Initial situation: An e-drumset is usually purchased in order not to annoy the dear fellow human beings with sound. As is often the case in technology, however, the terms must first be clearly defined so that communication can take place without misunderstandings. Often the terms are mixed up and confusion arises.
Therefore, in the following I would like to define the terms and at the same time clear up some "myths". I'll try to keep it concise so that this doesn't turn into a "basics of acoustics" lecture.
Definitions
Airborne sound
What is perceived directly in the room is the sound propagated in the air. It is picked up by the ear. The sound waves are reflected, absorbed or amplified within the room.
In the specific case of electric drums, the airborne sound is the part of the sound that you hear when you stand in the same room as the electric drum. If you want it to be "quieter" in the room, only one thing helps: so-called sound absorption surface. Here there are professional solutions for sound absorbers (such as this: https://amzn.to/3NBt7Xo (*). However, the simplest option for room attenuation are still carpets and curtains. Smooth surfaces (tiles, glass) should be avoided - they reflect sound. For this reason, the glass panes to the control room in the studio are always slightly slanted.
If you are interested in the subject of room acoustics, you can find more detailed information in the relevant specialist literature (e.g. here https://amzn.to/3J1PG40) (*).
Structure-borne sound ("Körperschall")
Structure-borne sound is the sound that is generated in the building and transmitted through it. A well-known example here is the drilling machine, which can be heard throughout the house.
And here we also have the explanation why the neighbor two floors below still hears the bass drum: on the one hand, the "kicks" of the foot machine propagate in the masonry/concrete and on the other hand, the airborne sound of the bass drum is "fed" into the masonry in the room, propagates there as structure-borne sound and emits the sound again two floors down in the form of airborne sound.
Footstep sound
Footstep sound is actually nothing more than a special form of structure-borne sound. When walking on the floor, the floor is stimulated to vibrate, the vibrations propagate in the building structure and emit the sound in the form of airborne sound at another location (even two floors higher or lower).
What does this mean for the e-drum set?
Two findings can be derived from the above:
Absorb airborne sound in the room. This is best and easiest to do with carpeting, tapestries, curtains, furniture (preferably fabric). By the way, the eggshell cartons bring almost nothing.
Solid enclosing surfaces If the enclosing surfaces (wall, ceiling, floors, doors) are as solid as possible, it will definitely help, because then the airborne sound will not be transmitted to the next room. Massive building components also prevent the introduction of sound into the structure, because they are not easily excited to vibrate. This means that less airborne sound is then converted into structure-borne sound.
Structure-borne sound decoupling for the electric drum set is a must. And because this is so important, it is described in detail in the next chapter.
E-Drum pedestal for structure-borne sound decoupling - do-it-yourself
For my own e-drum set I built my own pedestal.
The construction is relatively simple, from top to bottom are the following materials:
sturdy carpet, preferably an industrial needle felt carpet
I got at the local carpet dealer, they usually have leftovers, something like this https://amzn.to/3u1OzNF (*)
MDF or multiplex board, about 24mm, about something like this https://amzn.to/35BHmdK (*)
My pedestal is 170cm x 80cm. That fits great for a standard set. The plate can also be bought well at the local hardware store or carpenter.
Styrofoam plate 25mm. I glued the styrofoam plates with styrofoam glue directly under the multiplex plate. This is the first step of the structure-borne sound decoupling.
Now comes the decisive step: the second stage of structure-borne sound decoupling: for structure-borne sound decoupling, you need something soft. The softness is crucial: If it is too hard, then the structure-borne sound decoupling will not be good. If it is too soft, the decoupling at the same time it must not be too soft.There are different approaches here:
halved tennis balls I don't find them suitable, they are too hard to ensure adequate structure-borne sound decoupling.
Sylomer is technically well suited, but expensive. e.g. something like this: https://amzn.to/3d92BYc (*) They can be loaded with 20 kg per pad. You simply divide the total weight of the construction by 20 kg, then you know the number of pads.
Rubber or PE insulation material for heating pipes. e.g. something like this: https://amzn.to/3QC05Y1 (*) I decided to use it.To do this, I cut off pieces about 6cm long and glued them to A4 cartons, per A4 carton about 6 pieces of parts. Then I made 10 of them and pushed them under the styrofoam plate. This has the advantage that you can move the packages depending on the center of gravity of the construction.
My finished pedestal, about 170 x 80 cm. The stool itself is not on the pedestal, which saves space. Attention: the pedestal must not rest against the wall, otherwise there will be structure-borne sound transmissions again.
The styrofoam plate is taped on the side with aluminum tape so that the styrofoam does not crumble off
E-Drum pedestal for structure-borne sound decoupling - purchased
Of course, the e-drum podiums are also available ready to buy.
If you google "edrum podest", it will show you the ready-made podests. They usually cost between 400 and 500 EUR. Technically, they are certainly good, but not very flexible in terms of size and also - in my opinion - expensive.
(*) The links marked with an asterisk (*) are so-called affiliate links. If you click on such an affiliate link and buy through this link, I get a commission from the respective online store or provider. The price does not change for you.
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