question to all drummers

S

sylviear

Junior Member
hi everybody, this is my first post here, i've been reading some threads here for a while today and i need some help to figure out something;

so i used to play on pads long time ago then stopped, and now im getting a drum set to play it at home.

so my qestion is about acoustics; i've never heard an acoustic drum set before:)o !!!), and i need to know how it is going to sound like. i live alone in the middle of nowhere, so its not a problem of "loudness", i just need to know if its going to be annoyingly loud to me. im going to put in my small-mid living room. how do you guys play along with music, should i plug some PA's behind me or mic the kit and use in ears. i dont like the use of iso headphones or any kind of headphones, its annoying to my ears which become red and extremely hot.

does in ears and mic'd drums works for me? or PA system better? or there some other solutions?

i just wanna play for my personal enjoyment in my living room with the best sound possible and im only going to play with drumless tracks. i dont like to play drum solo's or anything else, just some basic pop and rock playalongs.

and btw im going to get a live custom yamaha 22 12 16 with a black beauty snare, hope its not a bad idea since oak is supposed to be loud. am i going to bleed my ears?

one last thing, i've always read that the live custom "cut through the mix" ; what does that suppose to mean? are u guys talking about recording and mixing?

anyways, appreciate any ideas from u guys about how the whole kit with cymbals are going to sound and if im going be able to play along my fav music, thank you all :)
 
Fear of drums? Wow. I don't think I've seen a question like this posed before!

First of all, good choice of drums. Yamaha kit with a black beauty snare will serve you fine. 2nd, the player is in control of the volume. Your goal is not to beat the crap out the drums or have the music source cranked so loud, that it becomes a problem for you. Learn to play at sound levels from very soft and subtle to louder levels. There is so much great music out there that you can learn from. Focus on developing different feels and styles, rather than worrying about how loud it will be. If things get too loud, simply pull it back to where you are comfortable.
 
If you are playing for yourself in your little living room, you sure don't need mics. You can play as loud or soft as you wish simply by not hitting as hard. You can get a general isea as to what drums sound like by going to Youtube and listening.
 
thanks for replies, i know that u can hit the drums/cymbals loud or quiet, but playing quietly in pop or rock track doesnt sounds easy (rim shots, crash cymbals...).

i think its quite difficult to get the drums and the track (drumless) to sound good together acoustically without "mixing" :/
 
When you hit those Oaks, they're going to be so loud that your ears will bleed and you'll have to change your underwear - LOL

Just kidding, of course.

I have a few ways I handle loudness, but they probably won't work well for you.
First - I mostly play with brushes.
When I use sticks, I use drum mutes most of the time.
When I use sticks and no drum mutes, I usually wear headphones/earmuffs.

Once in a great while, I'll just bash away. But I can't do it like I used to when I was younger without suffering the consequences.
 
sylviear said:
thanks for replies, i know that u can hit the drums/cymbals loud or quiet, but playing quietly in pop or rock track doesnt sounds easy (rim shots, crash cymbals...).

i think its quite difficult to get the drums and the track (drumless) to sound good together acoustically without "mixing" :/
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You are probably the only member here who has never played acoustic drums. You are concerning yourself about nothing. Get the kit and start experimenting with it. You don't need to buy all the sound gear and kit at once. Start playing the kit and see what you think. None of us can tell you what you consider 'annoyingly loud.' That is up to your own judgement.

Its not a matter of playing quiet or loud. There's a range of dynamics, and you need to learn to control your playing to span that range. You can certainly play pop or rock at moderate volume with rim shots, crashes, etc and not be over exposing yourself to extreme volume, unless you crank the whole thing up to concert levels all of the time.
 
If you want to play with drumless tracks, the best way is with a mixer, mics and in ear buds or something like what vic firth has on the market, ear muffs/earphones combo or similar brand. If your interested in going this route pm me and I'll walk you through it.
 
I've been using custom molded in ear monitors to play along with stuff....they provide 26dB of isolation from the outside world.

I run the iPod through my in ears and just let the acoustic sound of the drums that I can hear outside naturally mix with the iPod source in my ears....been doing it this way for about 5 years....keeps levels very low and comfortable, no mics needed....simple, easy, hearing safe.
 
Drums are goddamned loud. Practicing often with moderate force in an average living room will damage your hearing over time if you don't have ear protection.

If you can't stand over-the-ear headphones, get those earbuds that have the interchangeable rubber things that wedge into your ears. They're like $10 at walmart. Those usually give you at least a good 15-20 dB of noise reduction. Also, no type of hearing protection will magically block out all sound, so you won't need to mic up your kit and put it through your buds to hear it. Earbuds will quiet your kit down so you won't lose your hearing, and you can listen to music from your ipod or computer at a moderate volume to play along to.
 
thanks alot everybody, i'll try the earbud/monitor and see how's its going to be :) apparently thats the best way

thanks again :)
 
Exactly...there is no need for a fancy setup with mics, etc....I've also done this with the over-the-counter IEMs you mentioned and it works just as well...the kit maybe sounds a little better too...or worse depending on a few things

Here is one odd thing I will mention...and I do IEMs for a living....the dynamic driver (miniature speaker earphones) all have a small vent in them to allow the diaphragm to "breathe"...that vent creates a curious midrange honk response sound from the snare on several models I used...that was unacceptable to me, but not the same for all models

There are balanced armature over-the-counter earphones and those housings are not typically vented to the outside world and do not create the snare honk I mentioned, but they cut the overall level of the kit more and have a different muting effect on the frequency response of the kit....it will be a subjective thing as to which is preferred.

And the custom molded shells, from what I have seen (from other mfg) also do not have a purposeful vent unless they are ordered (and this is a regular option to order if desired) with an AMBIENT vent...then a decent sounding channel is purposefully fashioned into the shell..the overall SPL reduction does drop from 26dB SPL though

Lots of *variables* in the IEM world


Jankowske said:
Drums are goddamned loud. Practicing often with moderate force in an average living room will damage your hearing over time if you don't have ear protection.

If you can't stand over-the-ear headphones, get those earbuds that have the interchangeable rubber things that wedge into your ears. They're like $10 at walmart. Those usually give you at least a good 15-20 dB of noise reduction. Also, no type of hearing protection will magically block out all sound, so you won't need to mic up your kit and put it through your buds to hear it. Earbuds will quiet your kit down so you won't lose your hearing, and you can listen to music from your ipod or computer at a moderate volume to play along to.
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