Want to learn Drums but neighbours going mad !

ronan45

Hi all, So I got a drum set . Anytime I have messed with it my neighbours have gone mad. Its an ex gig set so its pretty loud, can i dull this so it wont annoy neighbours or do i really need a dedicated sound proof room. Im about to sell them. I dont want to damp them to much, so they sound crap either.

Acoustic drums and neighbours don't mix, unless you damp them to the point where they're inaudible, and no fun.

Have you thought about getting a set of electric drums/e-drums? You can get a basic starter set on thomann.com or a few other places for a few hundred quid, and they're surprisingly versatile in terms of the sounds you can get out of them, plus you can turn the volume up and down or use headphones, so your neighbours will be ok with them.

They're not perfect, they won't have the same "feel" and bounce as a real set unless you go for very pricey ones, but they're a nice tradeoff if you live in a built up area and can't do a soundproofed room. They sound good, and they are easy to expand with software samples to get new sounds, which is not the case with acoustic drums.

Malice

Well you don't have a lot of convenient options by the sounds of it. Can you transport the kit somewhere that the noise won't be an issue when you want to play?

YoungSpoon

For basic sound reduction, you can tape a square(or two) to the inside the the heads. It actually made my kit sound better. Cushion/pillow/sponge in the kick drum.
What times you play between? I usually only play between 1pm to 10pm. On occassion I might play as early as 12pm.
Make sure the windows are shut when you play.

If that fails, you can try to compromise with them. Let them know that it'd mean a lot to you to play and ask if there are times where they specifically want to have quiet/study or sleep. Try to work around they're habits. Maybe they work at particular times that you're free.

strobe

A drummer friend of mine once told me that you can soundproof a room on the cheap by covering the walls in egg cartons. Swears by it.

meiangie

An alternative would be to get silenter drum kits. These operate with electricity & you can put a headphone plug in it. That way, you can hear how to drum and your neighbours wouldn't have anything to complain about anymore.

Companero

If you've a half decent computer, get yourself a cheap electronic kit, such as a Millenium MPS-200/300 and a copy of EzDrummer or Addictive Drums software for your computer. Us the Millenium to trigger the software

The Millenium kits are fine for playing , but the sounds are cheap and nasty and wont make you want to play the drums.

The EzDrummer and similar kits are really very good now, stick on a pair of headphones and its surpisingly simlar to playing a real kit, certainly good enough for learning anyways.

Hayte

strobe wrote: »

A drummer friend of mine once told me that you can soundproof a room on the cheap by covering the walls in egg cartons. Swears by it.

It doesn't do squat except turn your entire room into a giant fire hazard. Covering a wall with an uneven/ridged/bumpy surface is a method of diffusing strong echoes. It does nothing for sound proofing.

OP, you can't do sound proofing at all without tearing down your house and rebuilding your room. Your only options are to get an electric kit or to move your kit out of your house. I have some of my gear stashed in rented studio space where I can make as much noise as I have to.

Hayte

If you need diffusors to control strong echoes then by all means use them. Just don't use ones that catch fire so easily. Professionally made ones are fire retardant.

I used to live in a house with a fireplace/chimney and would used egg cartons to get kindling going because they burn quicker and hotter than A4 copy paper. I don't want any boardsies to die in a fire.