live practice drum silencing

[GearMan2point0]

So my band and I are having problems. We have a shitty pa. So we can't hear vocals. Are there drum pads out there that if I put on my set plus cymbals that would quiet them down so we can practice more efficinetly. Nothing that would totally take away all sound but just drop down the volume. And then we can turn everything else down to comensate so the vocals sit thru. Please feel free to share link. We are will to pay for it obv just don't have money for a big pa.

 

[mstone564]

We used to be SUPER ghetto when we needed to be 'quiet' by covering every single drum and cymbal with a T-shirt... LOL
It sounds retarded, but unless you have a electronic kit there's not much you can do to silence drums.

 

[LiberaScientia]

I've heard gaffa-tapeing your cymbals helps dampen them a bit but I've not tried it so I don't know. Worth a try though.

 

[Nimvi]

I've heard good things about those lidwish quiet sticks and beaters. Have 0 experience with them myself though. Might be worth looking into.

 

[vespiz]

When you start damping drums and especially cymbals, the drummers have a natural instinct to try and hit them harder to get the same sound out, which leads to broken cymbals and skins pretty fast.

We've found Cympads help to tame the cymbals by removing the excess wash and volume, but still retaining the sound and feel. It's not a huge dampening effect, though, but FOH mixers at smaller venues have been grateful..

How about moving the monitors and/or band around? A plexi-screen in front of the drums? Headphones/in-ears for the drummer? We have setup so that our guitars are mic'd up and go through the main PA-mixer's sub-outs (with vocals and keys) to our drummer's own little mixer, where he also gets the kick (sm57!) and he can then blend it all as he likes it. This way the guitarists can aim their cabs to where they hear it best and the PA gets only vocals and keys. Been working ok so far!