How to learn to drum in apartment?

What's Hot
stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26745
edited November 2018 in Other Instruments
I have a feeling I've had this conversation before, but starting from a postition of "does an e-kit work in an apartment".

Today, I'd like to reframe the question slightly: How can I learn to drum in any satisfying manner without getting a full kit (and in an apartment)? 

Obviously acoustic kits are out. e-kits are maybe an option, but I have no significant space I can devote to it. But I would really like something that emulates bass/snare/hat/ride at the very least. Im aware of practice pads and sample pads but concerned that they'll help me start with rudiments but not much beyond that. 

Is there any solution that might be remotely satisfying that won't take up half a room? 

** Update Nov 2018 - Not planning a kit at home, just lessons for now, plus a practice pad or 3, and possibly hiring a practice room occasionally. See lower down! **
The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
«1

Comments

  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    There are some 'relatively' small electronic drumkits. They do still give off a degree of thudding though as you are still basically hitting things. I keep mine in the garage, but it gets a lot less use due to this and I never go out in winter. The moisture is slowly killing it off as well. eDrums are a lot different to a real kit though, I couldn't play a real kit at all, I was too intimidated by the loudness!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • slackerslacker Frets: 2215
    I've got a Roland kit in the spare bedroom. It's not that big.Mrs s doesnt complain when its being used.

    I've got a now unused real kit in the loft. There is an adjustment between the two. If the idea is to play out at some point you need to play a real kit before you start auditioning etc.imho.


    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited March 2018
    As I might have mentioned (once or twice) I started drumming about 7 years ago.
    Initially it was with a DW practice kit which is basically a load of pads on a metal pole.
    This was in a London terrace and I had quite a lot of complaints & comments from people.

    The problem is the bass drum- even a pedal onto a 'silent' pad is enough to hear through walls and if you are in an apartment then the neighbour under you will quickly grow to hate you.
    It was also quite stressful for me once I knew people could hear me- it kinda tainted my practice because I knew they were irritated by the noise.

    When we moved our to the countryside it became less of an issue- I have multiple kits set up here and because we don't share walls with people I can play any of the electronic/practice kits anytime I like.
    I play acoustic kit about an hour a day, usually when people are out at work and it is therefore not a problem.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    I know our drummer had an e kit that folded up, so it was relatively small when not in use. He could lift it all with one hand. I can't remember which one and it would be an old model by now but a quick Google suggests there are a few out there at different price points .
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26745
    octatonic said:
    As I might have mentioned (once or twice) I started drumming about 7 years ago.
    Initially it was with a DW practice kit which is basically a load of pads on a metal pole.
    This was in a London terrace and I had quite a lot of complaints & comments from people.

    The problem is the bass drum- even a pedal onto a 'silent' pad is enough to hear through walls and if you are in an apartment then the neighbour under you will quickly grow to hate you.
    It was also quite stressful for me once I knew people could hear me- it kinda tainted my practice because I knew they were irritated by the noise.

    When we moved our to the countryside it became less of an issue- I have multiple kits set up here and because we don't share walls with people I can play any of the electronic/practice kits anytime I like.
    I play acoustic kit about an hour a day, usually when people are out at work and it is therefore not a problem.
    I had a feeling you'd say that. Obviously the best option is to move to a village in Oxfordshire :)

    I've never had a complaint about guitar but i'm well aware that melodic guitar playing is much less annoying, and I've been playing long enough that I'm not shit to listen to. That clearly wouldn't be the case with drums.  


    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Yamaha DT-Express is a tiny electronic kit
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FreebirdFreebird Frets: 5821
    edited March 2018
    There is a 2Box Drumkit 5 up on Gumtree.
    If we are not ashamed to think it, we should not be ashamed to say it.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    edited March 2018
    octatonic said:
    As I might have mentioned (once or twice) I started drumming about 7 years ago.
    Initially it was with a DW practice kit which is basically a load of pads on a metal pole.
    This was in a London terrace and I had quite a lot of complaints & comments from people.

    The problem is the bass drum- even a pedal onto a 'silent' pad is enough to hear through walls and if you are in an apartment then the neighbour under you will quickly grow to hate you.
    It was also quite stressful for me once I knew people could hear me- it kinda tainted my practice because I knew they were irritated by the noise.

    When we moved our to the countryside it became less of an issue- I have multiple kits set up here and because we don't share walls with people I can play any of the electronic/practice kits anytime I like.
    I play acoustic kit about an hour a day, usually when people are out at work and it is therefore not a problem.
    I had a feeling you'd say that. Obviously the best option is to move to a village in Oxfordshire

    I've never had a complaint about guitar but i'm well aware that melodic guitar playing is much less annoying, and I've been playing long enough that I'm not shit to listen to. That clearly wouldn't be the case with drums.  
    Seriously it is a non-starter in an apartment.

    Oxfordshire is lovely, you'd like it.
    I never had any complaints about guitar either.
    Think of a bass drum pedal as a hammer- if you were hammering for hours a day then you'd have complaints.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 2reaction image Wisdom
  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71951
    I have a feeling I've had this conversation before, but starting from a postition of "does an e-kit work in an apartment".

    Today, I'd like to reframe the question slightly: How can I learn to drum in any satisfying manner without getting a full kit (and in an apartment)? 

    Obviously acoustic kits are out. e-kits are maybe an option, but I have no significant space I can devote to it. But I would really like something that emulates bass/snare/hat/ride at the very least. Im aware of practice pads and sample pads but concerned that they'll help me start with rudiments but not much beyond that. 

