If you wanted to play drums but.....

[ReflectedLight]

Here's the situation. I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible. I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor. I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums.

Any ideas? Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums? Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass?

Edited May 21, 2008 by hope70

[King Rygar]

I'm basically in the same boat. I've been wanting to play for a few years now, just can't do it in my current circumstances...

[Jack Aubrey]

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM)

Here's the situation. I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible. I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor. I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas? Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums? Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass?

Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them.

 

[ReflectedLight]

QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:10 PM)

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM) Here's the situation.  I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible.  I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor.  I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas?  Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums?  Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass? Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them. I play the electronic drums whenever I'm at my local music store, but no matter how good they are, it doesn't feel the same.

[Jack Aubrey]

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:21 PM)

QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:10 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM) Here's the situation.  I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible.  I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor.  I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas?  Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums?  Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass? Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them. I play the electronic drums whenever I'm at my local music store, but no matter how good they are, it doesn't feel the same. Hmm. I'm not sure how to respond to that. I mean, they feel the same to me but then again, no two people are alike. Can you be more specific about how they don't feel the same? There might be a solution or product that you don't know about.

[ReflectedLight]

QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:26 PM)

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:21 PM) QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:10 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM) Here's the situation.  I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible.  I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor.  I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas?  Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums?  Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass? Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them. I play the electronic drums whenever I'm at my local music store, but no matter how good they are, it doesn't feel the same. Hmm. I'm not sure how to respond to that. I mean, they feel the same to me but then again, no two people are alike. Can you be more specific about how they don't feel the same? There might be a solution or product that you don't know about. When I hit them I feel like there's more kick back. What kind of kit do you play? I'll have to check it out.

[Jack Aubrey]

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:51 PM)

QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:26 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:21 PM) QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:10 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM) Here's the situation.  I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible.  I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor.  I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas?  Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums?  Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass? Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them. I play the electronic drums whenever I'm at my local music store, but no matter how good they are, it doesn't feel the same. Hmm. I'm not sure how to respond to that. I mean, they feel the same to me but then again, no two people are alike. Can you be more specific about how they don't feel the same? There might be a solution or product that you don't know about. When I hit them I feel like there's more kick back. What kind of kit do you play? I'll have to check it out. I've got a Yamaha DTXPress III, but I have the Pintech mesh head pads on it.

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

See if you can find rental studio space. If you set up a monthly situation you should be able to store a kit there. There is a place near where I live that you can rent hourly and pay a little extra for storage. My brother's band used to do that.

 

I wouldn't get nice kit in that situation though.

[kazzman]

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 06:51 PM)

QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:26 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:21 PM) QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:10 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM) Here's the situation.  I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible.  I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor.  I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas?  Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums?  Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass? Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them. I play the electronic drums whenever I'm at my local music store, but no matter how good they are, it doesn't feel the same. Hmm. I'm not sure how to respond to that. I mean, they feel the same to me but then again, no two people are alike. Can you be more specific about how they don't feel the same? There might be a solution or product that you don't know about. When I hit them I feel like there's more kick back. What kind of kit do you play? I'll have to check it out. And once you learn how to control that "kick back" properly, you'll be amazed on how your technique and chops will build up .     Now... for the original question... you have several options...   You can most certainly get an accoustic drum set. This will present you with several different options. The most obvious would be to get a full set of mutes for the drums. This way, it would really take away the "loudness" of the drums. The other option would be to talk it over with your neighbors and let them know of your situation. See if you can compromise a set time to where you could be able to play and wouldn't have to worry about them complaining.   Another option is going for the electronic drum set like Jack mentioned. Now, the big complaint I get where I work (in a drum shop ) is that the electronic kits don't "feel" like an accoustic kit, and they're absolutely right. There's just certain elements that an accoustic kit bring that an electronic kit cannot duplicate. If you want the closest thing to an accoustic kit that the electronic market has to offer then you'll end up shelling out a good $5,000 for a Roland TD-20 or Yamaha DTXtreme III. There's also an "inexpensive" route to take with the electronics and go with a Simmons SD7K for $599, a Yamaha DTXplorer for $700, a Roland HD-1 for $800, Roland TD-3 for $1,000 or the new Roland TD-9 for $1,500 and $2,500 respectively.   The other option is a practice pad set. What this is is just a bunch of practice pads set up like a real drum kit. DW makes a great one for around $170, the only thing you have to add on would be the pedals.

[ReflectedLight]

QUOTE (CygnusX-1Bk2 @ May 21 2008, 07:33 PM)

See if you can find rental studio space. If you set up a monthly situation you should be able to store a kit there. There is a place near where I live that you can rent hourly and pay a little extra for storage. My brother's band used to do that. I wouldn't get nice kit in that situation though.

