I really appreciate the input. It's amazing to listen to him practice now. Before we had to practically force him to pick up his sticks to spend time on his snare. Now he is on his set ALL the time, playing and practicing and goofing and developing his own riffs. I'm almost afraid to walk past now, because when he sees me he stops me and gives me a D-E-T-A-I-L-E-D description of what he is doing and what it's called and why and how and AAAAAAAARRRRRGGG! Much more than I need. I would much rather putter around upstairs enjoying the sounds of him below me.
One more question, if I may? We tried recording his playing, using the video feature on my camera. His set is in the basement, with concrete floors and cinder block walls. It sounds fine to listen to, but the recording was a jumble of echos. Is there any hope for making a decent recording, beyond padding the walls?