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Need some advice and help on playing drums with pa speakers and ear plugs please.

I have played along to albums for years. I recently learned a whole 27 song tour set by playing along to it at home for 10 days before the first rehearsal. Playback has to be SO loud from PA speakers, so that you feel part of the song, but you don't drift out of time.
It's going to be extremely audible to anyone else in the vicinity. Plus it is never going to sound good due to the type of room and surfaces you have. It's going to be loud and hard sounding, not enjoyable, but also not great for your ears.
I also have tinnitus and hearing damage (from touring). By far the most pleasant, enjoyable solution would be a decent set of v-drums. Use nice headphones and plug your audio in through the v-drum mixer.
Second is to have the music playing in hi-fi headphones, that give enough bleed that you can hear your drums.
 
I would absolutely avoid using PA speakers at all costs. Once you have the music loud enough to be heard over the sound of the drums and through your isolation earplugs/headphones you'll be right back to being too loud for your ears, but also creating a massive amount of sound that's just bouncing around inside of a concrete box.

I'd strongly recommend getting a simple in-ear monitor set up.

You'd need some in-ear monitors, a small headphone amp, and a really basic microphone and cable. And some kind of music player like an ipod or your phone.

This is my set up, in "live gig" configuration, but I use this at home too.

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For home practice you'll just run your mp3 player in where I have my metronome in this pic. The mic input has a really basic Shure vocal mic, just to pick up a little bit of the drum sound so they still sound crisp. Both the mic and monitor input have a separate volume control so you can mix how much music and how much drum sound you have coming in, and because of the isolation afforded by the in ears, you can run everything pretty low volume.

Assuming you didn't have any of these things already you could put it all together for less than $200.
 
^^ That's very similar to the tour set up I just used ^^
I would just council against very cheap IEMs. You really need very good isolation so that you don't end up cranking the music too loud.
Before IEMs I used GK Ultraphones. Now I'm using an $900 pair of IEMs.
 
Winston_Wolf said:
I would absolutely avoid using PA speakers at all costs. Once you have the music loud enough to be heard over the sound of the drums and through your isolation earplugs/headphones you'll be right back to being too loud for your ears, but also creating a massive amount of sound that's just bouncing around inside of a concrete box.

I'd strongly recommend getting a simple in-ear monitor set up.

You'd need some in-ear monitors, a small headphone amp, and a really basic microphone and cable. And some kind of music player like an ipod or your phone.

This is my set up, in "live gig" configuration, but I use this at home too.

View attachment 153160

For home practice you'll just run your mp3 player in where I have my metronome in this pic. The mic input has a really basic Shure vocal mic, just to pick up a little bit of the drum sound so they still sound crisp. Both the mic and monitor input have a separate volume control so you can mix how much music and how much drum sound you have coming in, and because of the isolation afforded by the in ears, you can run everything pretty low volume.

Assuming you didn't have any of these things already you could put it all together for less than $200.
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Just to say I've built a wooden wall inside the garage of about 6inches deep filled with acoustic installation and then there's a five inch gap between that and the outside thin concreate wall of about 3inches so i wouldn't say its a concreate box! AND THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE , I CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT TO LOOK AT!
 
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Just to say I've built a wooden wall inside the garage of about 6inches deep filled with acoustic installation and acoustic plasterboard of about 5mil and then there's a five inch gap between that and the outside thin concreate wall of about 3inches so i wouldn't say its a concreate box! But i am now wondering form all the advice given so far if my original idea isn't going to work , i really wanted to avoid electric kit if i could and just play a acoustic kit with some background music , i may have to re think completely, just as well i haven't got the kit yet!
 
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Mics and headphones. They can had cheap. You only need 3 or 4.
 
So am I right on saying that it could be impossible to play acoustic drums in my room (I have given details of my room above ) with pa speakers pumping out the music to play with ,with some form of ear protection with good quality acoustics? honest opinions are welcome as I don't want to make a expensive mistake ,if you know what I mean, and going to a electric kit is the way to go!

