6 Ways to Overcome Drum Volume by Sweetwater
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
- Sweetwater's Nick D'Virgilio presents six great tips for managing the volume of your drum kit. Whether you're playing live on a crowded stage, or in a studio recording session, the ability to control your drum kit's volume goes a long way towards a great performance.
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#Sweetwater #OverComingDrumVolume
Instead of putting the drummer inside a perspex enclosure cage, an alternative is to put all the OTHER musicians inside their own plastic cage and let the drummer do their thing. Singers, bass, keyboard, guitar, horn section etc all inside plastic cages. Also audience members can sit inside individual perspex enclosures to keep them safe from any overbearing loud drummers. I think this solution will also work very well.
"Am I the one who's too loud?" "No it's everybody else who has bitch ass ears"
Sushi Mamba 😂
so that you kill their sound lmao?
Hahahaha...
Listen man..a loud drummer can ruin a mix. People who pay to attend concerts don’t go to hear the drummer.
"Man, can't you play more dynamic?" -- "Dude, I'm already playing as loud as I can!"
They should add a "WARNING! DO NOT FEED THE DRUMMER!" caption on that aquarium lol
Or Dont Tap on Glass!
:)))
LOLOL!!
Add a trap door and fill it with water for an instant dunk tank!
Solution no 7. Replace the drummer with a drum machine.
Some important notes regarding the drum shield. Your results will likely be less impressive than this demo would lead you to believe, and here's why...
1) Sound isn't really absorbed by a drum shield, but rather reflected back towards the drummer. This demonstration was filmed on a stage with LOTS of acoustic absorption on the rear and side walls. Any sound that bounced to the back of the stage was pretty effectively absorbed. Most real-world situations aren't like this. A hard wall behind the drumkit will just reflect the drum sound back out into the house.
2) Sound has a funny way of getting around obstacles. A drum shield without a lid is usually effective only to about three times its height. Most drum shields are about 5 ft tall. This one was about 6.5 ft tall, making it effective at a greater distance.
3) The SPL meter shown in the corner of the screen was in the first row of seats - well within the zone that would affected by the drum shield. Most of the audience was not.
4) Nick is an amazing drummer, and is very consistent. Most amateur drummers are nowhere near as consistent as he is. The natural instinct of many amateur drummers when behind a shield is to actually play LOUDER than they did before, negating any potential benefits of the drum shield.
All of the above is based on my personal experience over the past 20 years running sound and consulting with churches and music venues. Your mileage may vary...
+mrclean468 Your post was quite helpful, I agree with most of this for my situation, but do have a few questions if you don't mind voicing your opinion.
I run sound in many different theaters, and orchestra pit acoustics are awful in all of them. Most of the time they only parts of the kit that are still too loud are symbols and the kick, but my biggest issue it the drum bleed in the mics of the other instruments. I have considered a drum shield to help with both of these isseus.
The questions that arise are: Would setting up some acoustic foam behind the drummer and maybe even some on the inside of the shield help produce desirable results?
I'm sure there would have to be a few things to consider in changing the monitor for the drummer, but anything unexpected?
+Hampton Short Sorry for the long post :p
+Hampton Short Yes, acoustic absorption behind the kit will help, but it's really only effective at higher frequencies. Unless the acoustic material is very thick (and who has room for that in a pit?), it won't do much for the kick drum at all. Because of the limited space, though, I'd go for a mineral fiber / rockwool type material covered in fabric. It's more effective than foam, so you'd get better results from it in the limited space you're working with.
If you use shield, you probably will reduce drum bleed in the other mics, especially if the shield has a lid and is accompanied by acoustic absorption. Beware the reflections inside the shield, though. You'll get out-of-phase reflections off of the shield and it may make things sound a bit weird. If you're not currently using expanders or gates on your tom and snare mics, you'll want to start when you add a shield.
With all of those reflections, always follow the "less is more" mantra. Don't use 8 mics on the kit if 6 would do. Don't use 6 if you could make 3 work. Depending on the production, 4 mics (kick, snare, and left / rightoverheads) or three mics (kick, snare, and mono overhead or kick and Glyn Johns overheads) are often all you need, and they really cut down on the phase problems.
