Quieter Drums, anyone found a solution yet?

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

So as many have said, hitting the drum pads results in a loud annoying tapping sound. Now some of us have neighbors and such so we cant just "crank it up" to drown out the sound. I have tried numerous things (Foam, cotton balls, rubber gloves, rags, socks, cloth hospital bandaging, pack foam from molds, ect...) to no avail... Will nothing work? Has ANYONE found a solution that quiets the drums without losing responsiveness? Do rubber practice sticks work?

[melman101]

Ok, I bought this game on Tuesday, like everyone else :-). That night I heard my downstairs neighbor complaining so i started looking for a solution. Mind you I already have carpet and padding to start with. And the lady has been complaining for years, just from my walking. So I started with two more extra layers of carpet

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/2060337476_7ceaa05ae3.jpg?v=0

Then I added some wood I had from an ikea bed that i no longer use.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2011/2059557013_aaf04de8a1.jpg?v=0

Lastly, here's the final picture.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2248/2060337424_eaf63e0091.jpg?v=0

I hope this dampened the noise for her. I am not going to stop and I tried my best to reduce the noise.

[trilidar]

So far what I've done is purchase marching band sticks (which have giant 'cotton balls' on the ends) and cover the drum pads with adhesive felt (avail from any pool table merchant). Plus, the felt's avail in all kinds of colors so you can make your entire pad the correct color (pretty cool).

tril

[Fatal1ty_Reaper]

Tril- How much did that help? Did it reduce the responsiveness of the drums at all? I can't imagine that felt cut to the correct size would matter but the marching band sticks seem like they would reduce the responsiveness...

[trilidar]

Tril- How much did that help? Did it reduce the responsiveness of the drums at all? I can't imagine that felt cut to the correct size would matter but the marching band sticks seem like they would reduce the responsiveness...

I haven't noticed any decrease in responsiveness. Granted, the stick's balance is a bit off due to weight redistribution though.

However having said that, I'm also only playing on medium difficulty. How/if this effects rolls, etc on higher difficulties I don't know.

As for how much it's helped, I'd say alot. It's easily 60%+ quieter.

Hope this helps.
tril

[nitroman28]

So as many have said, hitting the drum pads results in a loud annoying tapping sound. Now some of us have neighbors and such so we cant just "crank it up" to drown out the sound. I have tried numerous things (Foam, cotton balls, rubber gloves, rags, socks, cloth hospital bandaging, pack foam from molds, ect...) to no avail... Will nothing work? Has ANYONE found a solution that quiets the drums without losing responsiveness? Do rubber practice sticks work?


Welcome to the world of Drums, noise has always been a problem thats why alot of people goto Guitar or Bass. It's easier to practice with out driving everyone crazy. These are no where close to as load as a acoustic set, And if you go with a electric set they are still loud just from the sound the pads make, There is nothing you can do that wont change the response of the pads. If you do put something over the pad to tone down the noise you will just have to hit harder so the trigger will still go off. If you play the game on Easy or med you don't have to hit the pads very hard. Hard to expert you have to hit them hard because you have to play so fast. Once the after market company's start making drums for it I'm sure they will use softer pads.

[No_Skill]

1/4" neoprene rubber baby!

I went to my local hardware store and bought $4 worth of 1/4" neoprene rubber and cut 6 3/4" circles out of it. Then I used strips of electrical tape to hold them on. You can still see the colored circles for the new people who play the game and the sound is way more bearable.

At first I tried putting foam on the sticks themselves, but it added weight and they just didn't look or feel right. The pads are still very responsive and the rubber almost seems to add a bit more spring on the rebound. I'm not playing on expert, so I'm not positive how the tougher rolls will respond, but I love them right now. So far I've got about 6 hrs on them and they are holding up great. I'll post pics if needed.

[Tekkor]

Any pics of some of these modifications would be nice to have. The noise for me isnt a huge issue really (we dont have another house within 500 yards and the wife sleeps upstairs from me and my son playing downstairs)....but I would be interested in some options from the standpoint of the sound maybe is a bit more natural as your playing.

The high pitch hits with the drums as is is a bit distracting to us sometimes. If it was a bit quieter or lower so to speak perhaps it would actually be easier overall?

[No_Skill]

Any pics of some of these modifications would be nice to have. The noise for me isnt a huge issue really (we dont have another house within 500 yards and the wife sleeps upstairs from me and my son playing downstairs)....but I would be interested in some options from the standpoint of the sound maybe is a bit more natural as your playing.

The high pitch hits with the drums as is is a bit distracting to us sometimes. If it was a bit quieter or lower so to speak perhaps it would actually be easier overall?

Yep, this is exactly why I did it. I wasn't worried about neighbors. I just hated the high pitch tic tic tac noise the kit made. My wife hits the drums fairly softly and when she plays the kit is barely audible. I should try to take video an put in on YouTube.

[Catalytic]

I was thinking of buying some thick mouse pads and cutting them into 7" circles and using double sided tape to keep them attached to the drum pads ... it is certainly quieter (through a test run), but I did not check the responsiveness (especially drum rolls). Plus, you can get them in colors to match the pads which would be cool.

[Loxguard]

We make the drummer play in a different room.

[preOwned]

Go to a local drum shop and ask for drum mute pads. These are used on authentic drums to muffle the sound, and do a good job on this kit. I would say it makes a 50% reduction in the kit noise. I can hear the drums on the game much better now.
It cost me under 20 bucks and is well worth it.

[arlam110]

i use colored beanie caps hahaha
seems to be working quite well, but i'm playing on medium right now.