Are Hotrods REALLY That Much Quieter Than Sticks?
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
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Don’t you hate it when you’re playing in a small room and the bandleader asks you to play with rods? Well, let’s find out if they’re really that much quieter. We’ll also listen to the drums from upstairs above my basement to discover the difference in noise bleed. You’d be surprised at how loud rods can actually be, so if you’re constrained to “playing with rods”…pick some that can get loud. :) It’s also worth noting that I have taped the ends of my rods, giving them a punchier sound on the drums. It may make things a hair louder, but not by much. If you’re interested in nerding out on this some more, let me know in the comments and I’ll consider making a further comparison where we tape vs un-tape hotrods. So here we go… Today we’re comparing the volume difference between a pair of 5A sticks, a pair of “taped” lightning rods, and a pair of “taped” thunder rods. The thunder rods are pretty heavy and beefy, so comparing them with sticks gets pretty interesting. Enjoy!
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They are quieter... especially on cymbals, and more especially if you get a band where the drummer rides the crash a lot. I'm not a drummer, I'm a Sound Engineer. Makes a huge difference to the sound of loud bands in smaller gigs. While I understand the difference in feel for a drummer versus using sticks, if a drummer can't hit quietly enough with sticks to not ruin the gig, I think it's only fair that they understand that they will have to compromise their feel a bit!
Very true! But I've never understood why some drummers seem to hate playing with rods, I like it. I have rubber bands on the tips of them so I can choose how much attack I want. Sure if you are playing a lot of chops then they are not very nice but otherwise I like them. Much better than having to sit on a wooden box(cajon) having your hands hurt
Exactly right! I tested the hotrods and cool rods from Pro Mark and they are much quieter.
I like the idea of the video, but doesn't taping the ends of the rods defeat their purpose?
I tape mines just to give them more life/durability
Still affect their sound btw
@@sebas112001 Yeah mine are pretty torn up after a year of only weekly use. I’m going to experiment with taping.
@@musicalmotors I use that kind of tape that is used in electrical stuff because it’s more resistant. Be sure to try it out
@@sebas112001 Thanks, I will give it a try.
well of course if you have the tightening hoops closer to the tip, it's going to have a more focused sound like a regular stick. I find this video to be misleading, as I use hot rods whenever I play mellow restaurant gigs, and there's a much bigger difference between sticks and rods. I don't use any added tip control(not sure what it's called, really, but I mean the little rubber bands and duct tape tightening up the tips), so maybe that's where the difference comes from?
I don't have tape on the end of my Hotrods and I can definitely tell the difference between them and regular drum sticks. I like the idea of the video, but I think your results are skewed because of the taped ends.
Definitely
I have used rods pretty extensively in a live setting for the last few years, you can play the rods "loud" if you try. But the sound guy and I agree they do play quieter probably because they simply have less attack when used correctly.
Same here, but I recently switched to silent sticks - they are lasting way longer and won’t give ya the typical “unplugged” sound. Most sound engineers are more than excited...
Yeah, I don't get why you taped the ends of the rods. With the rods, you lose the attack or stick definition on the ride ( which is not a good sound to me). Non-Glamorous tip: Don't use duct tape except for taping ducts!! The rods do work well for bringing down hi hat volume and are somewhat effective on crashes. I personally don't like the tone achieved with rods on center snare drum hits. But, I also have my snare tuned up a little higher because I like the crack of a good rimshot. My preferred options for playing in low volume situations are: A. smaller/lighter sticks(ie. ProMark Jazz Cafe Maple MJZ-5), B. Smaller drums(ie. 16" or 18" kick, 10" rack, 13 or 14" Floor and 13" snare. C. Smaller cymbals ( a 12" splash can take the place of a 16" crash and the 16" crash subs for 18-20" crash. I use an AAX 18" OMNI ride that is very versatile. Also have a 17" K dark crash that works well as a ride/crash in LV situations, especially when played with the MJZ-5 sticks! And finally D. the Big Fat Snare drum donut/ Remo's or Aquarian studio rings or a linen dinner napkin attached with binder clips. I only use the rods when I want/need "that" sound. Of course, this all just my personal opinion and is what has worked for me. Recently, I've had the opportunity to play with a 3 pc Power trio in a variety of smaller venues and have had to figure out how to play "Ace of Spades" , "Cat Scratch Fever" and others at an acceptable volume level, while maintaining a certain intensity and R&R feel!
