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My Son (age 11) has been having drum lessons at school and playing in a couple of school concerts etc. Our house does not really have the space and or the sound insulation to accomodate drumming. My son insists that he needs to be able to practise ! Fair enough ! What do I need to get ?
earplugs
Electronic drums & headphones
I lived with a drummer at uni all I will say is very best of luck!!!!
(get electronic drums then he can use headphones and still practice)
+1 for electronic drum kits. Good ones are £1500, cheaper ones are £200 but don't quite feel like real drums apparently. Still, if it's that or nothing he should be glad of it - I know I'd be thrilled 🙂
Good call ! but what about electronic kits or practise kits it's a minefield any advice ?
I agree with the electronic kit route, which products would any of you recommend with around a £500- £600 budget which I am guessing is about the minimum spend for something half decent !
The ones I saw for £2-300 in Cranes in Cardiff were supposedly not bad.
The really decent ones are Roland apparently, you might get lucky second hand for that.
Drop me an email I think I could get your an electronic drumkit for a very good price (if you are thinking of getting one) - my wife runs a music school and can probably do a very good price on some kit...
tuition from a professional:
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Alesis DM5 Pro is about £400. comes with everything he'll need except sticks, a stool and a kick (bass drum) pedal. Doesn't quite feel like a real kit but for that price who's complaining.
BTW these are not [i]entirely[/i] silent. especially the kick pedal, if you happen to be in the room below - imagine 6ft tall mice with clogs on - pogoing
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/32117-alesis-dm5-pro-kit.html
Ahh... it's not so bad..
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'scuse me... Pardon??
in the absence of a lawn to criticize...
the bigger of those two toms on the bass drum is upside down. And the bass drum is back to front
😉
is he left handed?
snare drum is in a funny position too, and he grips a bit too far down the sticks...
Our 8 year old has a drum kit. We keep it in the cellar....
deathgrip too
mine, some time ago...
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I'd love an electronic drum kit after seeing a roland demo years ago
Not to be though I'm afraid
Plum
You never know where it might lead
My mates son used to annoy him drumming away all night when he was a yoof. Now he's hit adulthood he's in a band. They're not bad either. He got me backstage passes for his last gig where I sat chatting to his mates - Mellie Melle and Kurtis Blow. He's presently on tour with the Sugar Hill Gang, then he's off to record an album in LA
He's twenty. I'm not at all jealous. Thats exactly what my life was like when I was twenty
I'd also recommend getting him in the habit of wearing Musician's Earplugs like ER20s. He won't need them for stuff with brushes but as soon as you hit a snare with a stick you're into hearing damage territory - snare drums aren't just loud but they put out a lot of energy where your ears are most sensitive and thus prone to damage. And they're much louder when sitting behind them than when standing across the stage playing another instrument. Great instrument - and now with electronic kits you can get good without driving everyone mad! My guitarist's son is a drummer and he's not bad at all - more punk than funk but he'll find the true path eventually...
John and Stoats..
He'd had the kit all of 90 seconds at the time of those pics.
I.. with zip drum experience.. set it all up in 10 minutes while Mrs did a birthday diversion with him.
Since then, he's taking an hour a weeks lessons, showing me how to hold the sticks, and a 'pro' mate has laughed at my setup and rearranged it properly 🙂
yeah, I did think it had been set up by someone without experience 😉
See my pic above for how a kit is [i]typically[/i]* set up for a right-hander. For a left-hander, mirror image
* some kits have fewer drums than that - basic 4 piece is kick, snare, one tom on top of the kick, and a floor tom; hi-hat, ride & 1 or more crashes.
I'm currently playing that as a 5 piece (two toms on a stand to the left of the kick) rather than the 6 piece in the pic, but with 3 crashes, one splash, 1 china + ride & hi-hat. I like cymbals...
I have a set of Yamaha DTX Express IV Special. Just under a year old when I bought them, the guy bought them for £1200 and I got the whole lot for £550!
Lovely bit of kit and my 7yr old and 12yr old loves to play on them as well.