+mrclean468 Great advice, I do appreciate it.
Thickness of the material has nothing with absorption - it's all about mass. You can make 3 meters cotton walls - it wont help you a bit. While a 20 cm concrete walls would absorb most of the sound energy.
Reading the comments, I had no idea so many drummers had an aversion to lowering their playing volume. I’m a guitar player and have been through playing in churches and their strict volume requirements, but I grew as a result.
Limitations breed creativity. Even if you don’t play in church, view it as a growth opportunity to restrain your volume level. The rest of the band and the sound guy will love you for it. Obviously real drums don’t have a volume knob, but imagine if you combined the techniques discussed here, minus the acrylic shield. It would be interesting.
It's because most drummers arent actually musicians. They just want hit things.
Am I the only one who watch every drums related video in this channel just for seeing Nick's playing? He's a beast of a drummer.
Yeah your not alone
+danielnahuelpi I could watch him play for hours...Not in a weird way...Although, I think I just made it weird by writing that...:)
He's not a very good speaker that's for sure, but he an amazing player!
+danielnahuelpi He made Spock's Beard great.
I also thought i was the only one.
My favorite is the one that he's testing a Yamaha recording custom
I can't help but think of Spinal Tap when Nick is in the full iso shield!
i came back from resturant with chop sticks and tried them. very quiet. not practical.
Gary Pugh HAHAHAHA!!! Beautiful!!!
Gary Pugh Try Matchsticks.
@@jerrymammoser1509 Try grasshopper's legs ... they are really quiet!
Just one comment from a worship team drummer who has used a drum shield : while the sound is quieter for the audience, it is dramatically louder for the drummer ! Be SURE to wear hearing protection if you play behind an acrylic shield. Also never use Windex type glass cleaners on it, because they will scratch the acrylic.
I learned to play softer and we were able to remove the shield.
Drums, cymbals and D'Virgilio sound great! Overcoming drum volume is the bane of my existence!
Another great video by a great drummer! Thanks Nick!!!
Nick D. One of my favorite online drummers.
Nick, absolutely fantastic video! Love watching your videos, thanks for always stating everything you are using each time, keep groovin' - all the best!
David Curtis Drumming
A really good tip ive found for helping myself play at a lower volume is tuning my snare much higher than I normally would, that way I can avoid doing rimshots and still hear the crack out of the higher tuning that I would normally get from the rim shot.
Nice looking drum kit and cymbals!
This is like 2 steps away from being a comedy skit
Very useful and well put together video!
Man, your presentation is 100% professional.
Nick... sweet Drum Set!
Ive played in so many environments and rooms, that ive learned to really control my volume. Sometimes the sound guy tells me to play louder because the mix output isnt enough. In the churches i dont use a drum shield because of me position on stage right, behind the piano and bass. But in the big concert where everything is mic’d and there is double the orchestra (i am stage center in front of the conductor) i have to use the drum shield because the other mics pic up the drums and it screws up the mic and recording. Its not about power, but being elegant in your drum playing, its an art. You want to play the same style in different volumes, have more control in your wrists.
excellent video
4:42 I love that beat!
Also, in some cases using just the sober panels by Clearsonic, rather than the plexiglass shields, helps more. As the plexiglass bounces the sound back at the drummer, making it louder to the drummer. Taking down the plexiglass and just putting up a half wall in front and full wall behind has helped overall volume to drop 20 db
Interesting tips, but some things to consider:
1. Lighter sticks are the easiest idea (I use Vic Firth 7AN when I have to reduce volume) but a better way might be to practice using heavier sticks with a lighter touch. I noticed that I will naturally hit harder if I use lighter sticks, so using the heavier (VF 5A) sticks reminds me to be more disciplined about how hard I hit.
2. Good luck getting a worship commitee to pay for those cymbals or drum shield.
In my situation, the kit I use at church only had one Sabian AAX 10" splash and a Sabian B8 Pro 20" ride (the set was a donation). It didn't come with hi-hats so I had to bring my loud, chunky-sounding Paistes for a while. The AAX splash works very nicely with worship because it has clear sound so hard hitting isn't necessary. Eventually I convinced them to get hi-hats, which were Ziljian ZBT 14", and this brought down the volume to just the right level (and cheaply too).
