Quiet acoustic drums

midiglitch

can't remember who, but I'm sure someone on here was saying somewhere that they had ditched their electronic kit in favour of an acoustic kit with mesh heads and L80 cymbals, anyone?

i'm thinking of going the same route.  Wondering how much louder, if at all the (quiet) acoustic kit is?  I've got mesh heads on my TD9K but the tapping of the cymbals, thumping of the beater and squeaking of the hihat pedal (when I'm keeping time on a ride groove) are not very quiet really.  And now I'm able to be more articulate and expressive on the hi hats I'm really craving something more realistic.  Any advice?  What are the L80 hats like?

cheers 

Trude

I've done this, though I don't remember mentioning it here.  The main reason was to give my son (7) a realistic kit to practice on, so I've bought a full set of Remo Silentstrike heads and the L80s.

It's hard to say exactly how much louder the cymbals are vs the plastic pads as it's obviously a totally different sound.  They don't sound quite like the real thing, but close enough for developing technique.  If you want to see a demo, here's a vid of the little man drumming along to Lovely Rita a few weeks ago (hope the link works...)
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AolkotDsCYEZ1og06lNl7GPVM0UAlg

Trude

...oh, and I haven't yet got around to buying the acoustic triggers to run my TD11 module, but that will happen at some point (I kept the cymbal pads to use when in electronic mode)

DLM

I think @Octatonic mentioned something about this.

Luminous

I use noise cancelling headphones and it's made all the difference

octatonic

Yeah that was me.

I got sick of the hi-hat control on V Drums being shite (and several other things) so I sold it and kitted out one of the DW's with Z-ED Triple ply heads and Zildjian Low Volume Cymbals.
It is a much better solution for me with a couple of caveats.

I can now play drums all night should I choose to, because no one can hear me outside the house.
It is slightly different to playing a regular acoustic kit but closer than a V Drums is, so all the work I do on technique translates to the acoustic kit more readily.
Obviously you can't record like this so if you only have one kit then expect to do a lot of head changes in order to switch it about.
That would be a pain in the ass.
I have one DW set up with mesh/low volume and exactly the same configuration in my live/recording kit.

Playing a V Drums is more fun though, there is an element to this feeling like work, rather than fun but I can deal with that.
Some guys find they play less with a low volume kit rather than an E kit.
I find my hearing is better too because I don't spend hours a day with low drums in my in ear monitors.
I play along to tracks in the studio listening to the songs on the studio monitors and can hear my low volume drums at the same level.
It is a great solution.

The L80 hats are great- I can do everything I can do with regular hats on them, and the technique is translatable, so work done on the L80's transfers to regular hats.
This is not the case with rubber V Drum hats- you have to play with a different technique, the bounce is very different with rubber.

midiglitch

Thanks guys, very helpful.
I tried out the l80s in absolute music yesterday and I think they would still be too loud for my current situation.  However I've just signed a contract for a small bungalow in the middle of nowhere so the situation might be quite different come September.

I feel like it's one step forward and two steps backwards with my drumming at the moment.  The better I get, the more I feel I need to go back and work on the basics.  It's like every improvement gives me a more powerful microscope, and when I stop and look into it I think I need to put aside all the fancy stuff and just play rudiments on a practise pad for a year or two.  
It doesn't help that I decided to switch to playing open handed, so In some respects I've restarted from scratch.  Glad I did though - am already seeing benefits.

DLM

@Trude Cool! You're right, the cymbals do sound quite different. How long has the lil' fella been at it? He even came through with my prescription a bit at the end...

Trude

@DLM He's been playing about 6 months I guess, since I first installed the V-kit.  Music has been seeping into him since birth though - with two muso parents there's no escape!

This is one of my favourite moments - his live debut on vocals at 4!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYyOZcLSNJk

DLM

Have a wow, though I also LOLed! What a born front man. How are you coping with the groupies?

Trude

Heh, yeah - he spent his first year of school trying to avoid the year 6 girls who all wanted to mother him!  

Sorry for the gradual thread hijack, OP.  Back on topic - if you'll be able to play a real kit in your new place then that'll be awesome!  Those L80s aren't cheap either...

steveb

That was ace!!! Bet you was so proud!!!! I hope my daughter wants to sing and play when shes a bit older!!! Shes oly 18 months!! Although she knows what guitars are and is always messing with them!!!