The drum kit is a wonderful instrument and has been around for quite some time. Drum kits date back to the roaring 1920’s and have evolved into fascinating pieces of musical equipment over the years. The drum kit has been the stereotype amongst parents of being a “noisemaker”, but this instrument is highly misunderstood. Although it does produce noise, what instrument doesn’t? There are soundproofing techniques that reduce the noise level associated with a drum kit. We will talk about these a little bit later.

If you are a beginner, you should know the basics about the drum kit. The basic drum kit typically consists of five drums. The bass drum is the largest drum and sits in the middle on the floor upon tiny legs. This low-pitched drum adds a booming “thump” to the mix. The drummer controls this drum by sitting directly behind it and operating it with a kick pedal. There is also a snare drum. The snare drum gets its name from the wound wires that are attached to the bottom of the drum. These wound wires are called snares and when tightened they produce a short, sharp sound when played. This drum is located between the legs of the drummer and lies upon a unique looking stand. The snare drum plays an important role because it dispels a backbeat rhythm when you are playing. There are also two tom drums directly above the bass drum. These smaller sized drums are used to incorporate a variety of sounds and patterns to the music. Usually, there is a third tom called a floor tom located off to the side a bit, and each tom drum has separate, distinct pitch patterns when played. Next are the cymbals. The hi-hat is comprised of two cymbals, and these are mounted on a stand next to the drummer. Drummers can push the attached pedal on that stand to get the cymbals banging in order to produce different sound patterns. Many drum kits also have other cymbals that the drummer can use their drumsticks upon to produce unique sound patterns.

There are two types of drum kits: electronic and acoustic. Electronic kits allow the drummer to wear headphones and play silently, so that noise is not dispersed throughout the room. The drummer can hear their music over the headphones without distracting others. This is a neighbor friendly drum kit. These kits are usually more expensive than an acoustic drum kit, so they are not used as often. The acoustic drum kits are the more traditional kind, the ones that produce a lot of sound. These drums do not differ too much from their electronic counterparts, except that electronic drum kits have more “noise proof” features. Unless you need to spend the extra money on an electronic kit for noise control, go ahead and roll with an acoustic drum kit. You will receive the same quality sound production from this kind of drum.

Now for soundproofing so the neighbors won’t be disturbed, if indeed you do have that problem. The easiest way to soundproof is to purchase an electronic kit. However, you can soundproof a room, but expect it too be costly and time-consuming. You probably want to get a professional in to help you out here, but you can build a room within a room or contact www.hothousestudios.com for more information about soundproofing a room.

Hothouse Rehearsal Studios has everything you need when it comes to drum kit equipment and rehearsal space for your band. We have different size rehearsal spaces that are equipped with maple drum kits, along with other musical necessities. All of our studio rental spaces have a 5pc. DW Pacific CX maple drum kits with Sabian B8 Cymbals. Each kit has 18” and 16” crash, 22” ride, and 14” hi hats. In addition, Studio A also has an 8x8 drum riser with a 12” JBL JRX 100 monitor speaker. We are open seven days a week from 12pm to 1am. Rental rates vary between 13-$18 per hour. Feel free to contact us at (562)-945-1300 to set up your next rehearsal session!


Updated: November 4, 2007

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