Thanks for the suggestion. There's a practice studio not too far from me that I played at a few times. They already have drum kits and amps set up. Anyway I'm not crazy about paying $10 every time I want to practice or play. I don't have the money for that.

[ReflectedLight]

QUOTE (kazzman @ May 21 2008, 07:45 PM)

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 06:51 PM) QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:26 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:21 PM) QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:10 PM) QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM) Here's the situation.  I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible.  I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor.  I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas?  Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums?  Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass? Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them. I play the electronic drums whenever I'm at my local music store, but no matter how good they are, it doesn't feel the same. Hmm. I'm not sure how to respond to that. I mean, they feel the same to me but then again, no two people are alike. Can you be more specific about how they don't feel the same? There might be a solution or product that you don't know about. When I hit them I feel like there's more kick back. What kind of kit do you play? I'll have to check it out. And once you learn how to control that "kick back" properly, you'll be amazed on how your technique and chops will build up .     Now... for the original question... you have several options...   You can most certainly get an accoustic drum set. This will present you with several different options. The most obvious would be to get a full set of mutes for the drums. This way, it would really take away the "loudness" of the drums. The other option would be to talk it over with your neighbors and let them know of your situation. See if you can compromise a set time to where you could be able to play and wouldn't have to worry about them complaining.   Another option is going for the electronic drum set like Jack mentioned. Now, the big complaint I get where I work (in a drum shop ) is that the electronic kits don't "feel" like an accoustic kit, and they're absolutely right. There's just certain elements that an accoustic kit bring that an electronic kit cannot duplicate. If you want the closest thing to an accoustic kit that the electronic market has to offer then you'll end up shelling out a good $5,000 for a Roland TD-20 or Yamaha DTXtreme III. There's also an "inexpensive" route to take with the electronics and go with a Simmons SD7K for $599, a Yamaha DTXplorer for $700, a Roland HD-1 for $800, Roland TD-3 for $1,000 or the new Roland TD-9 for $1,500 and $2,500 respectively.   The other option is a practice pad set. What this is is just a bunch of practice pads set up like a real drum kit. DW makes a great one for around $170, the only thing you have to add on would be the pedals. I've seen that DW practice pad kit. Looks kind of cool and might be what I need to get. Thanks

[different strings]

I used to own a full practice pad set up and I found it ideal for the situation that you describe.

[Roguedrummer]

QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ May 21 2008, 06:10 PM)

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 21 2008, 07:01 PM) Here's the situation.  I've always wanted to play drums, but because of my living quarters, it's impossible.  I live in a 3 family house and on the middle floor.  I don't want to play unless there acoustic drums. Any ideas?  Should I give up the dream until I own my own garage and able to house the drums?  Maybe I should stick with the guitar or maybe bass? Get the acoustic chip off of your shoulder and get an electronic set. You'd be amazed at how good they are nowadays, plus if you get a set with the mesh heads, they even feel like acoustic drums. You can always get an acoustic set if your living situation changes. Don't give up your dream due to any notions/prejudices you may have where electronic drums are concerned. At least go down to your local music store and try them. Aye, I have to agree...........   I lost my acoustic set in my divorce. Now I live in an apartment.....and bought a Roland...........of course it is different......but the principle is still roughly the same.   ****Plus, you can get some wierd funky sounds out of an electronic kit that you can't from an acoustic.   *****Also it is Midi compatible

[EmotionDetector]

I know I'm going to get beat down and made fun of, but another option if you just want to play...you can actually use the "drum kit" from the Video Game 'Rock Band'.

 

Apparently, there's freeware out there (I can't recall where to get it), but it allows you to program each of the pads into real drums. I've seen a video online, and it's actually very cool...especially for recording onto your PC.

 

Obviously, if you're serious about getting a real kit, then I definitely agree with Jack Aubery 100%. Electronic kits are outstanding in terms of sound and playing...I am looking at getting one eventually as well.

 

Good luck on your search though!!

[ReflectedLight]

Roland seems to be at the top with electronic kits. All I need now is about 5K.

[sanzo]

I can totaly relate, I have 2 hi end kits and I dont earn much,I was inspired by the professor but I dont play them,I have the kit in the shed and the shed is attached to my neighburs hourse so I dont play out of respect,i will get mute pad some tho,It will help Edited May 31, 2008 by sanzo

[kazzman]

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 28 2008, 04:37 PM)

Roland seems to be at the top with electronic kits. All I need now is about 5K.

Check out the new TD9.

 

It has many of the features of the TD20, and is about half of the price.