    Is there any solution that might be remotely satisfying that won't take up half a room? 
    Booking time in a local rehearsal studio, if there is such a thing where you are. Obviously it will cost you per hour, but you get a full-size acoustic kit already set up and you can make as much of a racket as you like. You can even use the PA to play back any tuition material you might want to use from a laptop.

    If it doesn't work out you've lost nothing other than a bit of money, and if it does then someone will probably overhear you and ask you to join a band...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    ICBM said:
    I have a feeling I've had this conversation before, but starting from a postition of "does an e-kit work in an apartment".

    Today, I'd like to reframe the question slightly: How can I learn to drum in any satisfying manner without getting a full kit (and in an apartment)? 

    Obviously acoustic kits are out. e-kits are maybe an option, but I have no significant space I can devote to it. But I would really like something that emulates bass/snare/hat/ride at the very least. Im aware of practice pads and sample pads but concerned that they'll help me start with rudiments but not much beyond that. 

    Is there any solution that might be remotely satisfying that won't take up half a room? 
    Booking time in a local rehearsal studio, if there is such a thing where you are. Obviously it will cost you per hour, but you get a full-size acoustic kit already set up and you can make as much of a racket as you like. You can even use the PA to play back any tuition material you might want to use from a laptop.

    If it doesn't work out you've lost nothing other than a bit of money, and if it does then someone will probably overhear you and ask you to join a band...

    I did this a lot when living in London.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SporkySporky Frets: 27569
    edited March 2018
    The only way is to kill all of your neighbours.

    Otherwise one of them will kill you. Arguably with good reason. The guitar playing has probably got them close to the edge already, and that's not a comment on your guitar playing.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26745
    Sporky said:
    The only way is to kill all of your neighbours.

    Otherwise one of them will kill you. Arguably with good reason. The guitar playing has probably got then closer to the edge already, and that's not a comment on your guitar playing.
    So you're saying I'd be putting them out of their misery? Interesting... ;)
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • ChrisRGChrisRG Frets: 55
    I tried using a Yamaha e kit in my flat a few years back. Set it up, put headphones on and away I went..........

    until a day or so later I bumped into the guy living beneath my who politely asked if I’d taken up drumming!!  As previously mentioned, the kick pedal thumping away still travels unfortunately. I even tried to create a bit of padding and mass underneath the pedal but it didn’t really work.  I packed the kit up and haven’t really used it since. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SporkySporky Frets: 27569
    Sporky said:
    The only way is to kill all of your neighbours.

    Otherwise one of them will kill you. Arguably with good reason. The guitar playing has probably got then closer to the edge already, and that's not a comment on your guitar playing.
    So you're saying I'd be putting them out of their misery? Interesting... ;)
    That would certainly be an internally self-consistent interpretation of my post.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • FX_MunkeeFX_Munkee Frets: 2477
    I've got a Roland HD-1 v kit that the kids bash about on. As has been mentioned it's the bass pedal that still thumps. On the HD-1 it's a virtual pedal but it's still quite noticeable through a wooden floor (drums upstairs). The rest of the kit is fairly unnoticeable, so I'm still looking to make a sound isolating riser for the kit.
    Basically some MDF, tennis balls and a bit of time:-
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-9xcm-TtfM
    If you have concrete floors I reckon you'd probably get away with it.
    Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame, you give love a bad name. Not to mention archery tuition.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Bump for this. Still itching for drums, not least because there are almost no drummers in this town, but guitarists seemingly everywhere. 

    Apart from anything else I'm seeing it as a good way to learning something useful/healthy outside of work stuff and home stuff. 

    Not planning a kit in the apartment - I think it's clear that's a non-starter, but I'm going to get a run of evening lessons and a practice pad or 3 for home. The DW "pads on a stick thing" looks a good option, and I'll work out a way to muffle the "bass drum" more than it is as standard. 

    Watch this space...
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • mrkbmrkb Frets: 6636
    Ive been a home drummer on an ekit for three years and could only get the kick pedal thud eliminated when I set it up in a small understairs room that had a concrete floor - tried lots of solutions on a suspended wood floor, but none worked to my wife’s satisfaction - noise always travelled through the ceiling.

    Now have an acoustic kit in a garden room away from the house, even then I have earplugs in when I play, as a real kit can’t be played quietly (by me anyway)
    Karma......
    Ebay mark7777_1
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    edited November 2018
    The video of Gergo demonstrating - that is insane!

    Edit: only £155, I might have to buy that!
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Mark_RMark_R Frets: 79
    edited December 2018
    As everyone mentioned there are two distinctive noises.  The first is the tap on the cymbal pads and the second the thud on the bass pedal.  Ive had a roland TD 6 which had a KD7 bass drum trigger, that made a lot noise as it is hitting the floor.  Tried a TD1 with a bass pedal (drum actuator built in), same thing really, you are stamping on the floor, so had to move it out to the shed.

    Also the TD1 had rubber pads and nasty plastic cymbals.  IT MADE A RACKET.

    Just bought a TD17 with a PD9 pad and its better (upright action) but you get the slap noise from the pad.

    The better option is one of the PDX bass drum pads.  Much better but expensive.

    All mesh pads really take the noise out and the larger PDX10's are just like hitting the toms on my kit.  The new PDX12 snare is very good.

    The latest generation rubber cymbals are noisey.  Used to prefer the old PD6 pads for cymbals, much quieter than the rubber cymbals.

    Roland do make a sound deadening bass drum pedal mat but to be honest, you're playing the drums, its going to make a noise.  

    I cant play my kit when my daughter is in bed, but I can play it without disturbing the neighbours.

    Check out the new Aleis Mesh kits at Andertons.  Saw them on Sunday, looked good, very cheep but not played one so cant comment as to how they sound/play.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.