Does anyone have some drums in their garage I can play? I'll pay by the hour, etc. Or, does anyone know of any places in the area that sell practice spaces for bands?

A lot of public storage places will rent out storage areas for band practice/equipment. Since there is no one around, usually, you won't annoy anyone with your practice.

Barco Rebar
Falls Church, VA
703-207-1657
http://www.barcorebar.com

One World Studios
Washington, D.C.
202-234-2771
http://1worldstudios.com/rehearsal.htm

Uncle Bob's Self Storage
Alexandria, VA
800-242-1715
http://www.unclebobs.com

studio3dc
Washington, DC
202-270-2744
http://www.studio3dc.com

I don't know about the studios, but between Barco Rebar and Uncle Bob's, I would definitely go with Barco. When I rented a practice spot there, he provided a soundproof, climate controlled room with a PA. Uncle Bob's, in comparison, is a storage room that gets balls hot in the summer, and witch's titty cold in the winter.

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13 4826 0948 82695 25847. Yes.

Thanks!

Or you could use some foam rubber mufflers for the drums. Cost is equal to one month's rental of a storage space.

Thomas More Wrote:
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> Or you could use some foam rubber mufflers for the
> drums. Cost is equal to one month's rental of a
> storage space.

Most drummers I've met consider it blasphemous to mention the idea of getting practice covers or even (gasp!) an electronic drum kit for practicing, so I don't even bother suggesting that anymore. Always something to do with, "They don't make the drums feel right."

I think, "Well, you can use that excuse when you're Danny Carey," but I know it's a pointless argument.

And then there's the issue of practicing with the rest of the band...

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13 4826 0948 82695 25847. Yes.

Look...Put your little fucking drums away and get a job you hippie.

MrMephisto Wrote:

> Most drummers I've met consider it blasphemous to
> mention the idea of getting practice covers or
> even (gasp!) an electronic drum kit for
> practicing, so I don't even bother suggesting that
> anymore. Always something to do with, "They don't
> make the drums feel right."


I have had the same experience recommending digital drums to people. However, I've also noticed that the really good drummers actually like digital kits. I used to have some Ddrums by Clavia and they were amazing. I've recorded them and asked drummers to guess whether they were real or digital, and most couldn't tell and all loved the way the kick drum sounded. Personally I loved them. It was like having 150 drum sets at my disposal. There are a lot more things that you can do with digital drums than you can do with real drums.

- Most drummers don't (or can't) tune their drums - no need with digital.
- Takes at least 5-6 mics of various types and costs to mic real drums - None with digital, and they're in stereo.
- Because digital drums lower volume capabilities, the guitars and bass can turn down and monitors don't have to be as loud. This makes for a better sound in the house or record mix in smaller venues or studios.
- Multiple drum kits. Play rock drums, then switch to percussion, jazz, hip hop or electronic kits. Can also midi them with other drum machines or keyboards.

Bottom line is, if you can't play digital drums, you probably aren't a good drummer.

you forgot footprint. a digi kit will take up a god amount less space, which is a huge consideration on stage.

Otherwise, minus the insult at the end, you listed all the things i would cite. My experience lately is the same as with dj's.. that modern drummers of talent would rather have the digital versatility, just as modern dj's have embraced laptops and cd mixers. I still think a wood drum set makes a better decoration, though!!!

Litsa's garage

Thomas More Wrote:
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> Or you could use some foam rubber mufflers for the
> drums. Cost is equal to one month's rental of a
> storage space.


yea im a drummer, and fuck you for even mentioning that. Those pads make your set sound like an asshole, and they throw off the feel of the whole kit.

I have to respond to this Numbers guy above

Do the REALLY good drummers actually USE these kits? Get real. Mayer? Carey? Portnoy? Peart (he has them as an addition to his main kit)? Lets see...who else is a REALLY GOOD drummer?

So how come the greatest drummers in the world choose to record AND perform with acoustic sets when this guy thinks digital drums are "just as good" and then further implies people who don't think like him are not good drummers? What a laugh.

Music isn't masterbation...it's a process. I enjoy tuning the drums, enjoy working the mics, enjoy the setup...yes, it takes time, yes its "Harder" than a digital drum set, but that's what makes it good. The hard is what makes it good.

I can also change my heads, tuning, sticks and the way I play and change my Sonor Delite drum set from a kit that can play heavy metal to one that can play jazz improv.

That's the GREAT thing about an acoustic set, THEY CAN BE versatile if you have the experience and the dedication to make it that way. But in our fast pace 7-11 world, all some want to do is click a button. Back in the day drummers typically had 1, maybe 2 crash cymbals, but seemed to get all kinds of sounds out of them based on where they struck the cymbal and how they struck it. Now, I use more cymbals on my kit, but I make it a point to use many of my cymbals for multiple uses. That's what makes acoustic so interesting.

If you want a click a button and strap on a computer laptop, be my guest, but you're dead fooking wrong to suggest 'better drummers' would rather play digital. That's just bogus non-sense and you have no facts to back it up.

If you like digital, fine...support it, promote it, but quit making shit up.