Therefore, for the worship drummer on a budget, try a Sabian B8 16" Thin Crash. Thin cymbals cost a lot (they have to be more finely made-the AAX, for instance, has a considerable amount of silver content) but this is the cheapest bronze I could find still in production.
3. I agree that putting a drummer behind the shield may backfire (literally!) The sound will just come back at you, and as someone else pointed out, you'll need to absorb the sound going behind you. Plus, it just makes it sound muffled, like you're hearing it from the next room. Good for live miking, though.
Also, reducing the sound of the hi-hats may not be a good idea. The shield brings down the volume of the whole kit, so the hi-hats are too soft. Again, in my situation, the other musicians (singers especially) need to hear the hi-hats clearly so they don't get off-time. CCM is more complex that it seems from just listening to professional recordings: to perform it right, you need an excellent sense of timing.
Also, we don't have a permanent spot for the drums. They have to be taken down every time. I know many churches have this same issue. A shield would just be a burden.
4. The rings sound great, but it changes the texture of the sound. You might like it but you might not.
5. A drum rug will do wonders to control some of the volume, especially the snare. Most of the time a drummer should be playing on carpet for the protection of the floor, but I would try adding extra strips of carpet (or foam) in certain spots to control reflection. Also keep in mind that when the audience/congregation is in position (sitting or standing), their bodies will absorb sound as well.
Really Impressive drummer. Great tips for live recording. I like to hear a lot of dynamics from drummers. Even though I bring it down, I like to build things up to controlled chaos and maybe bring it back down before the end of the tune. Maybe.
1:47 holy groove
That kit! Woah!
Sweetwater is the best! I ought two pairs of sticks from them and they Calle some to thank me for my order
Sounded pretty damn cool behind the shield!
I have those XS's 16 and 18............especially the 18...........is very good hearing sound....!!!
would be nice if there was a list of direct links to a few products, mentioned in this video. great video, thumbs up!
I'm a Sabian guy. The XS20 DB Control Crash is awesome
Since we are considering changing the cymbals as an option.. I'd like to point out that changing to smaller drums can also bring the volume down quite a bit.
Our drummer has 4 kits. The smallest one is the loudest. Strange...
Another very effective to make the drums really super quiet is build an aquarium on stage full of water. You place the drummer and his equipment inside the sealed perspex tank (with an air supply of course). Fill it to the top with water. (its called HSDS™ - the Hydra Silent Drum System™) You'll be amazed just how quiet the drums become when everything is under water. This makes almost everyone happy. No more complaints from those pesky front of house people and venue/church managers always complaining 'the drums volume is too loud!'.
Ah yes, hail hydra
Another good point to add to this scenario, make sure all of your mics have phantom power turned on. That really helps the drummer feel the rhythm and maybe even get a little dance-y to the music
@@WhisperItLoud You mean, the music feels ELECTRIC?
Sweetwater made a video explaining the Remo silent stroke heads. Check out that video because that is by far the most effective way to cancel out any noise
in every discussion about drum volume, no one ever seems to mention rimshotting the snare drum. So many drummers only rimshot when they hit the snare drum, which is probably 2 times louder than a normal hit of the snare.
yeah. I build less loud drums, and most drummers would sit down on them, and hit them as hard as they can, play rimshots, and then ask me "how are these drums less loud?!" Well. first of all, when a drum is really sensitive, you do not need to play as loud to sound good. A good drummer also senses when the drums have less headroom, and start to compress; then they play less loud, as the drums sound better. You get this a lot from old drum kits prior to 1964. Those drums would not be loud, they would just start choking when overrun...
because rim shots are not just louder.. its a completely different, often better (for rock or funk) sound
My church has the box - the entire enclosure - and it works really well. I like being able to play at the volume I think a song should be played at because you can FEEL the music too. I put our sound guys to work, it's true, but I get a LOT of compliments about my contributions to the music. Also, it allows the sound guys to mix the sound exactly how they want to without having the variable sound of the acoustic kit. I really have never felt claustrophobic in the box, however, if you don't have a way/microphone to communicate with your band mates, you will be seen and not heard.
