So some of you may have seen that Dan and I decided to get him acoustic drums!
He’s been thinking about it for a while and since it is his birthday at the end of the month, it seemed like a good time to go for it. We have been getting a bit more serious about our playing and at some point would love to form some kind of band, so this is a step in that direction
My question is for those of you that have played live or as part of a band, how do you protect your hearing? The acoustic drums are obviously quite a bit louder than the electric set we have and I’m going to need to up the volume of my guitar and vocals to compensate. As I am completely new to this world, any advice would be appreciated
But now, what you really came for which is the pics:
Don’t know the first thing about drums, but these look absolutely beautiful. It’s a bit unfortunate that the whole point is to thump them with bits of wood! Looking forward to hearing them in action.
My son (who is 40 and a surgeon who should know better!) has got mild tinnitus from going to concerts and playing his guitar(s) through headphones. He now uses decibel reducing earbuds when listening to loud music or playing guitar.
Alpine MusicSafe Pro High Fidelity Music Earplugs for Concert & Noise Reduction, 3 Interchangeable Premium Filter Sets - Professional Musicians Ear Protection - Hypoallergenic Reusable Invisible Plugs Amazon.co.uk
Same This is definitely Dan’s world, but I am learning a bit watching him. When I was at the music store with him, I let him hang out with the sales person (who happened to be a drummer as well) and went to go play at the guitar wall
As for the ear plugs, I happened to pick up an almost identical set to the one you linked. I bought two, one for me and one for Dan. Good to know that’s what your son uses!
Thank you and agreed! My parents both have some amount of hearing loss from their years of playing in a band, so I am very conscientious about protecting my hearing while I still have it
So true. Luckily, my neighbor directly across the street just moved out, so at least that house is empty for now. Hopefully the new people who move in like loud music
Right now the drums are in the garage because we are playing with the electric set during Justin’s livestream, but then they are moving in the house. I keep meaning to go outside while he plays in the garage to see exactly how loud it is in the street
Some of the big rock bands put soundproof plexiglass around the drummer and then mic the drums up so that the volume is controllable from the mixing desk.
As long as you make sure there are a few air holes I’m sure Dan would be ok in a big plastic box!
Well, if it was good enough for Ringo!
Happy NGD Dan.
Ear pretectors for sure.
Are you able to affix acoustic sound-proofing tiles to the walls? They do absorb some of the bouncing-around soundwaves and can help a little.
Dan could try brushes occasionally for a quieter sound but they’re not the same as sticks.
Nice kit. Back in the day my first kit was a very well used Pearl kit (purple), the “good” kit I eventually got was a Tama (green), with Zildjian cymbals.
How does it feel? I reckon it would feel a lot different than the Alesis kit? I have tried out a few electronic kits over the last year or two and the only ones I tried that felt close to acoustic ones were the mid-range and up Roland kits. I bet using a real hi hat would be a huge difference.
I damaged my hearing playing acoustic drums. For long sessions I used ear plugs. Plain noise reduction ones, not the more high tech ones you get these days that are supposed to be adjustable etc. When jamming I didn’t wear hearing protection at all. Only had a handful of gigs and didn’t wear hearing protection at those either.
Lighter sticks make less noise than heavy ones. O rings dampen the sound slightly (and I think improve it, at least that’s what I remember). Hot rods don’t sound as good but dampen the sound a lot.
I have heard of mesh drum heads and low-volume cymbals (they have holes in them), however they weren’t around when I was playing. Maybe have a look into them? Best Mesh Drum Heads | 2022 - Drumming Tips
Just getting back in here after the livestream to respond to everyone
Yep! Exactly in doing research for buying these, Dan looked up what a lot of the bands that we tend to cover play on. The Beatles were definitely an influence here.
Thank you so much Nicole! He is currently happily playing away on them.
Yes We are really trying not to be too lound, but no promises. Hopefully we don’t get any nasty notes
Thank you for all the tips! After the livestream yesterday, Dan finally brought them in the house (they were in the garage) and got them set up in our music room.
When they were in the garage, he recorded what each individual drum sounded like versus the electric kit. There is definitely a difference, but so far he seems to really be enjoying the feel of the acoustic kit. He definitely needs some more time with them before we perform with them, but I’m guessing he will get the hang of it pretty quickly. We signed him up for lessons on Drumeo, they seem pretty good so far, but it’s hard to judge because it’s early still.
They are LOUD for sure I am definitely concerned about protecting my hearing. We are going to see how the earplugs go to start. He also put some felt we had laying around on top to dampen them temporarily. It seems to help, but I also have not played with him yet. I already know I will need to up my volume. I’ll share all your tips with him!
Looking forward to hearing them in action.
This is definitely Dan’s world, but I am learning a bit watching him. When I was at the music store with him, I let him hang out with the sales person (who happened to be a drummer as well) and went to go play at the guitar wall 
. Have fun with it 
.