[ReflectedLight]

QUOTE (kazzman @ May 31 2008, 06:44 PM)

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 28 2008, 04:37 PM) Roland seems to be at the top with electronic kits.  All I need now is about 5K.  Check out the new TD9.   It has many of the features of the TD20, and is about half of the price. Is it me or does it take less power on your hitting stroke with an electronic kit as opposed to acoustic kit, in order to produce the same sound?

[kazzman]

I think it's just you. When I'm playing on an electronic kit (well, depending on the model I should say...) I play just as hard as I do on an acoustic and still get around the same sound out of it.

[psionic11]

Nobody's mentioned the Alesis USBpro drumkit. Yeah, yeah, the DM5pro is sucky and cheap-feeling, and its drum module isn't the greatest.

 

But you don't have to spend thousands of dollars to get some really responsive acoustic-sounding drums. The Alesis USBpro doesn't have a drum module per se, like all the big boys, but instead has a Trigger IO that translates your drumming into MIDI directly into your PC. There it triggers BFD lite drum software. The drums are as real sounding as you can get it, and you can even dial in different room mics. And it comes with grooves and the ability to make your own.

 

The cost for this next generation electronic drumset, whose sounds are only limited by your software? $699

[ReflectedLight]

They all sound good but I don't think even an electronic kit will work in my situation. I'm on the 2nd floor of a 3 family, and even hitting the bass petal on an electronic kit will be disturbing.

I want a garage so bad.

[kazzman]

QUOTE (hope70 @ Jun 1 2008, 07:18 PM)

They all sound good but I don't think even an electronic kit will work in my situation. I'm on the 2nd floor of a 3 family, and even hitting the bass petal on an electronic kit will be disturbing. I want a garage so bad.

Unless you get a Roland HD-1

 

The Pedals are built right into the stand, so you don't have to worry about them making any sound.

 

But regardless if you were to get an electronic kit or a practice kit, you'd still have the same dilemma of the pedals making a sound when striking the pads. It's something you won't be able to avoid, unless you go with the HD-1.

[kazzman]

QUOTE (psionic11 @ Jun 1 2008, 12:01 AM)

Nobody's mentioned the Alesis USBpro drumkit. Yeah, yeah, the DM5pro is sucky and cheap-feeling, and its drum module isn't the greatest.

QUOTE

Alesis

 

That's why nobody has mentioned it.

 

The only thing I would consider buying from Alesis is the Trigger iO (the module on the USB Pro kit) because it's a cheap module that could be used for triggering an acoustic kit.

 

Even if I did trigger my drums (and I'm about as anti-triggering as it gets), I'd most likely go with at least a Roland TD-12 module; but that's another discussion entirely.

[Roguedrummer]

QUOTE (hope70 @ May 28 2008, 04:37 PM)

Roland seems to be at the top with electronic kits. All I need now is about 5K.

5K isn't that hard to come by.....a trade would be the way to go.

[psionic11]

QUOTE (kazzman @ Jun 1 2008, 09:04 PM)

QUOTE (psionic11 @ Jun 1 2008, 12:01 AM) Nobody's mentioned the Alesis USBpro drumkit.  Yeah, yeah, the DM5pro is sucky and cheap-feeling, and its drum module isn't the greatest. QUOTE Alesis   That's why nobody has mentioned it.   The only thing I would consider buying from Alesis is the Trigger iO (the module on the USB Pro kit) because it's a cheap module that could be used for triggering an acoustic kit.   Even if I did trigger my drums (and I'm about as anti-triggering as it gets), I'd most likely go with at least a Roland TD-12 module; but that's another discussion entirely. Well, I wasn't impressed at all with the DM5 kit...very beginner.   But at NAMM 2008 a couple months ago, they released the new USB drumkit. Mesh pads, dual zone, choke-able cymbals with real brass... And if you've checked out BFD's drums, you know that bigger is better. Their sampleset is several GIGA bytes. Real drum sounds in a professional studio space. And if you want electronic, then you have several options there as well.   Yesteryear, I'd say yeah, Alesis drums weren't that special. But now in 2008, it's a different story. But hey, if you'd rather spend a few grand rather than a few hundred, that's certainly your prerogative   As for the noisy bass drum pedal problem, there are a few electronic foot pedals, some even doubling as continuous hihat controllers, that don't have the beater-against-a-drumhead problem:   http://www.sweetwater.com/cs--Electronic_Drum_Pedals   The KAT FAT percussion pedal is one... there are others, but I'm sure you're gonna already knock down that option as it seems you're not really looking for a solution, rather just wishing for what you cannot have.

Edited June 3, 2008 by psionic11