There's a huge difference between them when you go to the ride.
There's generaly a huge difference betwenn them when you go to a cymbal and the Floor tom
Stephen, thank-you for the video. It must take hours of video and editing to produce this final product. I do agree with most of the comments that un-taped rods would have provided a fair representation of the volume from the rods. Love your channel - keep up the great work.
I think the thunder sticks are a little quiter but its not really a good comparison when you have taped the ends of the stick together. That will make it louder, when normally the little rods can move individually.
" Are Hot Rods quieter than sticks "
10 minute video?!?!?!?!?!?!!?
You rounded a hole minute
I regularly play gigs with non taped rods. I dont like playing with them but they are MUCH quieter. In addition non taped rods not only significantly reduce volume they significantly reduce sustain which is why many bands want you to use rods in small spaces. Echoes created from Cymbal and snare sustain starts to bounce off of the walls in a small venue so its not only about volume...
At the end of the day I've watched many drummers to try to play with very light sticks with low dynamics as a replacement to rods...Their efforts always last about two songs and then they start focusing less on dynamics and then all bets are off volume levels.
I use rods for a fatter SD sound but in terms of volume, I find the bamboo drum sticks in 7A or 5A allow for real finesse playing yet can pull out volume where needed. Also they produce a decent cymbal tone and volume.
I actually like playing rods on softer gigs. I had a few gigs where we would play during play where the lyrics were really critical to the story so we really needed to hold back. I have rubber bands on the tip of my rods so I can choose how much attack I want. They are definitely much quieter on the cymbals and also on the drums is I remove the rubber band
I use a pair of plastic lightning rods for church because I play in a small room for kids. They are not always quieter than sticks, but it is much easier to play quiet and still feel natural.
A comparison without the tape would have been more useful, but this was helpful, thank you. For church gigs and cafe type things, rods are perfect. If you tape the ends, you make them more stick like on the drums and make them too mushy and washy on the cymbals. Controlling volume on the drum is easy with either implement. But one loss of control on the cymbals can really ruin things, especially during a soulful vocal performance. The lighter sound of the rods on the ride cymbal really helps to control the volume in tight situations, just don't tape the ends. Once they get too warped and splayed out at the end, you can glue or tape them and they work well, but they are useless on the ride cymbal at that point.
The purpose in using hotrods (not considering the mere choice for their typical sound) is that you can play almost as naturally as you play with regular sticks, but with less attack and “harshness”, considering the overall sound of a small gig. Of course this makes a difference only when you play in small places where the audience can hear drums directly on an acoustic level... i mean... you can be brutal also with brushes if you want, but a beefy stick serves the puorpose better 😉.
YES. A hot rod is quieter than a solid stick. I've destroyed a couple pair and can tell you, without altering them, they eventually turn into wooden brushes, if you will.
Well done as always thank you.. I find the rods and wands work great for hand muscle development but for me personally that's about it.. What they lack outweighs their original purpose.. but to each their own.
Putting a towel on the snare will also help reduce noise drastically while using rods. Doesn't sound much worse than without a towel either.
My band's drummer does this for some acoustic songs too. It works great and I actually like the sound of the snare. I'm not a drummer though, just a singer and guitarist
I had to use Hotrods on a loaner kit for a while. No soundproofing at all in the "band room" . Remo Pinstripes on the toms and 16 crash, 20 ride and 14 hihats in Dabian B8. The drums sounded fine. The rods worked VERY WELL on the ride and hihats but it was extremely difficult to find a medium on that crappy 16 crash. Either could barely hear it over the guitars or it was WAY LOUD if I started laying into it.
I like to think both as a whole different thing. Hotrod isnt just lower volume bit they have significant different response compared to traditional sticks. Cymbal are pretty detail and not washy, the response on floor tom is way way different. It’s great when you wanna play on small gig without micing it up
Hot rods are a great tool to have and use, just like brushes or sticks.
I think instead of saying how loud it is you should just say how hard you hitting, because they are different saying quiet could mean one thing for the hot rod stick and another from the regular stick
I noticed a significant difference between mwhen my drummer is playing with sticks vs rods.
