Tag Info

Noise cancellation never works on scales larger than the sound's wavelength, so it's only useful for headphones. Modifying the hall physically is the only real solution to this problem. Short of that, the first thing to try is indeed to bring the sound as directly to the audience as possible, by using a suitable PA arrangement. Big, single speakers located ...

Professional electronic drum kits are made by many musical instrument manufacturers including Roland, Yamaha, Alesis, ddrum, Simmons, and even the Zildjian cymbal company. The link in the previous sentence goes to a list of kits sold at Guitar Center. These are all "silent" in that they make no sound acoustically (however you can hear the sound of your drum ...

Yes, there are electronic drums. There will be a tapping sound when playing. This will likely not disturb your neighbors, but your room mate might find it disturbing. I believe that playing with brushes is problematic, but I'm not updated on the technical advancements of electronic drums.

Your guitar is picking up mains hum. This is very common, and as you correctly surmised is due to how the components are grounded and shielded. Usually this is simple to fix. The first items to check are: your guitar lead and amp - does the noise go away if you use different ones? all solder joints. Are they all solid? all components are grounded, with ...

First, sound is perceived when things bump around in your ear, which is generally caused by air bumping around. Moving your pick through the air therefore causes sound, and striking the strings is amplified by the guitar, creating even more sound. Thus, pick sounds are unavoidable. That said, there are various things you can do to lessen the sound. One ...

I know that sometimes for concerts there will be "shells" around the ensemble, curving down and around the group. This will help reduce any noise escaping backwards. Not knowing the venue, this may not be part of the problem. It also depends on whether or not the ensemble is acoustic or electric. With electric you could point the speakers in different ...

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 ...

Years before Lou Reed released Metal Machine Music during his solo career, he played in a bad called The Velvet Underground with violist John Cale. John Cale is a classically trained musician, who studied with Humphrey Searle (a student of Anton Webern of the second Viennese school). During his early life and classical training he created relationships ...

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: ...

The other two answers assume that you are using screw on connectors with soldered-in cable cores and don't really address the qualities of another type of cable on the market, which would be the do-it-yourself cables like George L's or Lava. Those types of cables tend to be slightly less expensive than a mega-store bought brand as you pay by the foot for the ...

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 ...

It sounds like you're playing chords by plucking strings one at a time. Unless you're playing arpeggios, that's not the best way to do it: Try strumming them all in a row, in a fluid motion. Keep in mind that some pick noise is inevitable, even desirable. In the studio, I do everything I can to emphasize incidental noises like the pick hitting the strings, ...

You might not think it resembles music - many folks would say the same about opera, or metal, or pop or (insert genre here)... Lou Reed was making a statement. People listen to it. Not sure there is a real question, to be honest - I would just treat it like any other music that I don't 'get'

If you can't treat the room, you can try optimizing using the sound system and the band. Control sound radiation so it beams as much as possible towards the audience and absorptive surfaces and away from any reflective surfaces. Monitor wedges are the worst. They beam up and back directly at backwall and ceiling. Wedges have their place on large stages but ...

You don't have to modify the room to add physical damping to it. Velvet drapes absorb a lot of sound, even when they don't actually cover any surface, and would be very sympathetic to the decor. A few loose rugs covering unused floor areas, where the audience isn't directly looking at them, would also help a lot. The drapes and rugs could be put in place ...

Connection quality. If the cable has a screw-on connector, unscrew and look at the connection between wire and plug. It should be securely soldered without excess or mess. On the other hand, gold connectors are a waste of money, all else being equal. Screening. A good quality cable will be screened with braided copper or some form of conductive plastic ...

Low Microphonic Characteristics - This means that the cable should not easily produce audible noises from your amplifier when hit on the ground, or moved during playing. (A low quality cable will often times make a "thud" noise when hit off of the ground) Sturdy Plugs - I recommend purchasing a cable with coated ends, so that the persistent bending ...

About 10 years ago I was obsessed with this very same question. There are lots of things to try. Go fingerstyle. Don't be afraid! Give it a go. If your friends give you grief, make 'em watch Crossroads, already! Beyond fingerstyle is the apoyando stroke. Learn the rest stroke, where your fingertip grazes the string before the nail hits it and comes to rest ...