Relearning Drums - advice needed

[u/Cottager58]

I used to play drums when I was a school boy, but that was 55 years back and I haven't really played since.

It still stayed in my blood all my life and as I move into my retirement years I want to relearn again.

What would be my best course here, what drums (electric / acoustic), which sets, any self-paced courses, and anything else I need to take into consideration ( I got the oxygen at the ready!!) would be of immense help.

[u/ReasonableScarcity61]

dude that’s a 55-year gap, your limbs are gonna have some about this

an electric kit with mesh heads makes the most sense, you can dial the volume down while your muscle memory dusts itself off and no one in the house files a noise complaint. grab a practice pad too, spend the first month just doing slow single-stroke rolls and basic rudiments til your hands stop arguing with your brain

for courses i’d poke around youtube channels that break things into bite-sized chunks rather than some rigid paid program, gives you room to chase whatever style stuck in your blood all those years

[u/Cottager58 → u/ReasonableScarcity61]

All, great points there. Thank you.

Yeah, my muscles are going to grind for a while, though that can be overcome, ultimately I feel.

Regarding noise complaints, I was thinking about that, I do have a third garage that I can look to 'soundproof' (obviously not as well as some would wish), and I intend this as a daytime endeavour, so perhaps the neighbours might be more forgiving, but, if the electric sets can provide the same feel, to some extent, that might be my way to go.

Again many thanks for the response, appreciated.

[u/1mREDx]

Id get an electric kit so you can really play with all sorts of different sounds tones etc, and stay consistent play everyday even if its just a little. Youtube is your best friend for free lessons. Good luck yo! Keep banging

[u/Cottager58 → u/1mREDx]

Thank you, I guess I need to just see how an electric kit feels, though I am leaning that way, at least to begin with.

Thank you for the response, good stuff.

[u/wrkngmn70]

Recently have done the same after a 20 + yr break . I went the electric route due to living conditions. I got the Alesis strata prime and am having a blast but it sure does take time to get the rust off lol. I still get sore after an hour or so and my hands were tingling for the first week or 2 . I m just playing for fun but so worth it , at least for me . Take your time and be patient with it, do your research as to what will suit your lifestyle. I would have stayed acoustic if possible but not in a condo. The electric drums have come a long way and sound amazing ! They are also much better than the old rubber pads. Have fun and welcome back to drumming !

[u/Cottager58 → u/wrkngmn70]

Thank you, especially for the advice on the set you bought, I'll take a look at those. Yeah, 20 years, 55 years, it's all the same for me, getting the arms back into some condition will be the biggie, but, as you say, taking my time will be the secret to getting back in the fold and, once again, enjoying myself. As a guide, the last time I played anything like real, Zeps Rock and Roll was my 'practice' song.

Again, many thanks for responding, really appreciated.

[u/Drew3k]

Learning good technique will help you with your sound and help prevent injury that can develop from poor form/ tension. I highly recommend getting in touch with Bruce Becker for lessons if you can. As far as acoustic or electric, I’ve owned both over the years. Electric is great for quieter practice, but if your situation permits you to practice on acoustic, you gain so much more in developing feel, dynamics, and tone on the real thing. Hope this helps.

[u/Cottager58 → u/Drew3k]

Thanks, it does help, a lot. My thoughts are veering towards starting off electric, just to get back into the saddle, then, if I really want to go back to how I originally learnt, then an acoustic set would be my goal.

Thank you for the response.

[u/bearonpcp]

What’s your living situation? An acoustic kit is pretty loud, no matter what you do. Tough if you share walls with other people. I’d go e-kit .

Free standing building with fairly sympathetic other people? Honestly, I’d go with the acoustic. There’s just more expression on acoustic drums, and even more expression on good cymbals. ( IMHO, YMMV, I claim NO expertise with the modern gear ).

What do you think you want to do with said new kit?
It’s really incredibly so much easier to get good recordings of an e-kit- with the super added bonus of being able to save MIDI data to feed to software of choice. It’s also much easier to get a workable headphone mix at the kit with reasonable volume.

With the acoustic kit, this will involve microphones and triggers and such, which is admittedly great fun to chase if that’s your thing

Conversely, it’s a lot easier to fill a small to medium room with an acoustic kit- you won’t really need reinforcement. So, if you see casual gigging, I’d go acoustic. Getting into the level of sound gear to really work an e-kit is expensive and heavy, you CANNOT trust the venue to provide at a casual level ( their “ plenty of PA will be two powered 12”s on sticks).

Lotta factors- I’d just want both.

Which is why I own so many drumkits.

[u/Cottager58 → u/bearonpcp]

Great response, good detail in there.

We live in a detached house, with three garages, one of which I plan on turning into a practice place, so I can get some sound proofing in there, but I also plan on daytime practice rather than evenings, plus the guys next door are bikers and racers, so they're not going to care one hoot.

My long term goal is to just get back into the saddle and do something that was a big part of my youth, I have never lost the need to 'hand drum' when I feel the urge, and it was the misses that suggested a get back to it again (I guess the steering wheel can only take so much bashing). I never considered myself good enough for gigging, so this is just personal for me.

From all the responses above, and your own, I am likely to go the e-kit route, to begin with, and then look to move on.

Thank you for the response, it's really appreciated, as are all the responses, and encouragement.

[u/PitchEfficient2934 → u/Cottager58]

Not too much to add here, really, other than to say: I got back into drums a couple years ago after a roughly 35 year hiatus by trying out for the drum seat in a band I was hoping to play guitar for, and managed to get the gig. (I *very* occasionally played here and there during the hiatus, but didn’t have a kit or anything). My point being, go for it! In my experience, it really is like riding a bike - you can’t do all of the same tricks you used to do, but you can ride it without wobbling too much. Slowly but surely, I’m getting more relaxed and confident, and some of the chops are coming back. More importantly, I’m having a blast playing music again! Sounds like you may have your mind made up about what to get, but I’d say get an acoustic kit, but that’s just me. Have fun!!

[u/RiceTuna]

I restarted after 20 years off as well (now 2 years in). I also started off with an e-kit but honestly if you have the detached garage just get an acoustic kit. The e-kits are cool if you need them but nothing'll beat the acoustic feel. Compared to the years of yore the mid entry level kits are astounding in their hardware and general quality. Stay away from "click bait" learning material online, it's a whole industry designed to make you feel like you're watching something that'll be instructive but really isn't.

Final thing: you're going to a great time - enjoy it :)

[u/DIRTBOY12]

I was in a smilar boat. I got a Nitro Max to start out and spent a few extra dollars to upgrade. Just relearning and getting muscle memory and timing back.

I plan on a real upgrade next year. Edrums and a VST is great. I can change the sound/styles and really have several kits fir different eras on rock I play.

But acoustic just will always have that real feel, nuances, etc that eDrums don't. But they are loud and not sure at 57 I want something so loud, even if I get an outside room to play in.

If you of with giving up some nuances of a acoustic, kit, real nice higher end edrums might be they way and even look and feel like acoustic kits.

Have fun and welcome back! I am having a ball.