Need drum mat for TD-12 to stop pissing off downstairs neighbors!

[darkside]

Hey folks, I moved into a new apartment and my downstairs neighbors seem to not like the thumping of my vdrums. I've got a TD-12, and have a cheap IKEA mat under it.

I saw the TDM-10 mat, which seems to fit based on its dimensions, but will this do the trick for me? Does anyone have a better solution to reduce noise from playing electric kits?

[perceval]

What you really need is the tennis ball riser. Then no problem with the downstairs neighbors.

Check out the thread and instructions on this forum.

[allanjohn]

http://www.digitaldrummermag.com/NEWS.html

[hairmetal-81]

I agree 100% with my previous folks: A drum-mat won't cut it. You will need something like a riser, to isolate the impact noise of the pedals off the floor.

How effective the Roland products really are remains yet to be tested!

[kurth83]

Many people here (including me) had to go through building a riser for the downstairs neighbors.
Search for "Tennis Ball Impact Noise Isolating Platform" and you will find the best thread here on the subject, or click this:
http://www.vdrums.com/forum/forum/ge...ating-platform

It contains the basic tennis ball riser build instructions, and multiple variations based on it, the whole thread is worth a read.

A word of advice, it is likely to take a few tries to get it right. I started small, and worked with my neighbors to get it to where they couldn't hear me at all. It took me four tries and four months to get it right. Each iteration was better though, and I kept the neighbor in the loop, letting her know I was trying to improve it.

First I've heard of the NE-1's, we are curious to hear how well they work.

75% reduction sounds good, but that is just a few db actually, and may not be enough. But if they are cheap, it sounds like a good start. And every improvement is good for your neighbors.

For me the final success had me spend time on the phone with my downstairs neighbor and I prototyped several different builds with stuff I had laying around. The one she said was best was what I went with.

I still remember the day I stayed home from work, built the fourth generation riser with the stuff I ordered after that phone conversation, then played on it most of the day, and went downstairs at the end of the day and knocked on her door.

The first words out of her mouth were "did you play drums today?"
I'm like "yeah, all day".
And she said "I didn't hear a thing."

So now I can play drums any time day or night.
And I am grateful she endured 4 months of me banging without going psycho on me.
If it was me, I might not have been that patient.

[hairmetal-81]

Awesome report, Kurth! That's what I would call

"...Success!"