14 replies to this topic

[skeksis]

Curious if there's any interesting ideas out there... Our usual spot (bass player's house) hasn't been working so well the last couple months.

I'm not a fan of the typical rental practice room w/ padded walls usually shaking from the metal band(s) on all sides.

I've seen some interesting adaptations of commerical/industrial fronts for use by a couple bands.... that might work for us?

I wonder if there's anything like some old small churches or stores in the downtown neighborhoods that could be converted with minimal work & very small rent/utilities. (but would they be secure enough?)

What's your solution, and any suggestions for me?

[bob]

get a mixer, four/five/however many in your band pairs of headphones (you might need some sort of hub for those as well). an electronic drum kit, which will be your biggest expense/investment. (sell those big useless amps!) send all instruments/effects thru mixer. silent practice. you can practice in your living room. and the levels are right. if you get enough headphones/hubs, you could do silent shows! (well, near silent. thrum thrum thrum)

[Tony]

this probably won't help, but i've always felt "offsite" practices are a pain in the ass. having to load/unload gear every time sucks. plus, as you mentioned, there's the metal factor if you rent a space. when my wife and i bought a house together, my only criteria was that there was either a detached garage or separate building that we could insulate and make into a studio. best investment ever.

that said, i think there are still a few bands that rehearse down at the argo in south phoenix.

[unluckycharm]

We've been rehearsing at bandmember's houses.

Expanding on the 'headphone w/ elec drumset' idea, you could use very quiet electrics or acoustic guitars & maybe your drummer could go with some brushes for rehearsal purposes. That is, if noise is a factor.

[fatguyaz]

this probably won't help, but i've always felt "offsite" practices are a pain in the ass. having to load/unload gear every time sucks. plus, as you mentioned, there's the metal factor if you rent a space. when my wife and i bought a house together, my only criteria was that there was either a detached garage or separate building that we could insulate and make into a studio. best investment ever.

seconded!!


Though the silent show idea is pretty wicked. Especially if you could outfit the whole crowd with wireless headphones. A "Digi-venue" if you will. (and i think you will, thank you.)

I've heard of silent raves where everyone is listening to a live broadcast of the songs through their ipods at the same time and dancing in a silent room. You'd save a shitload on set-up time since you'd need no cables/amps/speakers anymore. Sounds pretty fun...to watch.

[skeksis]

thx for the responses...

generally, our problem hasn't been volume. I mean, we're a rock band - but not blisteringly loud. Practicing at a house in a neighborhood once a week or whatever hasn't been a problem volume-wise. no offense bob, but the idea of rehearsing using headphones kinda makes me throw up a little in my mouth... :-) I'm too attached to my amps and gear snobbery prevents any love whatsoever for digital modeling. fortunately, the rest of the band is on the same page about that. our drummer *might* pick up brushes, but I can't imagine his look if I suggested an electronic kit.

it gets tricky when the bassist (w/ the main practice house) has to juggle playing w/ babysitting his 9 and 6 year olds... or if he can't participate for whatever reason, and we're stuck without a plan. plus, it's way out in gilbert - and we're all hauling our gear out there every time.

Anyway, I talked some more with a couple of the guys in the band yesterday, and it seems unlikely that everyone can afford the additional expense of monthly rent... Might see what sort of effort it would take to finish my little basement into a small studio.

[nastyd]

build a dude brothel.

[MikeyWretch]

build a dude brothel.

Yes The Dude brothel is the ultimate Band HQ

[unluckycharm]

If I understand it correctly, the main issue seems to be babysitting and location of space.

You could put the kids in the band (tambourine & marachas?????).

Our main practice issue is noise & neighbors. Ack.

[mattm]

we love the offsite rehearsal spaces....

especially since we are the loud metal band that practices next door to you, and in regards to the loud metal band next door to us... we just out loud them!

[chadk]

we love the offsite rehearsal spaces....

especially since we are the loud metal band that practices next door to you, and in regards to the loud metal band next door to us... we just out loud them!

i actually really miss our off site location, the "metal" bands next door to us always created hilarious conversation. and when we played it was loud enough to drown them out anyhow.

once this band was so stoked on their one song (and i mean one song, it's all they played) and they had their door open. so i shut it and when they stopped they got all butt hurt. and then i gave them a piece of my mind. silly

[Nitz]

Yeah, I remember that. That was pretty funny.

Evanessance keyboards FTW

[chalupacabra]

Yeah, I remember that. That was pretty funny.

Evanessance keyboards FTW

God I hated those kids.

And Matt, we should get the room next door to you guys and just go at it volume wise.

[dharma_bum]

thx for the responses...

generally, our problem hasn't been volume. I mean, we're a rock band - but not blisteringly loud. Practicing at a house in a neighborhood once a week or whatever hasn't been a problem volume-wise. no offense bob, but the idea of rehearsing using headphones kinda makes me throw up a little in my mouth... :-) I'm too attached to my amps and gear snobbery prevents any love whatsoever for digital modeling. fortunately, the rest of the band is on the same page about that. our drummer *might* pick up brushes, but I can't imagine his look if I suggested an electronic kit.

it gets tricky when the bassist (w/ the main practice house) has to juggle playing w/ babysitting his 9 and 6 year olds... or if he can't participate for whatever reason, and we're stuck without a plan. plus, it's way out in gilbert - and we're all hauling our gear out there every time.

Anyway, I talked some more with a couple of the guys in the band yesterday, and it seems unlikely that everyone can afford the additional expense of monthly rent... Might see what sort of effort it would take to finish my little basement into a small studio.

why don't you just take over a foreclosed house, there has to be a dozen around ya - oh yeah, don't forget yer generator.

[WorkingClassWhore]

The hourly rental rooms at Musician's Choice are pretty nice, and not all that pricey compared to paying rent on an actual rehearsal spot.
I think it ranges from $16 to $22 an hour. No neighbors complaining, no cops, and no band dudes messing up your house or shitting up your toilet.