If you need less loud drums,
try the Silent sticks, I think they are even half the volume of rods. Minus the litter :)
Lightning Rods, and Thunder Rods, are the bigger of the Rods, Lightning Rods are quieter than the Thunder rods, but Hot Rods, and Cool Rods are the quietest, and it’s a huge difference. I use Lightning Rods, and I also tape the ends, it is quieter than regular sticks, and I like the weight, Thunder sticks, are almost as loud as regular sticks, but they’re huge, like playing drums with clubs. Or baseball bats. If u want quiet, try the Hot Rods,
The only difference between rods and sticks are the thinner rods are quieter than sticks, and all of the rods bring less of the cymbals sound out
I was wondering if you could tell me more about how you mic'd up your drums? your bass and snare sound fantastic!
@6:54 23 db volume difference is major! Help me out here. You put this stat up while playing the regular 5As. Is this 23db difference between the 5As and the lighting rods?
what sucks about the hotrods is that they're heavier and thicker.. After awhile the chopsticks splinter into millions of pieces under your snare drum. Also the plastic grip wears on your hand after awhile of playing.. is there another alternative to getting a lighter sound for my band practice without using hotrods?
Do you think you could do a video on alternate cymbal uses? Specifically using say a 20 in thin ride as a crash like Ringo and what characteristics to look for in each kind of cymbal if you're trying to use it for a different role on the kit. Would it be possible to get a good hihat sound from two 15 in crashes? maybe they're not even good crash cymbals but with some fiddling maybe they could work? idk i've been starving to try these things out but havent had an oppurtunity with the right cymbals.
if you do end up making a video i would really appreciate it. im trying to get a budget ringo cymbal setup with a thin 18 in crash/ride as my main ride cymbal, a 20 in thin ride as a sizzle/rivet crash and hopefully a pair of 15 in hats even though most people say he used 14's. cheers and thanks for reading this if you get around to it.
I’ve never tried hot rod sticks before 🤔a thair different styles? I play with 5A’s drum sticks
I was gonna get some chinese knock offs and in the ad they are using the rubber end as the mallet
i actually do love playing the thunder rods but they break alllll the time and at 20 bucks a pair, that can get expensive
That's exactly why I tape them. The sound obviously changes, but I get a bit more of rebounce and a loooot of extra life :)
Your loud is my quiet 😂
Yes.. yes they are.
Yes they are.
A few suggestions. First your title is misleading because you don't actually test hotrods, you test lightening an thunderrods which are all different. Second as others have mentioned your tape on the ends of the rods changes the volume compared to the stock sticks. Finally, I would consider getting a decibel meter if you ever do a test like this again. It would be far more helpful than just having us attempt to listen to the differences, especially since RUclips compresses their videos so much.
The “loudly” section is my drummer’s version of ppp.
?
Utensils?
Very misleading. I postponed buying rods based on such videos where they claim the difference of loudness is negligible. I suffer from noise sensitivity so cannot play drums with sticks. I spent hundreds of dollars for silent heads, cymbals and stuff to be able to play drums. Then I bought a pair of quiet rods. Oh my! The difference! Now I can sell all the silent stuff as with rods the volume is like playing a piano. I can play all night and even the neighbors don’t say a thing. If you want to stop bothering people with loud drumming including yourself, get rods.
You forgot to summarize your findings. Tell us what your take is on the differences.
Yes! I hate play quite!😕
Comparing volume without a decibel meter is not helpful.
I HATE hotrods, they don't bounce properly, they're not really quieter and if you play remotely heavy like my buddy they chip out ridiculously fast.
i play for church so my mom bought me the cool rods
Don't use nylon or plastic brushes or rods, wire and steel are heard better on cymbols.
Spoilers in the thumbnail smmfh hahaha
By taping the tips you are basically creating a fat stick. I use hot rods quite often and there is a major difference between them and sticks.
I find rods to be much more expressive, dynamic and musical on my church gigs than sticks.
wire brushes and wood rods.
they're way quieter what are you talking about
It's my birthday tomorrow
There's two types of drummers
1. The one who subjects his drum set.
2. The one who dominates his drums set.
You're the first one.
And that's not meant bad, but dude, your videos are kinda invalid because you're touching your drum set, you don't drum it.
69
This is ridicules.. you taped the rods together which totally defeated the purpose of the design of the sticks! How dumb…
Lose the tape.
You talk to much
First
Tards are 1st