Thanks !!!!
I've been using Vic Firth AJ5 sticks and I love them! They are .490. The thinnest sticks Vic makes.
Yeah, they're good. And if you don't hit hard and don't mind a different feel, you can try the SD5 Echo. You literally cannot play loud with those because they WILL break
i play in s shield every week.. I love it.
That snare sounds soooooo good! What snare and head are you using
Is all about dynamics. It happens to me all the time when gigging with friends: someone asks me if he can sit behind the kit and play (sometimes is the guitarist i´m playing with), and then he starts to bash and annoy the heck of everyone. After a short while i step in and play and then everyone realize the difference. I am playing, he was hitting like a caveman.
It would be interesting to know where was the SPL meter placed, what weighting was used and what was the SPL on Nick's position with the drum shield in place. Also, if Nick using any hearing protection or not. Thanks for the video
Or use an electronic kit. These have come on in great strides since the old Simmons kits of the 80s. I use a Roland TD-17 with a Drum-Tec Acoustics expansion pack; the Yamaha Stage Custom has become my go-to kit for every gig. Sounds bright and powerful straight out of the box. Not only sounds great live but also records perfectly. Only downside is the amp you have to hump about, but that aside give 'em a try...
I may consider this, I want to be able to go past 9pm at rehearsals. It depends on the budget I will have after my new space is remodeled. I have insulation covering a bay window and moving blankets hung and bolted down. Then I have moving blankets, hung from the 3 window lengths replacing the curtains. I have a light/ noise blocking curtains across the entrance way, several carpets on the floor. Acoustic panels. I also have a 3 panel screen that I place in front of a door with old stage curtains to absorb some sound. We try not to play too loud. No issues, but we have limited time. I plan to get more panels and sound proofing, bass traps, insulation on one wall that has none. The ceiling tile is already good quality. Just need to remodel, repaint, new area rugs and migrate back to the basement. I am surprised how well the diy approach, my living room layout works. I did promise that things will move back to basement. Some health problems delayed that promise a few years ago. I really appreciate this video. I was unaware there were newer cymbals design to be quieter. I have seen the practice ones that have little holes to reduce volume. I like electronic drums. I have been enjoying recording a real drum kit lately.
I honestly don't mind playing behind a drum shield or in one of those isolated drum room things (idk the proper term for it) bc in my church I can play a little harder :)
"play quieter"
me:..........ok, onto second way
a good musician can be able to play all the dynamics. a wise man once told me this! super key!
I was playing behind a 180 degree surround of plexiglass at church. After several years, they've taken the plexiglass down stating it's not needed. Reasons? One small thing that might help is a birch Drum Set. I think they tend to have a sound with less mids. But, I also use small sticks. My sticks of choice are Vic Firth AJ5's. These are.490" x 16". I'm also not a very heavy player. If a song calls for a bit heavier sound, I'll switch to AJ4's(.520" x 16") or Steve Gadd signature(.550" x 15-3/4") sticks. The other musicians on stage aren't having to turn up and we've got folks aged from babies to 80 year olds in the front rows about 15ft away from the front of the kit. I keep asking if there are any noise complaints, but none so far. Oh, but despite the reduced noise... I still use headphones(Beyerdynamic DT-770M) and last year had a hearing test and the Doc said "wow... and you play drums? Your hearing is terrific!"
Thanx for all acoustic advisements, but how does it sound inside of the panels?
Never been a big fan of the shield but I play behind one on Sunday mornings and it does allow me to really lay into some of the more driving worship songs.
Shy baffles, snare weights and a towel work wonders as well
Thank you for sharing is ClearSonic IPA IsoPac A Portable Isolation Booth with Lid is even better? Then the B one? Thank you again!
Nice !
a glass case of sweet emotion
try using vic firth conquistadors, theyre VERY thin and light but surprisingly fun and easy to play with< but i personally prefer to use vic firth steve gadd signature sticks
so in the best case scenario, with the drum shield, we're looking at 20 dBs reduction if we go all in with the roof and absorber panels. that's really the only thing that made any difference in this demo. everything else was 5 to 10 dBs less which is basically nothing. so it's $2000 for 20 dBs reduction. might as well get a set of V drums.
