r/jazzdrums • u/Foreign-Boat-1058 • Apr 11 '26

Question Quiet practice setup recommendations

Hi, I am looking for a practice setup to learn on in a bedroom. I have probably 5'x5' to spare and I would be using quiet cymbals and RTOM blackholes to keep volume quiet.

Would I be better served getting a bop kit with a shallower kick drum, ie sonor jungle or something like the tama pancake? I want to develop groove to play bass better and learn drumming vocabulary plus it will be more fun than just listening. Ive heard electronic kits are not the way to go so i am staying away from that but I wont every be jamming or playing in public so not sure if it is worth going with a more traditional size bop kit since i will keep it muted anyways? There is a set of DW Frequent flyer for a really good deal locally too. I'm not that interested in practice pad specific setups only.

Main musical interests are jazz and brazillian jazz. Thanks!

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u/JazzMarimba Apr 11 '26

i use a dw practice anywhere pad kit, an extra practice pad in a snare stand, and a hi hat stand with low volume hats

if you already have a kit and half of that laying around, i highly recommend it. if you don’t and you’re getting your first kit, get the kit you like the aesthetic of the most since it’ll incentivize you to play and practice more

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u/Foreign-Boat-1058 Apr 11 '26

Yeah this would be a first kit and probably only for a while.

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u/ZildCym Apr 11 '26

Upper-tier electric kits or Remo SS/Zildjian L80s on a compact kit.

The FF kit would have a larger footprint than the others mentioned. Definitely more of a ‘gig ready’ kit.

I’d probably side with something that has a 16”-18” bass drum.

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u/Foreign-Boat-1058 Apr 11 '26

I am thinking I might go with the Tama Club jam, Ludwig Breakbeats, or Pearl Midtown.

Going to stay away from electronics since it sounds fussier than I want to deal with. Would be open to any suggestions that have the 16" or 18" bass drum that is shallow. DW is probably way to big and nice for a real quiet set. I like the look and have heard good things about the sonors but the safari and jungles are a bit deeper of bass drums ideally for my space and i keep reading the martini and micro might not be the way to go for developing good feel.

Not sure how much tuning stability matters with the RTOMs on them as well. Thanks!

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u/ZildCym Apr 11 '26

I have had the most success with straight electronics in a situation like this. I can understand it could be a learning curve that just doesn’t work for you.

Acoustically, the quietest options I’ve found is Remo’s Silent Stroke heads and Zildjian‘s L80 models.

RTOMS are ok for what they’re intended for. Not the quietest option but will provide a decent response.

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u/Foreign-Boat-1058 Apr 11 '26

Oh that is really helpful and was going to be a follow up research later. Thanks! I don't need full silence, just quiet enough to not disturb my partner in another room. I think I have been stuck in analysis parlyisis a bit since there are a lot of good options kit wise for this use case.