An Experiment.
So… my Yamaha electronic drumset has been collecting dust at The Point. I switched to using a real kit there, so I haven’t needed the Yamaha kit. All the while, I’ve been unable to practice drums very much lately. That gets under my skin, so I decided to do something about it.
I brought my electronic drums home, determined to make them work in my apartment. My walls are pretty thick, so I wasn’t worried about my neighbors on the sides of me (one wall is a stairwell on the other side, any way). I was more worried about shaking the floor and making my neighbors below me not-so-happy.
I did some research on the web to see what other drummers do for this issue. Most seem to like the idea of making a platform out of tennis balls and plywood. I decided to go a different route. I kept thinking about the mats you see in gyms in the free weight area. They’re big, thick rubber, meant to absorb the impact of weights being dropped on them.
I went to Wal-Mart and found some “extreme impact” flooring. I bought two sets of the stuff - enough to give me three layers in a 4′ x 4′ area. A pretty good deal at $40. I also bought a mat that’s meant to be put under a treadmill for another $20. I got it home last night and gave it a try. It worked! But, it wasn’t very sturdy. Basically, three layers of hard rubber. I decided I needed some wood in the mix. My boss is in the middle of building a house, so he offered a piece of his flooring - thanks Dwayne!
Here’s the first idea:
This worked pretty well, but with the drums sitting on a hard surface, it made my kick pedal louder (at least it seemed to me). Here’s what the layers looked like on this idea:
I decided to try a layer of the impact flooring on top. It looked like this:
This made the layers look like this:
I practiced tonight for about thirty minutes. So far, no complaints! The platform has cut down on floor vibrations considerably. Now, the sound of me hitting the pads would be the only issue, with the kick pedal being the loudest. But, I think by putting something between the kick pedal and the floor, I should be okay.
(by the way… the space where I wanted to put the drums was the exact right size, as you can see by the pictures. I didn’t have to move the bookshelf or anything. Perhaps it was meant to be.)