Lighter sticks or carbon rods and a bit of head and cymbal dampening works for me plus some good ear protection.
"I used to play behind a plexi glass sound screen at my church--- felt like I had some sort of immune deficiency---'gospel boy in the plastic bubble...'
I did an experiment Sat night with a band I get calls to play with. Rock/blues, Americana etc. and mostly originals. The singer does so many shows solo. He needs to hear himself 18db above everyone else and I am not really exaggerating. I brought a simple mixer with 2 mics. 1 kick and 1 overhead. Both Audix. An I5 for snare as the overhead and the D6 for kick. I then took a 1/4" input feed from the box mixer into my mixer that I could control. House party, outside, no drums in the mains. Not necessary. The stage volume can really get crazy with this group. I used 7a sticks. I got the hugest fattest sound in my ZST IEM! It was great. I cranked up my mixer so it sounded fat and if I played hard it would distort or hurt my ears. SO I HAD to play softly. The band didn't complain about not having enough of me and I barely hit the cymbals. They were happy with the stage volume. I play a lot of jazz, so I played like I was Levon Helm doing a cocktail gig. People may have thought I looked subdued, but I had to hold in the emotion to keep from playing into it too hard. But I did get a great sound that was studio like in my ears and I could hear the rest of the band (which was barely dialed in on my mixer). I barely hit the cymbals and they were clear in my ears. Probably my stage volume was at around 100 to 102. Maybe a little less. I can play at 105 using regular sticks for rock and hitting the way I do normally for Rock - usually 105 - 110 at the kit. So, get a cheap mixer and a couple of mics with a line feed from your main pa system and play for what sounds good to you and don't worry about the rest of the band or out front. If they want to set up more mics and dial you into their monitors, they can. But you can maintain total control of how your hear it right there at your kit. You really have to control your emotion an energy though. Most cannot or don't want to dial it down. By the way, the time and feel was better than ever. It just grooved incredibly. I wonder if there was a connection? Hmmmm.
One Question. When you demoed the extra dry crashes, did you still have the Remo rings on the heads, too?
nice jod nick, now how to mic with the drum shield?
I've seen alot of drummers hate on shields because other drummers hate on shields. As a drummer and sound engineer, I love them because I can lay into the drums a little more and get into the feel more, and I don't have to worry about stage volume being as high, or cymbals in the vocal range.
Trust me, most engineers want you to sound your best too, so just try to work with them.
It is possible to know the size of your drum kit?Thank you!
Yeah, my benefit is that I have to play a room to learn my dynamics. I can hit hard, but have learned to use hot rods, lighter (7) sticks, and dampening to sit where I need to be.
So many examples of the Clearsonic Isopacs relate to churches or on stages. My drums are in a bedroom with carpeting and moving blankets on the walls. I also have great soundproofing covering the inside of the window. That all makes the room less live. I am in a ranch house and think a lot of sound bleeds into the attic through the ceiling and bounces around in there. My neighbor says he can faintly hear when I play and I want a solution that cuts enough sound that neighbors in their house can't hear me. I know there are companies that make $15000 solutions that my wife wouldn't hear me down the hall but that is a bit much. Maybe a diy solution might be better and cheaper. Still evaluating options.
Vic Firth AJ5 is my main stick, it's a .49 ... no problem using it in a rock setting but it's so light
Dowel sticks have no durability
Great video Nick. My problem is one of the groups I play in does all Motown,Funk, R&B dance musicThink of songs like Rock with you, Disco Inferno,Rock Steady, etc. All mainly snare, bass and hi hat. The drum sound and intensity on songs like . If you listen to this music you can hear that the drums especially snare, bass and hi hat is always high in the mix. I get complaints from the singers who are most of the times standing just a few feet in front of me. They complain all the time especially in a small club. I don't think I'm not a hard hitter and I always ask people out front how the balance is and they always say they can hear everything fine. I use Vater 7a wood rip sticks.They complain mainly about the snare volume which in this kind of dance music is always on 2 and 4. I went from a vintage 1960 brass Ludwig Supraphonic to a 1950's wood Rogers Powertone and recently put one of those Remo rings on the snare. I'm not crazy about the sound but gotta keep the singers happy! I tried explaining that playing with rods changes not only the volume but also the SOUND which in this music is important.My question is how to play this kind of music with intensity but at a lower volume??? Again this is dance oriented music and people lock in with the sound and feel of the drums and bass. I'm just using a 60's Ludwig kit 22,13,16 and mainly Sabian AA or HH cymbals.The heads on the toms are clear Evans G-12's and the snare has a Reno or Evans reverse Power Dot head.
