Homemade Lofi Drums, any ideas?

[burn]

I want to put together in my homestudio in my apartment a homemade drum with alternatives percussions. I'll use a hi-hat and some cymbals but probably use a mallet or carboard box as a bass drum. Still need something as a snare, maybe try something with hard wood, or a small container with something metallic in it, nails, screws, whatever..

Any ideas or trick you did that sounded good to you. It is to record some bluesy, country, lofi songs of mine with some vintages keys-organ-whatever. I can't setup areal drum (too loud for where I live...) and I don't want to mess with my beatbox-sequencers, I want it to be totally organic

[Wild Bill]

Use a washboard, a genuine jug-band instrument.

[I'm Painting Again]

use firecrackers for the snare..a basketball bouncing off a garbage can for the foot drum..a drawer opening and closing for the hihat..a doorknocker for the hitom..and a piece of masonite being shaken for the lowtom..and knock over an entire shelf of glass animals everytime you need a crash cymbal..and squeeze a rubber duck for cowbell..

[elberto]

here's a thread with some "fake" drum ideas

http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

[gandhabba]

I've used a big plastic peanut butter pot for a floor tom/bass drum/riding thing before (the kind that natural food stores get the bulk stuff in). Usually I'd use that with a snare drum on the floor and a shoe under one side of it - brushes or rakes for sticks. Its not too loud but records well, particularly if you squash it with a distressor !

You could also try thwacking a phone book or newspaper with brushes or rakes.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

A water cooler bottle makes a nice kick. Mic the spout for that classic water bottle sound.

[GLEA]

Marshall Crenshaw tapped a pencil eraser on a mic for the kick drum sound on a "B-side", My Favorite Waste Of Time. Would disturb the neighbors...

rs

[Dan Phelps]

I've gotten a good bass "thoomp" kind of sound by playing a plastic snare drum case with a big, thick painter's brush. Carboard boxes always sound pretty cool. Try filling a small envelope with BB's and hitting that. Or taping something to that and then hitting the thing it's taped to. Squeeze a cat like an accordian.

What else...snapple-type bottles. Snapple tops. Use a pepper grinder as a hi hat? Tape a piece of paper to the wall and "whip it" for a snare drum. Foot stomps are always cool, too.

-D

[chetatkinsdiet]

The best drum sounds ever were the old school desks that we used in middle school. They were the type that had the storage under the seat. Basic metal panels on three sides with the wooden seat and desktop. Each panel had a little different tone. We'd sit around when the teacher left and try to outdo each other on beats......
Maybe it's just a case of "good ol day syndrome" but they seemed to really work well with finger taps and would resonate forever. I'd love to find one of them and mic it up.
later,
m

[nlmd311]

and knock over an entire shelf of glass animals everytime you need a crash cymbal..and squeeze a rubber duck for cowbell..

thats awesome! It reminds me of "Julianne" (Ben Folds Five) where there is glass and stuff crashing all over the place. Man, thats good stuff.

-Darrill

[schnozzle]

My old punk jugband used a series of cardboard boxes for drums. The bass drum was a box stuffed with a blanket and the snare was a hollow box with an old license plate taped to it. We didn't have any cymbals at the time, unfortunately. The drummer played it with skinny pvc pipes. It sounded surprisingly like a real kit.

[nlmd311]

The best drum sounds ever were the old school desks that we used in middle school. They were the type that had the storage under the seat. Basic metal panels on three sides with the wooden seat and desktop. Each panel had a little different tone. We'd sit around when the teacher left and try to outdo each other on beats......
Maybe it's just a case of "good ol day syndrome" but they seemed to really work well with finger taps and would resonate forever. I'd love to find one of them and mic it up.
later,
m

!!! Awesome. Between those and the school cafeteria tables school was cool.

Also, the cardboard boxes like a couple of people are saying are definately cool. You can make a whole kit with different sizes and depending on what you use to strike them with. A good snare sound for this method is like TwistedTonessaid, you could fill up an envelope with BB's (or paper clips, or staples or any different type of material for a different sound, but BB's work good) and tape that lightly to the bottom of the box that is to become your snare. Instant snap. To control the amount of snap, just add or remove some BB's or tighten the tape. Just like a strainer.
5 gallon plastic buckets and paint cans also work really really good.

-Darrill

[Devlars]

I don't recall the name of the group at all but I remember being at the Fallout Festival in Minneapolis about 2 years ago and the band that went on right before us was a two man show. Acoustic guitar/ singer and then a guy that had this homemade drum kit that consited of old toy indian drums and various sized cans and tins...the sound was awesome. He had some real small mics inside them I think cos there were some wires coming away from this kit. It was incredible the way it sounded. Also I can't send you a link but go to Ebaumsworld and click the videos link. There is a street drummer on there that uses nothing but various sized painters buckets and it's sounds amazing! You really should check that out.

[YOUR KONG]

Maybe it's just a case of "good ol day syndrome" but they seemed to really work well with finger taps and would resonate forever. I'd love to find one of them and mic it up.

It's not just you - I don't know if you're familiar with Jurassic 5, but when I saw them in concert one of their DJ's dragged out an old school desk like you described and started banging on it. I dunno how it was miced, but it made some insane sounds - I experienced some serious bowel-bouncing from the "bass drum" sound.

[I'm Painting Again]

and knock over an entire shelf of glass animals everytime you need a crash cymbal..and squeeze a rubber duck for cowbell..

thats awesome! It reminds me of "Julianne" (Ben Folds Five) where there is glass and stuff crashing all over the place. Man, thats good stuff.

-Darrill

I dont know that band but i like to break stuff..so im sure they are cool..breaking stuff is cool!