Help me out, guys....

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tubedude

tubedude

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Heres the deal...
I want to practice in my current house while my future practice pad and studio is being built.

My problem: noise.

My solution: We are going to practice "studio style" where the drums are the only real volume in the room. The guitar amp is in the closet with a close mic on it at low volume, the bass is direct, and then vocals... all though a headphone mix delivered to each member.

My question: What methods are there to knock down some of the drum volume in the room? So far my only idea has been to buy a pair of those Vic Firth sticks that are like lots of little sticks bound together and they kill some of the attack and lower the volume. Do they work?
What are some ways to keep the volume lower and still let the drummer cut loose?

Any help appreciated.
Peace,
Paul
 
Keep your neighbors stocked with nice wine and let the drummer cut loose. :) You need an isolated drum booth, or maybe some gobos, or wine.
 
The sticks are called "multi rods"...They work well.You should try some gobos also..Good luck



Don
 
I use hot-rods (multi rods) for church but I still don't like them that much. They're ok, but stick bounce and all that just isn't the same. Ya know? Well, I would recommend some type of standup baffle.
 
By the way, how much difference in volume is there when using these sticks? I'll probably have him use the cool rods just to get the most volume lowering effect. The only volume in the house will be the volume from the drums, and I'll put an overhead up and run that into the headphone mix if we need it. So if these things are capable of cutting the volume almost in half, I will be quite happy. You would never know there was a whole band playing in the house.
 
Tube,
This might be overkill but when I was in that situation, I put a towel over each drum. It take away volume (and tone) but if you just want to practice, you can all turn way down to match the drums. There's something wrong with that last sentence! ;)
The drummer will just have to watch the level he hits the cymbals.

RF
 
moving blankets. Build a quicky-makeshift booth around the drums with them (or just hang them from the ceiling). They're cheap and do a great job of absorbing sound.
 
U-Haul. They work great and they're big & cheap :) A little PCV pipe works well to build a little "noise cage". Just make sure your drummer isn't claustraphobic :)
 
agentpenguin185 said:
where can you find moving blankets?

You can get the real deal (The quilted kind) that a lot of "pro studios" [meaning $1,000 a day studios] have from Marketek.

http://www.markertek.com

Here they are. They sell them for $20 each:

http://www.markertek.com/MTStore/product.CFM?BaseItem=SAB-1

You could also try these:

http://www.markertek.com/MTStore/product.CFM?BaseItem=BAF-2


For any of you guys who want to find hardto find items, bookmark Markertek! They've saved me tons of money, time and hassle.
Generaqlly, they are a video produciton supply house, but they have TONS of hard to find connectors, rack stuff, and a ton of tools for audio, plus one of the best mic selections around. An awesome place.


Tim
 
cool. Those definitely look a lot better than the U-Haul variety, and they're about the same price. I gots me a new bookmark :)
 
Wow, that http://www.markertek.com link is great, thanks.

Wine or whatever almost always works, just keep everyone well stocked and beat your drum all you want. lol.

Oh, and I've seen those same moving blankets for about $15 each but, I can't remember where, sorry.
 
help

when i want to lower the drum noise and still rock out, i just tape the multi rods 2 or 3 inches away from the end of the sticks and you will get more attack.
 
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