Captain Groovy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have to respond to this Numbers guy above
>
> Do the REALLY good drummers actually USE these
> kits? Get real. Mayer? Carey? Portnoy? Peart (he
> has them as an addition to his main kit)? Lets
> see...who else is a REALLY GOOD drummer?
>
> So how come the greatest drummers in the world
> choose to record AND perform with acoustic sets
> when this guy thinks digital drums are "just as
> good" and then further implies people who don't
> think like him are not good drummers? What a
> laugh.
>
> Music isn't masterbation...it's a process. I enjoy
> tuning the drums, enjoy working the mics, enjoy
> the setup...yes, it takes time, yes its "Harder"
> than a digital drum set, but that's what makes it
> good. The hard is what makes it good.
>
> I can also change my heads, tuning, sticks and the
> way I play and change my Sonor Delite drum set
> from a kit that can play heavy metal to one that
> can play jazz improv.
>
> That's the GREAT thing about an acoustic set, THEY
> CAN BE versatile if you have the experience and
> the dedication to make it that way. But in our
> fast pace 7-11 world, all some want to do is click
> a button. Back in the day drummers typically had
> 1, maybe 2 crash cymbals, but seemed to get all
> kinds of sounds out of them based on where they
> struck the cymbal and how they struck it. Now, I
> use more cymbals on my kit, but I make it a point
> to use many of my cymbals for multiple uses.
> That's what makes acoustic so interesting.
>
> If you want a click a button and strap on a
> computer laptop, be my guest, but you're dead
> fooking wrong to suggest 'better drummers' would
> rather play digital. That's just bogus non-sense
> and you have no facts to back it up.
>
> If you like digital, fine...support it, promote
> it, but quit making shit up.


WTF?
I never said I didn't like acoustic drums or that great drummers don't still use them, or that they prefer them. All I said is that most great drummers are open minded enough to try them and use them. I've played with a lot of really good drummers and they loved my digital kit. They may not have chosen to go out and buy one, but they certainly appreciated the possibilities of it. I think more drummers would use them live, or in the studio if more manufacturers made them and made them better.
BTW, many acoustic kits use triggers that blend in digital drum machine sounds, especially on the kick drum.
This thread was meant to be a search for practice space and all I suggested was the use of digital drums as an alternative. You blew what I said way out of proportion. My point was that drummer that refuses to even try them, is usually not even worthy of an acoustic kit.



Ive played acoustic and digital drums and once I got used to them, I preferred them. They were Clavia DDrums that were samples of Billy Cobbham, Simon Phillips, Steve Gadd and other great drummers actual acoustic kits. Each drum was recorded at several different angles, with different mics in a studio in Sweden. They sounded awesome and there were far more things I could do with them and more sounds than I could ever get with my acoustic kit(s). There was never any bleed through on recordings, no snare rattling with every bass guitar note and I could play any style of music at any time or use the kit just for percussion. Sometimes I would send the signal through a nice PA system and put an ambient mic in the room and I got incredible recordings and because I could control the levels and EQ on each drum, I could get a damn good stereo recording using just 2 tracks for the drums. Yes, in a perfect world I would love to have both types, but I have to say I grew pretty attached to the ddrums.

In response to tuning and setting up drums, I don't mind positioning mics and all that if the drummer has a decent kit and knows how to tune them, but I assure you these drummers are few are far between. Most don't give a shit and leave it up to the producer or someone else. Most have random shit stuffed into the kick drum and duct tape all over the drumheads.

Captain Groovy, Danny Carey actually uses a hybrid kit; he's not exactly an acoustic purist.

The average, not-being-paid-for-it drummer around here doesn't tune his shit, and usually can't afford to replace that cracked cymbal or the dented snare drum that comes from being played in shitty dive bars for drunk assholes. For the same price, he could get a kit that will play flawlessly, every time, as long as nobody spills a beer on it.

At gunpoint, most people in the crowd wouldn't be able to tell the difference between acoustic or electronic drums without looking at the kit. In this area, they just make more sense. There's not a lot of practice space, and the venues that play local bands around here generally have pretty shitty sound and acoustics; often, all you can here is the wash of cymbal from some d-bag who just hits it as hard as he can.

I don't know how many drummers I've seen at Jaxx knock their cymbal over, which knocks their mic over, which pulls the other mic over, and the band has to try to put that shit back together in the middle of a song.

No, I'm going to have to be a staunch supporter of digital drums.

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13 4826 0948 82695 25847. Yes.

the difference between electrics and acoustics are mostly the feel of the drums, i personally prefer an acoutsic, it feels better, and i find you can get more variation in sound from it than you can an electric.

I have electronic drums and have practiced on these drums. I agree that recording is easy and that you have no issue of needing to tune them. I agree that any good player can play on them. That being said, you can't replace real drums with electronic ones. You can however augment your real set to use them to do things you couldn't do with the acoustic sets.

The issue of electronic drums is the fact that you only get 1 or 2 zones on your pads and maybe 3 on a ride cymbal. Real drums have more areas to hit and it sounds different in all of these places. The dynamic range of the electronic drums is a hamper because you can play softer than they can pick up or once you get to a certain volume, that's all the volume you get. Where as the real drums you can have the full gambit of the dynamic range. I do agree that the benefit of the electronic drums is you can control the volume.

There's the issue also of the fact that when you hit an electric drum the sound returned is just a sample that gets played back louder or softer according to velocity. Real drums change sound when you hit them really hard or really soft.

As I said, I do use them. They are great for practicing the motion of drumming. Though, they don't help for practicing rebounding off of real heads, metal cymbals, metal or wood rims. They also only allow you to practice dynamics in the small dynamic range that they cover. So, if you go the route of practicing on electronic drums, I would suggest getting one or two acoustic practices in before doing a gig so you are re-accustomed to the rebound and dynamic range.

If you want to play out with electronic drums, there's a slew of issues you potentially could run into. Like if the drum brain dies at a gig, you're done for the night.

I do like electronic drums though. I've spent a good amount of money to get a set that I really dig for practicing. It's a Roland V-Session kit with a TD-20kv, TD-10, Korg Wave Drum, Roland SPD-S, Roland Handsonic, and an Octopad. I actually turned my guitarist into a pro-electronic drum person with them.