Becoming a "tapper"

I'm a basher. I play like a 900lb silverback...

I play loud because it's comfortable...however, the band has decided to move from a rented practice space, to the bass player's living room.

We started out there, but gradually got louder until the cops showed up...

Plus: $125 less/mo rent!

Minus: I have to play quieter.

While I think I can manage, the bass player is also thinking of building a partial wall around the drums to keep the sound in...much like a drum shield would...except this would be free, and not transparent, and a lot more "dead" as it'll have fiberglass insulation in it...

Thoughts?

Also, band's not splitting up as I thought...

only problem with the wall is that it would not only block the drums, but you as well. you wouuldnt be able to see the band, which means you wouldnt be able to pick up on some of the visual cues and what not. i think you should go with one of the drum shield things, or something you couuld cut a hole out of and make a window.

I'm sure it's a lot of the low frequencies causing trouble. Can you play in a basement where many of the frequencies are absorbed? Typically, nothing short of lots of drywall, fiberglass, and floating floors won't dramatically reduce the noise.

1. who wants to practice unable to see the rest of the band.

2. play with wrist and fingers instead of arm and shoulder

Put a lot of muffling on your drums and tape on your cymbals. Will sound like crap, but definitely be quieter.

I like to smack em too, throw lots of feeling into them, bout the only thing that works to be quieter for me is playing with rods. Could build a plexi wall it helps but not much, maybe look for a cheap ekit? We used to have practice @ 2am all headphones, it sounded like listening to a CD worked great.

When the band is playing go outside to see how loud it really is. then you can make the right ajustments.We had the same thing happen at my house, I let the singer set behind the kit and went out side with the cop ,it wasn't as bad as he said it was.We turn it down a little and quit at 12. Other times played til 2 heard no complaints.I think it depends on the cop, and your neighbors.

A lot of the various treatments will only kill off reflections and really won't change the volume outside of the room. I found out about this when forming my home recording studio. A fully contained room within a room including subfloor would be an improvement but the transparent shields won't change much outside the house.

I remember someone here building a sound proof room out of cardboard boxes, wonder how that went.

I would put the effort into learning to play quieter. Being able to control your dynamics at will is a very important skill to have on any instrument.

I am a tapper! Wait...you mean on the drums?

i just thought of this, you could get those pads that go over the drums and cymbals. it would severely cut the volume and you wouldnt have to hide behind a wall.

OK I'll be the guy that says it , how bout you just play softer? Hard at first but you'll get the hang of it.

Many rockers have biased (do the math) their hearing towards the upper limits. Quite simply there are no musical responses at unplugged or 'classical' dynamics.

Oklahoma has a multi-type/layer clay soil (so it shifts), with a high water table...meaning that basements are VERY rare, and slabs (with or without piering) are most common. Go fig...Tornado Alley, and no basements eh?

This in combination with the bass player is going to Iraq for electrical, I doubt it'll (band) be done for very long. He told me yesterday around 5:00 that he got the call out notice.

I'm very happy for him...he's making nearly 10x my 2-week take-home per month....money > bands.

Re: #1 - the wall will only go as high as my cymbals, which is below my head. I'll look like a floating head. if we even bother with the wall idea now...

Re: #2 - true....

-----

Re: others saying dynamics and so on - I started out playing jazz in school. I know all about dynamics, having played a lot of Glenn Miller, Count Bassie, Bennie Goodman and the likes....the hard part is BALANCE.

My drums are loud on their own, because I don't muffle them like I did my old Tama kit, that, and I didn't have to worry THAT much because we had over 20 students every year...but yeah, my music teacher would get on me about being too loud, and "punish" me by having me use brushes...

Hahaha. That's kinda strange, I wouldn't like it , but if you are fine with it, it seems like a good idea.

As much as every drummer despises rods, I use them every couple of weeks and it's not THAT awful. Sure, your cymbals will sound like trash and you get some peculiar dynamics, but they allow you to smack the crap out of a drum without being overpowering. Rimshots will obviously destroy them really quickly.

It's only a practice right? No one is asking you to play quietly at a show.

I had to muti-qoute the {censored} outa this one.

Option also, but again, would get old after while.

I hit hard that we may see the light and our spirit be lifted to a hire level.

I'd try and find someone throwing out cubical walls. Then you could make you own shield or maybe get enough to fit the whole band in it? I planned on doing that myself one time.

In my best Huey Lewis speaking through the bullhorn voice from 'Back to the Future':

"I'm sorry, you boys are just too loud"

(In the movie, Huey is the actual guy who plays that part)

Otherwise, I cannot improve on the advice given here. If you cannot put more baffles between you and the outside where your neighbors can hear. whether it be air, a wall, shield or whatever, the neighbors will continue to complain. You guys must be deafing in concert!

In my best Huey Lewis speaking through the bullhorn voice from 'Back to the Future': "I'm sorry, you boys are just too loud" (In the movie, Huey is the actual guy who plays that part) Otherwise, I cannot improve on the advice given here. If you cannot put more baffles between you and the outside where your neighbors can hear. whether it be air, a wall, shield or whatever, the neighbors will continue to complain. You guys must be deafing in concert!

That's how I get blisters (playing as loud as I can get, plus being mic'd).