Dampening/Muffling/Silencing

[jaklyons]

I have been playing drums for a while now, mostly at college, and I'm relatively good, I just never had a kit of my own until now.

I want to play my drums without disturbing the neighbors. Indeed, I would like the sound to be as dampened, or quietened, as possible. I know a few ways of doing it, like tape, draping sheets or blankets over the toms, stuffing the bass drum with pillows and stuff. So far, I have stuffed the bass drum with pillows and sheets, and draped sheets over the toms.

My question is this.

How the hell do I go about muffling/deadening the snare, other than using a buttload of tape?

My snare is a very loud one, and as such will need a lot of muffling/deadening.

Also, I've heard that you can put tape on the cymbals to deaden their sound too. How does that work? Is it effective? And does it work for the hi-hat too?

Another question.

How do silencer kits work, and how effective are they? I'll be going to a drum shop soon to check some out, but I don't know how soon 'soon' is.

Generally....what's the best way of making my kit as quiet as possible?

[Disturbing Creation]

Assuming you live in the dorms, your drums probably won't be completely silent to all of your neighbors. To deaden the snare sound, you can tape a cloth/piece of towel over it. As for the cymbals, you can cut a hole in the center of rubber place mats and put them over your cymbals, they look stupid, but they dampen the sound quite noticeably and you won't have to put any tape on your cymbals.

[pitchfork]

Best way of keeping your kit quiet would probably be sticking mesh heads on it and perhaps even stuffing the shells with cotton or something.
But if need be just buy a butt load of silencer pads and slap em on there.

[Retarded Chipple]

If you'd have bothered to scroll down like 5 threads you would have seen this...

http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=507373

[Jred250]

This is what you need. They are way better than the dampener pads, which limit your ability to play things such as snare rolls. The mesh is also cheaper, and quieter.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y243/LarsAgi007/spp518c_200.png

[donteatpieontuesday]

you could just buy a few practice pads of assorted sizes, weld up a frame and have a practice pad kit

[pitchfork]

Yeah but most of us don't have access to a mig welder of sorts to stick a frame together.

You'd be best off with cymbal stands if you went that route.

[jaklyons]

Dammit. My mum demanded I play drums for all her friends on New Year's Day, so I did so. After about five minutes, my neighbour phoned her (phoned! From next door!) and complained. I wasn't even playing that loud.

I really, really need to make my kit as quiet as humanly possible. Do I just need to stuff everything with sheets and stuff, and put mesh heads on them? Or is there any other tricks/techniques I could use?

[Cocaberry]

Buy one of those sound pressure meters from RadioShack. While you're playing, have someone measure the loudness at the property line. Compare it with the maximum sound level set by your city. If its under, then you have no problem and your neighbors are just assholes.

[donteatpieontuesday]

Dammit. My mum demanded I play drums for all her friends on New Year's Day, so I did so. After about five minutes, my neighbour phoned her (phoned! From next door!) and complained. I wasn't even playing that loud.

I really, really need to make my kit as quiet as humanly possible. Do I just need to stuff everything with sheets and stuff, and put mesh heads on them? Or is there any other tricks/techniques I could use?

boot your neighbour in the face, then steal his wallet:thumb:

if you call the cops they will tell you the times and whatnot when you are allowed to make as much noise as you want, and if you ask they will even give you a note stating it, well they do here in australia, i don't know about the laws where you live

[jaklyons]

boot your neighbour in the face, then steal his wallet:thumb:

if you call the cops they will tell you the times and whatnot when you are allowed to make as much noise as you want, and if you ask they will even give you a note stating it, well they do here in australia, i don't know about the laws where you live

It was a woman that complained, so I won't be kicking her in the face any time soon :p


And I got some deadening pads today....they're basically thick circles of rubber. They seem to work, but I don't have anything for the cymbals. How would I go about deadening them?

[Jred250]

It was a woman that complained, so I won't be kicking her in the face any time soon :p


And I got some deadening pads today....they're basically thick circles of rubber. They seem to work, but I don't have anything for the cymbals. How would I go about deadening them?

I had dampener pads at first myself. Although I now upgraded to the mesh, I still use the dampeners on the cymbals. Here is what your looking for....

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y243/LarsAgi007/IMAG0014.jpg

[skidrumbum]

they make pads that you can put on the drums and stuff like above and it completly kills the sound. all you can hear is a thud with the same pitch though. i personaly find them anoying to play with but if you need quiet there good. there not that much $ eather

[The_One]

I have been playing drums for a while now, mostly at college, and I'm relatively good, I just never had a kit of my own until now.

I want to play my drums without disturbing the neighbors. Indeed, I would like the sound to be as dampened, or quietened, as possible. I know a few ways of doing it, like tape, draping sheets or blankets over the toms, stuffing the bass drum with pillows and stuff. So far, I have stuffed the bass drum with pillows and sheets, and draped sheets over the toms.

My question is this.

How the hell do I go about muffling/deadening the snare, other than using a buttload of tape?

My snare is a very loud one, and as such will need a lot of muffling/deadening.

Also, I've heard that you can put tape on the cymbals to deaden their sound too. How does that work? Is it effective? And does it work for the hi-hat too?

Another question.

How do silencer kits work, and how effective are they? I'll be going to a drum shop soon to check some out, but I don't know how soon 'soon' is.

Generally....what's the best way of making my kit as quiet as possible?

Sell your current acoustic kit and go into the world of electronic percussion. Check out Roland's new V kits they will not dissappoint.

You need to think realistically. If you live in a dorm, noise is an issue and space is an issue. An acoustic drumset should not be in a dorm. It just doesn't work. Seriously, just think of it as a short term sacrifice. Once you graduate, you can get another acoustic, but for you right now, acoustic is just not ideal.

Those rubber practice pads dampen the sound, but they make the drums sound terrible, and the "thudding" of the practice pad is still pretty loud. With an electronic, you can actually "hear" what you're playing if you use headphones, the pads don't make as much noise, and it's a whole lot easier to pack in and out of a dorm. As for cost, I'm pretty sure buying all those cymbal and drum pads are going to cost a bit of money.

I highly recommend you to go electronic. It'd be a whole lot better for you in the long run.