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Saludos timbaleros ,
This is just a question I have been wanting to ask, what kind of ear\head phones do u guys use to practice? I personally have to practice with headphones, and they have to be loud enough so that I can feel the music, if my timbales are a lot louder than the music I can't practice...I also can't practice with a cd player\record player... the best headphones I use to practice are the skullcandy smokin' buds in ear headphones, they sound great and are loud... what type do you use? Also would be great to know what sticks you use & what songs you are currently playing... I use innovative percussion lalo davila " caliente" sticks.. currently I'm playing a lot of El Gran Combo, Grupo Gale, Victor Manuelle, & fruko y sus tesos....

Sony MDR7505 Professional Headphones (Newer Model is MDR 7506-@ $99 at Sweetwater). Lightweight foldable and pack a load of great sound. Good for hours of listening, practicing or whatever venue you undertake. A little pricy but worth the investment. Check out your high end audio store in your area and give them a test run you won't be disappointed. Adelante,

Jorge.

PS. They come with an adapter to convert from Ipod or MP3 player listening to a regular stereo headphone jack on your home or studio sound systems. The 7505 model I have have a rounder profile ear-cup, but the 7506 newer version have a slightly longer ear-cup profile going north to south. Sticks are of a personal preference. I have bought some sets that were Manufactured by Mike at L&H but he doesn't make them anymore. They're 13" in length and 1/2" in diameter. These sticks give a louder, bassy sound. I also have pairs of LP hickory sticks at 16" length and 7/8" diameters, lighter & give a crisper attack on the timbale heads. As far as music I stick to 70's & 80's Salsa from a lot of NY, Puerto Rico and Cuban based groups and orchestras. Pacheco, Puente, Colon, Roena, Miranda, Harlow,El Gran Combo, Sonora Poncena, Willie Rosario, Tommy Olivencia, Tipica 73, Barretto, Orq. Broadway and Novel,Charanga America, Jose Fajardo, Henry Fiol, Saoco, The Palmieri brothers and the list just goes on & on.....Just my 2 cents,Peace brother.

GRADO SR-80's!

I enjoy headphones. I use quite a few sets. In my drum/music studio I use on ear Denon AH-D500. For comfort I use on ear Sennheiser HD414 Signature Series. For serious listening I use my over ear Stax SR-84 or my most accurate headphones on ear Grado 325i. For ipod I use Koss on ear portaPro or Skullcandy in ear-inked model. To play along to music and play drums I would suggest over ear headphones. They are a bit larger but do a great job of letting you hear the music and muffle out the drums. I am sure you know to be careful with the high volume it can damage your hearing. When I play in a high volume gig I always use Etymotic Research ear plugs. They drop the sound by about 25 DB. Years ago I seen the rock band Grand Funk in concert. It was so loud my ears rang for 3 days. I was getting worried and just before I was going to see a doctor the ringing stopped. Now I will do whatever it takes to protect my ears. I no longer go to loud concerts or listen to loud music. I know my hearing is not what it used to be. I do still play in some loud bands so ear protection is very important to me.

Nice info on the headphones guys, but this thread was more about timbaleros, what gear they're using, songs they're practicing to, etc....

Vic Firth Isolation Stereo Headphones. They're great for practice. Used to use etymotic er4p but one channel stopped working (they were good before then).

I have had the personal experiece of working with some of the top line studio/DJ headphones in the market.
And i would strongly sudjest sticking with sullcandy headphones as they are loud, good qualithy the big leather headphones not the small ear piece headphones.

I have used the top brand headphones that cost from $120-140 LIKE Pioneer dj headphones, Technics studio/dj headphone model, and they are loud, but after 1 1/2 year of use they tend to crack, they are the most recomende for studio work, as they have those big leather muffs, are loud, and isolate outside noices the best, but they crack on the arm joints, they are suppost to be the best. But you can get insurance on them for like $ 20 AND if they brake you get a new set at guitar center, no questions ask.

I dont know if you guys have experience with top of the line studio headphones after wearing them for an hour or more yourouter ear hurts is soarm, due to the headphone pressurem, they are not too confortable afte a while.

Sony studo headphones are great too, but also give ear pain after using for several hours.
There is a good top Sony headphone that a few store on ebay have for sale right now for like $19.99-59.99
THE $19.99 is good enough and is the black edition one, that is on sale. Very good comparing them to the brother line headphone of the gray studio Sony headphones comparing at $99.99 -120.00

Like i said the skull cany big headphones are really good in quality very durable, you can find them at discount prices at your local
TJ MAXX, or Marshall's store in the accesorie electronic department at great price.

the shure e series headphones are the best out there,but not cheap,they go from 100 to 500 dollars,depending on the model.

Sennheiser HD205