Electronic drum. I have both. It seems like I have to compromise my playing style to control volume on acoustic set . On my ekit I can play in my normal style without worrying about volume at all.
One question about shields: isn’t it really loud under a shield with a ceiling? I would imagine it’s hell in there
Where was the decibelmeter placed?
Distance is a very important variable...
where was the decibel meter placed? at what distance from the drums that is
What about the quiet mesh batter skins??
Does anyone have any experience with the Adoro Silent Sticks? I need something that feels like sticks but has the volume of Hot Rods. I came across them and they look good. Anyone use them?
another easy solution: show up to the gig with a casio keyboard and play finger drums. no one can complain about the controlled volume level now.
Sounds so boring
this is all fantastic info, but what about the bass drum? we can change out sticks, but what beaters would you recommend to do something similar?
Lighter beaters (not sure which ones) and a lighter touch with the foot will help. If your pedal has an adjustable angle (like the Pearl 902), change it so the pedal is flatter-this will help with volume because you are not striking the head from far away. Using a resonant head with a mic port (hole) and a pillow/muffling kit won't bring the volume down, but it will change the tone (absorbing and reflecting certain frequencies) and remove the "boingy" ring from the bass drum, turning into more of a "thump" or a "thud" while maintaining bounce on the batter head. Hope this helps!
Fave part @7:38 "It's almost like being in a little recording studio..." pauses, thinks, AND IT SUCKS, but powers through the self-doubt for the good of the video. LMAO.
Those last two solutions are perfect for playing in a coffe shop.
I think I speak for most if not all drummers when I say the drum shield sucks. It’s bad enough setting it up, but it’s a pain in the butt to set up your drums behind it.
What happen if you have all loud cymbals, like zildjian, sabian, K
Drum shields mean you can play louder. I know of drum enclosures that are basically mini studios for the drums. Engineers can dial in the drums much better and make them sound great!!!
We need a drum set with a volume knob on it. Oh, wait. I’M THE VOLUME KNOB!!! These are all excellent and valid suggestions. But over the years, I’ve learned to play at almost any volume level without changing a whole hell of a lot. You have to, and it’s good discipline. Orchestral players do it all the time and trap kit drummers should be able to do it as well. That said, I also have the luxury to bring smaller sizes when it’s warranted. There’s no shame in using a 10” rack and something like a 9” X 13” tom on the floor. Just tune tune ‘em a little lower. Smaller cymbals, too. Multi-Rods are helpful. Experiment. Incidentally, I have worked with artists or at venues that insisted on a plexi drum shield and personally I found it awful, unmusical sounding and detached from what I’ve come to love as a musical experience. Use your internal volume knob, brothers and sisters. Love you, Nick (I’m an old pal of Al Chan and The Rubinoos guys).
