and be polite rather that get into a shouting match. If they team up, you lose.
 
An electronic kit will give you the usual sampled sounds in headphones (they rarely sound good in a live setting). An acoustic kit will give you everything you need to make those sounds, plus many more. An electronic kit will hinder your learning a ppp touch, or a fff touch.

Given what’s available for the acoustic drummer, electronic kits cover only a portion of those sounds.

If you go acoustic, pad the room. Mattresses work best. Stand them up on their end and lean ‘em up against the wall. Acoustic blankets reduce high frequencies, but not low. Using grommets & hooks, you can cover the walls with pairs of hanging acoustic blankets. Do whatever it takes to keep your sessions un-interrupted.

If you go acoustic, get a pair of these or these. Your hearing will not get trashed, and you can play along to music without going deaf.

Gear: Tama. Hands down the best hardware in the biz. But you’ve already narrowed your choices.

Cymbals: You have to buy & try. Every brand has their own sonics.

To get back in the groove: Tommy Igoe Groove Essentials v1 & v2.
 
This going to take some time and sort of be a pain in the behind, but here goes:

I would ask a drummer friend to bring over his kick, snare, hats, and maybe a cymbal. Set this stuff up in your upstairs in the same room where you plan on having your drum set. Have him play and you go outside to hear how loud it actually is outside. Depending on house construction and parameters, this is the only way to see if this is feasible. Maybe temporarily hang up some egg crate mattress pads or packing blankets on the walls and do the same experiment. If it's too loud still, just go for the e-kit.

I'm not a fan of them, but if I had to choose between playing an e-kit and not playing at all, then I would choose the e-kit.

I wouldn't even begin looking at acoustic sets until I tried this first.
 
Most of the sound will escaspe through windows so if possible hang heavy, maybe lined curtains that overlap the entire window. Unless you plan on pounding on the drums, normal playing shouldn't be that bad. Good idea though to have someone outside or let them play and you go next door and have a neighbor listen with you.
 
Talk to your neighbors. My neighbors work all day so I can play drums during the day no problem.
 
What's surprising is that you've been playing 35 years, and you're thinking about an electronic kit, which limits the progress of beginners after about 1 year, sometimes as soon as a few months. They're just not adequate for developing a balanced sound, and proper body mechanics, that translate well to an acoustic kit. After 35 years of playing, I'm wondering why you're not more aware of this.

Also, 2nd floor, when houses are close together? Rent a lockout/rehearsal space, or get the drums in the basement.

Use acoustic drums. Put an Aquarian Super pads on your snare and kick (great response with very low volume), and sound off pads on your toms. Wrap the edges of your cymbals with 4-inch wide elastic from the fabric store, like a steering wheel cover. You can remove all this stuff in one minute, if you get a chance to go full volume, and put it back when you need to be quiet. Low volume cymbals will still be louder than cymbals with elastic around them.
 
People think drums are a lot louder outside than they really are. In reality I don't think they end up being all that loud, and what anyone is going to hear inside their own house is even less.

Also, how often and how long do you intend to play? An hour a day while the sun is up is unlikely to upset anyone.

If you are really worried about it, I'd take Bo's and Pork Pie's ideas: Put up some foam on the walls and try to get someone to bring some drums over and play so you can see what it would actually sound like outside.
 
Do what I did. Tell the neighbors you play the drums. Ask them what are some convenient hours or time frame to play where they won't be bothered..much. Work with them, don't try to hide it, as if you could. I do not play before 9 AM nor after 8PM. If they have a special function that they need extra quiet for a time, work with them.

This is what I did and it's been a great partnership of understanding. Early evening & some weekends of practice are well tolerated.
I do have a set of the Black Hole drum mutes and silent cymbals if I know I'm going to have a long sabbatical so I can pretty much play whenever and they are none the wiser.
But it's rare I get a break like that.

The foam walls are a great idea too if you can pull it off.
 
First question, buy real drums that make you drool.

Second question, play them. Don't complicate things.

Solve any noise/neighbor problems cheerfully, as they occur.

