RudimentalDrummer
Moderator
How To Muffle Your Acoustic Kit (retaining The Feel/Touch at a Low-Cost - Avoiding Complains in HDB ) - - - - - This Orginal Method of Muffling a Drum Kit (retaining the Feel/touch which is of most important) was explain and taught to me - by Alvin from Music Lab (My Drum Instructor) - and it works absolutely well ... so now I would share it with all of you here.
After my Neighbour complain about me drumming too loud (I really have no other choice). My 1st option was to buy the Roland Electronic Kit TD9 which will costy me S$4100.00 at Swee Lee (because I feel that Electronic Drums with Rubber Pads will do me certain harm if I practice it very often on it - as over time I will lose the Touch/Feel of an Acoustic Kit later on as I play so often on it (and I love it)....and I call Alvin hoping for a solution (which beforehand seems like the whole world really tearing apart for me) - - How is it possible for me (1) To get the Touch/Feel of a real Drum using my Existing Kits, (2) plus must be soft so that my Neighbours wont complain against me again and if they did - I will have no problem if I could bring it to a really soft-level without disturbing anyone in my vicinity. (3) plus if possible - - Low Cost and whatever needed is easily accessible (I can buy it anywhere) - - - seems like an impossible dream to me.....but I was lucky .... hahahaha My Instructor came to my rescue.
The Practice Kit here to be Muffer is :- A Mapex QR Series
18" Bass Drum
14" Floor Tom & Snare
a 8" & 12" Tom
1 Hi-hat Stand, 1 Cymbal Stand and 1 Ride Stand
Cost Used:- (excluding my HQ Pad - which you can just use a Card-Board - or those last time Olden Days Rubber Floor-Mat cut to fit also can)
6 Bags of Fibre (S$3.50 x 6 ) = S$21.00
5 Fibre Cushion = S$18.00
Total Cost = = S$39.00
The Floor-Tom is used as an example here.
YOu see a HQ Rubber Muffle-Pad (I've already had this last time - but rebound was unreal - so I kept it and now brought out to use for this project). and some Bags of Tontins (or Artificial Fibre Used for Stuffing Pillows) - - not Cotton har, as these Fibre have Good Sound Absorbing Qualities.
A Close Up view of the Fibre used here
The Fibre in a Plastic Bag (S$3.50 per Bag), HQ Pad, Floor Tom & Rings
The Top Rim & Batter is taken out, and a HQ Pad is placed right to the bottom of the Tom (till it touches the Resonant head). You can do this with all the Tom-Toms, but not on the Snare and The Bass Drum (there is some difference here - I 'll let you know later - see below). Make sure that the Bottom Reso-Head/Rim is not too loose - but tightened as we will have to push the Fibre in all the way - - Try to squeeze as much as you could into all the Toms-Toms
ANOTHER OPTION ON TOMS - -:- If you do not put in the HQ-Rubber-Pad for the Tom-Toms you will have a louder Tom sound (I put the Rubber HQ Pad place at the bottom of the toms because I wanted the toms to be softer)......So, if the Tom-toms are did exactly in the same manner as the Snare Method (see below explaination) - It will be louder (of course) but you will get a (Much closer tom sound closer to the Original Tom Sound).
After my Neighbour complain about me drumming too loud (I really have no other choice). My 1st option was to buy the Roland Electronic Kit TD9 which will costy me S$4100.00 at Swee Lee (because I feel that Electronic Drums with Rubber Pads will do me certain harm if I practice it very often on it - as over time I will lose the Touch/Feel of an Acoustic Kit later on as I play so often on it (and I love it)....and I call Alvin hoping for a solution (which beforehand seems like the whole world really tearing apart for me) - - How is it possible for me (1) To get the Touch/Feel of a real Drum using my Existing Kits, (2) plus must be soft so that my Neighbours wont complain against me again and if they did - I will have no problem if I could bring it to a really soft-level without disturbing anyone in my vicinity. (3) plus if possible - - Low Cost and whatever needed is easily accessible (I can buy it anywhere) - - - seems like an impossible dream to me.....but I was lucky .... hahahaha My Instructor came to my rescue.
The Practice Kit here to be Muffer is :- A Mapex QR Series
18" Bass Drum
14" Floor Tom & Snare
a 8" & 12" Tom
1 Hi-hat Stand, 1 Cymbal Stand and 1 Ride Stand
Cost Used:- (excluding my HQ Pad - which you can just use a Card-Board - or those last time Olden Days Rubber Floor-Mat cut to fit also can)
6 Bags of Fibre (S$3.50 x 6 ) = S$21.00
5 Fibre Cushion = S$18.00
Total Cost = = S$39.00
The Floor-Tom is used as an example here.
YOu see a HQ Rubber Muffle-Pad (I've already had this last time - but rebound was unreal - so I kept it and now brought out to use for this project). and some Bags of Tontins (or Artificial Fibre Used for Stuffing Pillows) - - not Cotton har, as these Fibre have Good Sound Absorbing Qualities.
A Close Up view of the Fibre used here
The Fibre in a Plastic Bag (S$3.50 per Bag), HQ Pad, Floor Tom & Rings
The Top Rim & Batter is taken out, and a HQ Pad is placed right to the bottom of the Tom (till it touches the Resonant head). You can do this with all the Tom-Toms, but not on the Snare and The Bass Drum (there is some difference here - I 'll let you know later - see below). Make sure that the Bottom Reso-Head/Rim is not too loose - but tightened as we will have to push the Fibre in all the way - - Try to squeeze as much as you could into all the Toms-Toms
ANOTHER OPTION ON TOMS - -:- If you do not put in the HQ-Rubber-Pad for the Tom-Toms you will have a louder Tom sound (I put the Rubber HQ Pad place at the bottom of the toms because I wanted the toms to be softer)......So, if the Tom-toms are did exactly in the same manner as the Snare Method (see below explaination) - It will be louder (of course) but you will get a (Much closer tom sound closer to the Original Tom Sound).
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