ruined by rods

mxo721

Senior Member
so, for about 8 months I've used nothing but multi-rods--not because i like them, but to reduce volume---do to ongiong fued with crazy neighbors. yesterday, I took my drums into my landlord's house and was able to play full volume with real sticks for the first time in about 6 months ( my drums are LOUD!!!) and I couldn't control the sticks well at all. when the rods hit the drumhead they collaps/seperate and have no rebound, while real sticks have great rebound. anything I can do other than rubber mutes ?
 
so, for about 8 months I've used nothing but multi-rods--not because i like them, but to reduce volume---do to ongiong fued with crazy neighbors. yesterday, I took my drums into my landlord's house and was able to play full volume with real sticks for the first time in about 6 months ( my drums are LOUD!!!) and I couldn't control the sticks well at all. when the rods hit the drumhead they collaps/seperate and have no rebound, while real sticks have great rebound. anything I can do other than rubber mutes ?

I'm in CA too. Crazy neighbors as well. Not having the rebound for 6 months and then getting a huge dose of it would freak me out too.

Guess you could get an electronic kit, mesh heads or cover your drum heads with towels.
What don't you like about the drum mutes?
 
I started out on simmons elctric kit, I wish I had kept it just for late night urges now, plus the metronome had the ( human voice ) which i really liked. yeh, guess I'll just have to live with mutes, although they have never came up with a decent bass drum mute, and crashing cymbals is pointless...sigh
 
Old school: Use a practice pad daily. Preferably a quiet one from what I can tell of your situation.

I play on a pad regularly even though I have drums in the house I can play. It's just convenient and practical when watching a movie or TV show. It's good to practive with different implements (rods, brushes, etc) anyway so you're ready for a feel change should you need them in a musical scenario.
 
Practice pads are always good to have around. I put 2 DW Go Anywhere kits together to get a complete practice pad kit w/ cymbals (Craigslist special). The one problem I had with practice pads was spending too much time on them. After I nailed a lick with paradiddles or specific bounces, I went to the kit where there was much less bounce than the pads. That threw me off. IMO, too much bounce on the pads, but I do use them to first learn a pattern, or late at night.

The mute pads do the opposite. They make you work harder on the bounce. This can be an advantage when you take off the mutes. It's almost like a workout or running with a backpack on with weights in it. It'll sharpen your bounces and paradiddles. If you're serious about drumming and want to duplicate the bounce and play your kit quietly - get some thin veneer wood sheets (Luaun or fiberboard) at your local Home depot or Lowes.

Cut out circles for each drum mute. Use 2 pieces of velcro for each piece and viola. You'll have nearly the same bounce as the drum head, and happy niegjhbors. You can always separate the wood from the mutes via the velcro.

Vic Firth makes a good bass drum mute. Thick. It will make you work harder on your BD Technique. Cut out a piece of milk carton or plastic to save it from beater wear.
 
i keep practice pad in my truck and use it at the laundry, and at the beach all the time, thing is, I like to use the whole kit, the fear that kept me from playing drums till i was in my 40's was, the fear of using feet and hands together...i love the intertaction now, and learing limb independence. I didn't even own a crash cymbal until I 6 months into drumming, because i was obsessed with hihat/bassdrum/snare rudiments. I'm looking into some kind of practice room share situation now....until these neighbors get evicted. anyhow!
 
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