you forgot one: pre-recording the drums. playing that track live at a stupid-low volume while you air-drum to it 🤣
This is a very cool and informative video Nick, that said, I forgot to mention one time I was playing in a top40 cover band in a club in Ft. Lauderdale (Nelson's Pub) right in Las Olas Blvd, it was Saturday night, the Pub was half full and we were a rock band in there, I was using a very small kit, Groove Percussion with only an 18 " bass, 13" snare, 10" tom and 14" floor tom, we were playing already contained in volume; guitar player with amp less than 1, etc, and the owner approached the singer who was the band leader to tell him he wanted me to use brushes...we were about to play "Let's Talk About Love" from Van Halen...now imagine playing that with brushes! I protested, I told them I was already as low as I could be after all we were a rock band; argued that we should not get that gig there if this owner insisted in volume issues (we were not really that loud but this guy hated the volume no matter what) well, it ended badly as he said "you tell your drummer he either use the brushes or start packing" Needless to say, I pack my kit and left; this was our second set out of three, and no I did not got fired from the band, we never came back to that place! True Story! --- Sometimes we are able to accommodate for the audience sake and the place but drums are a loud instrument, although I am not a super animal heavy hitter I hit fairly hard, I can play low too but I have a limit as to how low I can go where you hit a non comfort zone. I can play rim shot and really have a snappy snare or just normal depending on situation. In my home studio videos of some covers I am doing recently, I do hit normally because recording there is no need to go crazy; it is about the sound, not the volume; some of my friends do not understand this! Check one of my videos for reference to what I am talking about volume here; ua-cam.com/video/UBDXB82sZR4/v-deo.html by the way; those drums are the DW Purpleheart wood which were bought from Sweetwater with Aaron's help; you guys rock!
No mesh heads and low volume cymbals ??
There are silent cymbals that are made to be silent, they can sound great.
And if you just want to practice in an an apartment, you can put on mesh heads.
I'm having an issue with playing drums at ultra low volume. My band is getting ready to record, and the damn leader of the band thought it was a good idea to start practicing at a VERY low level. I am trying to explain that I can't play smoothly at that level. I mean this is such an ultra low level that it's ridiculous.
In addition to that, he puts some cheap recording device right under my 18" crash. So I am doing my best to barely tap the drum, then when I tap the cymbal it is much louder than the drums. The placement of the audio recorder picks up the high tone of the crash and it sounds like I am smashing it. Then he wanted me to use that as a ride during part of a song and it was overwhelming. I am so damn frustrated.
Another free method of reducing volume is to play by holding the stick closer to its middle.
Changing the position of your hand on the stick can affect your stick control, ability to play rebound focused rudiments, and potentially puts greater strain on you wrists. I just play softer and use lighter sticks and it works much better with less hassle. Playing light is a skill in and of itself anyways so it's good to practice it.
What kind of kit was he playing?
Hurry hurry come all and watch the drummer in its habitat hahaha
What do you guys think about the Remo silent strokes
They've done a couple of videos on them. check them out. one video is with the l80 cymbals and the other is with the gen 16s
Iplaydrumz : For practice sure but you would never hear them on a gig!
they dont feel great, very springy. But if you need quiet. Sure.
sound like crap
How do you get your free shots?
That last option, how expensive is it
What color kit is that
What about the Auralex Hovermat???
I recently moved to Italy, and the walls of my house are made of concrete nearly a foot thick. I put audimute blanket on the door and windows, and the neighbors have no idea I'm playing drums. Electric guitar on the other hand, bleeds through the sound blanket significantly...
Please help!
My church building is not a modern one but we have state of the art equipment. The powerful sound our drum makes is not welcomed by some members and we the tech guys are really running out of options.
I need to know, is the loudness of a drum set attributed to it's make? We use a Tama Gilbatar drum
Hi, Benaiah. There are a few things you can do to control volume on the drums. A drum shield such as the ClearSonic featured in the video is a great start. When it comes to the cymbals, Sabian makes a great set of quieter cymbals. Check out the Sabian FRX line.
Thanks for the interest!
Jason Thiele, Senior Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1391, jason_thiele@sweetwater.com
Idk why people hate on the plexi glass thing. I've always thought that would be the best way to sound quieter whilst still playing g comfortably. I can play very quiet but I'm tired of the situations where I have to play so quiet that I cant do ghost notes because i cant hit the drum hard enough to get rebound. After I'm playing a reasonable quiet and as quiet as I can get, if someone asks me to be quieter I'm going to pack my things and leave, an acoustic drum are loud! Even if you hit it softly its still going to have a big sound to it. Idk why some people cant get that through their heads.
the first point is the best, use discipline and play for the music
Its cool how the dry cymbals reduce volume, but they just look really old and unsightly in my opinion. I loved the video and the content was incredibly helpful. Thanks!