I'm a drummer and recently moved into an apartment with high ceilings and hardwood floors. I have a Roland TD-4. I've been researching for ways to be able to practice quietly without disturbing my neighbors. I'm sure if I used all mesh heads that would be quieter than rubber heads. Also, a few mentioned creating a riser with tennis balls as legs to help deaden the noise. Is there anyway that I can play an electric set in an apartment without spending a ton on soundproofing?
Tell me more
×
Musical Practice & Performance Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for
musicians, students, and enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
|
|
Obviously, headphones are the very first thing to recommend if you aren't already using them. A good pair of noise-cancelling headphones works both ways; you can be thumpin' it at 95dB and nobody but you will hear it. The sound produced by you hitting a rubber pad with a drumstick is a dull thunk, typically quieter than an ordinary conversation. If you have legitimate concerns about that noise getting through the walls into adjacent apartments, I would be taking them up with the landlord. If it's really a problem, you can hang a heavy curtain on the wall separating you from your nearest neighbor, perhaps leaving an air gap of an inch or two, and that should dampen the sound transfer through the walls considerably. The bigger concern is typically the pedals; when you step on them, you are making a bigger thump with your foot than the beater or the cymbal triggers make, but all of that is combining on the hardwood floor to make it sound like you're pounding on the floor (which you are). The solution to that is pretty simple; invest in an 8x10' area rug with a nice thick pile (even a carpet remnant, with a layer between it and the hardwood to prevent marring, would work fine on a budget), and put your kit on that. This will isolate the kit from the floor, which is the main means of vibration transfer this setup would have that could irritate the neighbors. Understand that over time the pile will compact under the weight and pressure of the kit's feet. Carpet protectors will mitigate this but can also defeat the purpose; they have spikes designed to hold whatever's on the carpet off of it, by transferring the load under the pile to the subfloor, which is exactly what you don't want. |
|||||
|
|
Mesh should certainly be quieter, but to help save the sanity of your neighbours below, you will need to look at an isolated drum riser. Tennis balls could work, but more commonly you see neoprene pads as these do a very good job reducing transmission of vibrations. Underneath that you could also use a square of carpet cut to the size of the riser as this will add another layer. |
|||||
|
|
Sand. The Grateful Dead lined their space in sand, Moby encased his NY apartment in sand. If you are on the second floor, put your set on a sandbox. Line the walls with sand bags. It's cheap, portable, labor intensive, works great. You'd probably get a kick out of this article, sums up the plight of the modern drummer well: http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=22178 |
|||
|
|
|
My neighbour plays a 5 string guitar and has headphone/amps set up so half the time I don't even know he's having a play. You may need to investigate something like this. |
|||||||||||||||||
|
