Drums are quite loud when you practice them, so it’s nor a surprise you want a quiet drum set. That way you won’t disturb your neighbors whenever you’re playing. Or you might want to get quiet drums for your kid so that you can relax whenever he/she is playing. You’ve come to the right place. We have rounded up the best silent practice drum kits.
In a hurry to know the best quiet drum set on the market in 2024? You can’t go wrong by choosing one of these two products. Alesis Drums Nitro Mesh Kit is the best rated because of its versatility, high quality, and its affordable price. Roland TD-17V comes next with its onboard coaching functions, double mesh drum heads, and its design that accurately replicates acoustic drums. It’s the best pick for serious drummers.
Quiet Practice Drum Set: Quick Comparison
WINNER  |
Alesis Drums Nitro Mesh Kit
| Check Price |
RUNNER UP  |
Roland TD-17KV
| Check Price |
COMPLETELY SILENT  |
Aerodrums Digital Air Drums
| Check Price |
  |
Drum Workshop DWCPPADTS5
| Check Price |
  |
Pyle 7 Pad
| Check Price |
Best Silent Drum Kit 2024: Reviews
1. Alesis Drums Nitro Mesh Kit
Winner
The best electronic drum kits cost a lot of money, and that might make you afraid that the cheaper brands may not be perfect for your needs, or maybe you’re afraid that quality may be compromised.
Fortunately, Alesis makes great quality and affordable electronic drum kits, and the Nitro Mesh Kit is no exception.
Alesis gives a natural-response feel that is as immersive and expressive as possible for drummers.
The Nitro Mesh Kit is a complete eight-piece electronic drum set made with Alesis’ next-generation mesh head drum technology.
It’s perfectly tailored to the needs of electronic drummers for a natural feel and ultra-quiet response, which is ideal for late-night practice sessions and privately honing your drum skills.
Learning is made easier with educational features like 60 built-in play-along tracks, metronome to keep you playing on the beat, sequencers aux input, and performance recorder that will help improve your skills.
The best thing about this drum kit is that it comes with everything you need to start playing and setup is generally easy and hassle-free.
As for the noise level, it is perfectly quiet if you connect it with your headphones.
It also comes with stereo outs to connect to a PA system or amplifier for whenever you want to pump up the energy and go crazy. The stereo aux input allows you to jam along to your favorite tracks.
Pros
- It comes with 385 drum and cymbals sounds
- Powerful practice-centric features
- Quality sounding mesh drums
- Great for beginners and intermediate drummers
Cons
- It does not include an amp
2. Roland TD-17KV
Best for Serious Practice
Roland TD-17V is the best drum kit for advanced and serious drummers.
This quiet drum kit is precisely manufactured to feel and sound like acoustic drums.
It combines a TD-50-class sound engine with new advanced pads to give an affordable electronic drum kit that’s authentically close to playing acoustic drums.
This allows it to accurately mirror the physical movement, stick coordination, and hand/foot control that every drummer needs.
With an array of in-built coaching functions, you are able to track your progress, improve your technique, and keep building your motivation to practice.
You have the option to adjust the ambiance of each kit to match the venues you perform at. You can customize the preset drum kits to match your preferred drum sound.
A nice solid kick drum usually results in a nice loud noise. While that could be what you absolutely desire, your family or neighbors may not feel the same way.
The KD-10 kick pad is made with rubber covering, and combined with a dedicated cushion, absorbs much of the noise, but ingeniously retains that satisfying kick drum ‘thud’ when a beater buries into a bass drum head.
This makes it ideal for playing at your apartment or house where loud noise may cause problems.
It’s compatible with all standard kick pedals, single or double kick. Without headphones, it is generally not loud enough to disturb people, not unless you purposely plug it into a loudspeaker.
Pros
- Replicates the feeling of playing acoustic drums
- Tactile feedback to improve user experience
- It has in-built features that lets you create your signature drum kit
- Realistic pads
Cons
- Kick pedal not included
3. Aerodrums Digital Air Drums
Completely Silent Drum Kit
Aerodrums are unique from other electronic drums in that they are invisible, and therefore are one hundred percent silent.
They are virtual reality drums that convert your air drumming into real drumming.
The kit consists of two drumsticks with sensors and two foot sensors, as well as a camera, small light, and sunglasses.
The lamp is about 5 times less bright than your typical 60W light bulb. The sunglasses are included to help with light sensitivity.
Aerodrums is based on motion capture technology. This silent drum set is made for the musician who wants to be expressive and versatile while removing the problems of portability, space, and noise associated with regular and electronic drum sets.
In Aerodrums, the drum pieces are laid out exactly as traditional drum sets, meaning that even experienced drummers can play Aerodrums the minute they sit down at it.
You can also play along to songs using the playlist feature, record what you play within Aerodrums and export it as sound files, and you can record MIDI directly into your DAW software.
