Comments on: 7 Ways To Make Drums Quieter

By: therealdmt

therealdmt — Sat, 04 Mar 2017 00:49:00 +0000

Mike Durenberger,

Have you tried the Roland KT-10 or the even quieter KT-9?
https://www.roland.com/us/products/kt-9/

Also, Google “tennis ball riser”. Roland themselves kinda borrow from this idea with their “Noise Eater” products, though I doubt they work as well as the ol’ tennis ball riser. Still, a KT-9 plus padding of some sort underneath ought to do the trick, I’d think. Obviously there would be some compromise in feel with a beaterkess kick, which is why many go the tennis ball riser route with their regular kick pedal and pad.

For me, I tried all sorts of layers of padding underneath my kit and ultimately gave up 🙁 until I joined a practice space and could play real drums and then also got into a house in the country. Basically, apartment living killed even electronic drumming for me. But, they didn’t have the KT-10 and KT-9 products back then, which I definitely would have tried.

Good luck!

By: Dan urech

Dan urech — Mon, 06 Feb 2017 00:53:00 +0000

I struggled with this for a decade and basically gave up drums and played guitar instead, only playing drums at band practice and getting hammered so skill didnt matter as much. I recently/finally managed something that maintains rebound, and doesnt disturb neighbours in a suburb situation. Jam your drums full of clothes, drape a few layers over cymbals, with holes for wing nut protrusion, and put material over the heads/below the rims of each drum. Experiment w/ different materials. Ive got a nylon type grocery stocker vest on my snare which is snappier, cotton t shirts on the toms, and a folded up bed sheet on the bass. The opening and closing of the hats is most compromised.

By: Yrwal

Yrwal — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 03:40:00 +0000

I have also tried all of these solutions but I ultimately didn’t like the feel or the sound.
At the moment I am using remo silent stroke heads which are fantastic for rebound and feel and sound pretty good. I also have some zildjian L80 hi hats and a crash ride which are great. I find that I can freely practice without being worried I’m too loud.
When I want to use my other cymbals and make a little bit more noise, I place some old drum heads onto of the remo silent strokes. I have cut the metal rim of mine, but you can also place them on upside down. In this case, I play with some drum rods so it’s not too loud in such a small space.
Hope this helps someone else.

By: Gracie Instrumentees

Gracie Instrumentees — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 03:49:00 +0000

This article provide options on how we can also give silence to our neighbors and family. I agree that non-drummers think that the sound in drums is pure noise rather than music. I need to share this with my friend. Thanks for this!

By: Lee Liak Ghee

Lee Liak Ghee — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 13:41:00 +0000

Being one who relies almost exclusively on an electronic kit for practice, I must add that there are some things that electronic sets simply can’t achieve with muted acoustic sets (not that I own any acoustic set but this pertains to transferring my skill set from electric to acoustic kits).

The biggest issue for me is to make an acoustic kit SOUND good – landing a rim shot accurately each time (still can’t quite nail it after almost 4 years since I first started playing), opening/closing the hihat to just the right amount, foot splashes, hitting the cymbals accurately (bow edge and bell), listening to how actual acoustic dynamics vary with physical strokes rather than trigger volumes, etc.

Electronic sets usually spit out a more or less similar sound each time, which makes it impossible to gauge how your technique translates. Muted acoustic sets (I think) still give you some sense of acoustic sound, which I think helps a lot.

By: Ben Norris

Ben Norris — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 09:27:00 +0000

Great article. I experienced the ‘wrath’ of my neighbours even when going for the electronic kit route. I’ve now opted for the expensive (but totally worthwhile) ‘build a soundproof room in the garage’ approach. I can now be still hammering away at my drums at midnight, and no-one bats an eyelid!!