Find out what your neighbors like to eat or drink and buy them a case each year for allowing you the privilege. Or something personal that they value.

Never underestimate the power of bribery.
 
Growing up I lived in four different houses with neighbors, and each time we moved in we just knocked on their door and let them know what to expect. It was never an issue. Hopefully your neighbors are fine, too, but don't worry about asking their permission. Just politely tell them your intentions.
 
What's surprising is that you've been playing 35 years, and you're thinking about an electronic kit, which limits the progress of beginners after about 1 year, sometimes as soon as a few months. They're just not adequate for developing a balanced sound, and proper body mechanics, that translate well to an acoustic kit. After 35 years of playing, I'm wondering why you're not more aware of this.

Also, 2nd floor, when houses are close together? Rent a lockout/rehearsal space, or get the drums in the basement.

Use acoustic drums. Put an Aquarian Super pads on your snare and kick (great response with very low volume), and sound off pads on your toms. Wrap the edges of your cymbals with 4-inch wide elastic from the fabric store, like a steering wheel cover. You can remove all this stuff in one minute, if you get a chance to go full volume, and put it back when you need to be quiet. Low volume cymbals will still be louder than cymbals with elastic around them.

As someone who got an electronic kit after 20 years of playing, I agree with pretty much everything in this post. What I would add is that while there’s no substitute for a real kit, there’s also no substitute for being able to play whenever you. Electronic kits have a place for that reason, just remember to find a way to get on an acoustic kit regularly, too.
 
As someone who got an electronic kit after 20 years of playing, I agree with pretty much everything in this post. What I would add is that while there’s no substitute for a real kit, there’s also no substitute for being able to play whenever you. Electronic kits have a place for that reason, just remember to find a way to get on an acoustic kit regularly, too.

Touché. I just hope our guy gets some access to a real kit.

(I won’t touch an e-kit. Not. Ever.)
 
I live in the Phoenix area, so nobody is outside or has their windows open from May into October because it's too hot - even at night. Other times of the year, I use common sense and lay off the drums in the early morning and evening hours when windows are open and little kids may be in bed. Most parents work in my area, so during the day is not an issue, and I am able to work from home a couple of days a week, so who's to say I can't spend my lunch hour playing the drums?

BTW, I just bought a Ludwig Evolution Maple kit and really like it.
 
It depends on what you want to get out of the experience.

An E kit or conversion kit will allow you 100x more playing time and easily allow you to mix your drums in if you want to play with recorded music to get back in the groove. All of your coordination skills will get a workout the same as an A kit.

If you want to focus on the drum sound, feel and dynamics, you'd be better with an A kit.

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Since you've been playing for 35 years already, I'm not gonna recommend what brand of acoustic kit you should buy. You oughta' know by now, I say - and not much has changed in ten years anyway ;)

As for not making your neighbors angry, perhaps you could do a 50/50 acoustic deadening job. I took one of my bedrooms, and installed 4'x4' panels of acoustic foam (I put four of those on the walls, and some on the door). The windows, when I bought the house, had already been replaced with a double-paned window which goes a long way to keeping sounds inside the house.

It will make noise outside, but not as much if you didn't have any of those things. Would that be an option for you? It'll take some DIY-ing on your part, and maybe you already have double-paned windows in the house? If not, maybe it's time to do that anyway as it really helps with the house staying cool or warm in an infrastructure way.

Of course, if you're using silent heads and Zildjian's silent cymbals, those go a long way to keeping the noise down. But if you downsized the kit too - like maybe get a small jazz kit with an 18" bass drum, that also brings your volume down.

Sounds like some great advice. The only issue is that I can't modify anything right now in the house. It's a new house so I think my wife would be pissed if I start soundproofing stuff. The room that I am going to use is half guest room and half drum room. I can't get around that. And unfortunately, the garage is for the cars and storage. The house does have double pane windows so maybe that helps. Muted acoustic kit and playing during normal hours might cut it. I am still not 100% onboard with an ekit.
 
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