Aerodrums allows you to practice drumming longer. Despite being a virtual experience, you can practice timing, limb independence, coordination, and moving around the drum set.
Air drumming is also great for building finger control, as you need to make the rebound happen in the palm of your hands.
Pros
- You don’t have to worry about space
- You can take it anywhere
- It is completely silent
- It is a cheap option
Cons
- The light can be disturbing
- Relatively hard to set up
4. Drum Workshop DWCPPADTS5
Easiest Set Up
For practicality and functionality, practice drum kits are the excellent choice for practicing and the DW is obviously a favorite with drummers. It fits in tight spaces, it’s quiet, it’s simple, effective, and it is easy to set up.
With this kit you can sharpen your independence, groove, and coordination without having to bother other people.
Besides portability and easy setup, this practice kit has pads arranged in a similar location as a common drum set.
It has five pieces, which means it’ll take very little time to get it ready. It is sturdy and stable for comfortable playing. The drum pads are big enough and can be adjusted.
It is super quiet, which means you get to play any time of day without your family and neighbors looking forward to the day you’d quit drumming.
Pros
- Heavy duty construction
- Natural feel and rebound
- Easy setup
Cons
- Pedal not included
5. Pyle 7 Pad
Quiet & Portable
This Pyle 7 pad is great for drummers who are constantly on the move and want to keep playing despite the change of location.
This is among the best drum kits for drummers on the go.
The electronic drum kit has 25 preset kits on board, making it more responsive and expressive.
The pads are touch-sensible. They produce sound depending on how you strike the pad. This awesome built-in recording functionality will significantly enhance your drumming experience.
It comes with preset drums to jam along to while practicing. The sound quality is amazing and the recording function helps you assess your performance effectively.
The quiet electronic drum sets have seven pads that are touch-sensitive. As such, it becomes ideal for providing an accurate response. The drum kit can be effectively used by both amateurs and professional drummers.
Pros
- It is lightweight
- It can run on batteries
- The box comes with every component to make it operational
- Drum pads are customizable and portable
- Includes drum trainer feature
Cons
- The buttons on the panel can take some getting used to time
Practice Drum Set Buying Guide
Noise Level
We really do believe that the first thing that you have to consider before choosing any practice drum set is the noise the instrument can make. Since you’re on the lookout for a quiet drum set this is a priority to you too.
There are two things to watch out for when buying an electronic drum set and that is the pad performance and the kick pedal noise.
The cheaper models can make a lot of noise due to the choice of padding, so make sure to go for mesh pads. Rubber pads are the second closest option.
The kick pedal noise is the vibration from the kick pedal, and these vibrations are transferred to the floor and walls and could generally irritate your neighbors.
The kick pedal noise is something only handful of brands have solved, but you can also lower this noise by using tennis ball risers that create air cushions between the drum kit and the floor.
While tennis ball risers are very effective, they add a couple of hundred dollars to the overall cost.
Another option is the noise eater designed by Roland to address the kick pedal noise problem.
Portability
Another thing to consider when choosing your electronic drum kit is portability. If you are likely to be carrying it around often then portability becomes an obvious advantage.
Plus you get to look cool transporting your practice drums rather than sweating it out and wishing every few seconds for the power of teleportation.
There are a lot of brands and models in the market that take care of this problem, so your only job would be to pick the right one.
Space
Space is another big factor to consider when choosing a practice kit. You have to take into account the available space that you have mapped out for your drums.
You certainly don’t want to get the drums only to find out that they won’t fit into the space you’ve made for them.
Coach Functions & Metronome
To get the most out of your practice drum, you may want to go with one that offers a wide array of coaching techniques with onboard tutorial functions.
This helps you not only to improve your skills but to keep up with them as well since some models can actually track your progress.
Authenticity
Many drummers want their practice kit to be able to sound like and feel like acoustic drums. We mean, that’s the dream, right?
While there is no way for an electronic drum to 100% imitate an acoustic drum, there are a few models in the market that make it almost possible to get that acoustic feel and sound you’re craving for.
Final Thoughts About The Quietest Drums On The Market
Getting a practice drum that you can play as much as you love without disturbing the neighbors in your house or apartment is a great thing to have.
We’ve compiled the best and versatile quiet drum sets in 2024 so that there’s something for everyone.
The top rated ones are Alesis Drums Nitro Mesh and Roland TD-17V. They are both very versatile and provide the best quality possible for enhanced performance and practice.
So there you have it – the best silent practice drum kit to match your needs and personality so that you can get to rocking, quietly.
Dave Pearson is a Canadian musician, sound editor, and audiophile. He is also the founder and owner of the website SoundProofGeek. On SoundProofGeek, Pearson offers advice and resources on audio equipment, including how to assess and improve audio quality, how to troubleshoot and repair audio equipment, and how to improve the music listening experience.
Table of Contents