I suppose with a electric kit I would be able to play without using music coming from headphones and use pa speakers Also i will have better control over the kit volume ,also maybe using low noise cymbals instead of the irritating tap tap noise I would get from the rubber hi hat and cymbals ! Just a thought! Regretfully Iam at a loss on what to do now as there's certainly been more to think about than I first thought
 
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DB60 said:
So am I right on saying that it could be impossible to play acoustic drums in my room (I have given details of my room above ) with pa speakers pumping out the music to play with ,with some form of ear protection with good quality acoustics? honest opinions are welcome as I don't want to make a expensive mistake ,if you know what I mean,and a electric kit is the way to go! I suppose with a electric kit I would be able to play without using music coming from headphones but pa but I will have better control over the kit volume ,also maybe using low noise cymbals instead of the irritating tap tap noise I would get from the rubber hi hat and cymbals ! Just a thought! Regretfully Iam at a loss on what to do now as there's certainly been more to think about than I first thought
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Drummers have done exactly that (played acoustic drums to music on a PA system) for years. Hearing protection required!

I've used GK Ultra-Phones for several decades and they are a life changer. They provide ~28dB reduction in external/room loudness, which allows for a recording to play back at a low volume while protecting your ears from the SPL onslaught of your acoustic kit in a small room. They're pricey, but your hearing won't regret it (if you decide on an acoustic kit).

If you decide to record an acoustic kit, the Ultra-Phones allow a very low-volume playback of the music with "just enough" drums in your 'phones mix for a fun, productive time.

If you go with an e-kit, you can simply output its sound to the PA system and adjust the mix for best results. You can also output everything to a headphone output and wear headphones that are more comfortable that the GK 'phones (they use a Peltor earmuffs). It's not as fun as unleashing righteous rhythms on an acoustic kit, but it works.
 
There won't quality acoustics. This way it might.

It's not really involved. Anything can work. The cheapest would probably be a 20 yo porta. 1 mic works to start with.

I'm guessing a digital kit will not satisfy you.
 
DB60 said:
Sorry to sound thick hear but why would I need mics thanks
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If you have high quality in-ear monitors or isolation headphones with speakers, then you will hear very little from the drums. If you have an overhead mic and mix (using a mixer) the music from an mp3 or other music source, can get a clear sound (not muffled) of what you are playing.
 
Oh ok I di
Ironjim55 said:
If you have high quality in-ear monitors or isolation headphones with speakers, then you will hear very little from the drums. If you have an overhead mic and mix (using a mixer) the music from an mp3 or other music source, can get a clear sound (not muffled) of what you are playing.
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Oh ok i didn't know that
 
I always use ear protection when I play drums, and I do not play very loud. There are many ear plugs that sound good and protect your hearing.
 
Drumolator said:
I always use ear protection when I play drums, and I do not play very loud. There are many ear plugs that sound good and protect your hearing.
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Thanks appreciate your help , I will do that but Iam taking notes from here on how I can play music from my pc into pa speakers and play away hearing both the speaker music and the drums to a good clear level if you know what I mean and now Iam also starting to understand what the mic suggestion is all about, the help I've been getting from this site has made me realize I need to look further into how I get this all to work properly ,all the best
 
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T
Odd-Arne Oseberg said:
There won't quality acoustics. This way it might.

It's not really involved. Anything can work. The cheapest would probably be a 20 yo porta. 1 mic works to start with.

I'm guessing a digital kit will not satisfy you.
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Thanks Iam seeing what you mean now when you mention mic so thanks
 
DB60 said:
T

Thanks Iam seeing what you mean now when you mention mic so thanks
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Yeah mic'ing your set is not about volume, it is about mixing. Hearing precisely the amount of each mic you want mixed with the source music so you blend right in as if you are the actual drummer. The more mics you can mix yourself with the more control over the mix you have. Plus an acoustic drummer should have his own sub mix when gigging so the sound man at the gig has less to do and he will be so happy he makes sure your band sounds great. But most club drummers do not have that kind of stuff. I have heard many here say a bass mic and n sm57 is all you need, because clubs usually have all the mics. Unless your band has yourr own sound guy with gear.
 
Did i read correctly that your room is 8 feet by 8 feet? An acoustic kit with a pa in there will super loud so you need to do a lot of research so you dont kill your hearing. Loud sounds get louder in small spaces. If it were me I'd go with IEMs and no PA. There's been a lot of good info here so you have options to research and pick the one that works best for your budget. Just be careful and ask if you have any questions.
 
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