SK Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 Carlo's story reminded me - I once played with a drummer who was too soft in a rock band. The band would complain to him about it, and he'd say: "Look, I'm a musician first, and I'm not going to sit there and just bang and make noise!" But hey, it was a ROCK BAND - what ELSE was he supposed to do?" Of course, truly great drummers can play at any volume. Any. Volume. CD: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevekessler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Lighter sticks can help, but a smaller snare and kick would help more. Lots of drummers round here have a couple of each of different sizes to fit different sized rooms. How much effort you put into it, as against finding a different drummer would depend on how good his time is. If he is always in the pocket and knows how to kick the band through the turn-arounds he's probably worth keeping. If he can do neither you want someone else in any case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Forget diplomacy. In our band, if you want to be considered, you're going to play electric drums and you will not use an amp. We run direct and use IEM's, that's the deal. Don't like it, we'll get somebody else - there are plenty of fish in the sea. Diplomacy is why some bands are OK and some are great. Even the OK ones have some good musicians, but if you let things slide, it keeps you from being great. Even if it's just one person screwing things up. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodyMary Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 I use earplugs on stage Let them turn up to eleven, I don't care. Last time I had no earplugs. Rolled pieces of toilet paiper in my ears worked fine. During rehearsals the band wears attenuating (-36db) in-ears. Everything comes through the in-ears, except for the drums - they're un-miced, just bleed through. So we _want_ the drummer to be loud. Stage: MOX6, V-machine, and Roland AX7 Rolls PM351 for IEMs. Home/recording: Roland FP4, a few guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3_borne Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Maybe I get old ... but I hate a loud stage volume. The band I'm in now works hard at keeping that in line, I find it way better to work the dynamics if you can hear all the players. If I had to wear ear plugs while playing I'd be looking for a new band, we are loud through the FoH. I past bands with a heavy hitting drummer, we've used digital drums and everyone loved it except the drummer. SK2 /w Mini Vent / XK3 Pro System /w 142 Leslie, Roland D70, Korg SP250 B3 1959 (retired) , Porta B (retired), XB2 (retired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Coda Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Forget diplomacy. !!!!!!!!!!! A.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverDragonSoun Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Maybe the drummer being too loud is an excuse to get a better amplification system. Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion, unobtrusive - Rush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary75 Posted November 15, 2008 Author Share Posted November 15, 2008 I wish I had a drummer called Alesis or Roland :o/ Id wear plugs but it makes your time poor as you hear a muffled sound filtering through. I find both drummers and guitarists the most stubborn to deal with, it's a pain in the ass and I get so tired of constantly asking what I deem sensible actions. Its one of the reasons why I don't gig as much as I should, I just can't be bothered with the asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Really good earplugs don't muffle, they attenuate evenly and sound great. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary75 Posted November 15, 2008 Author Share Posted November 15, 2008 Ah, can you recommend a brand or two Joe?, I am not up on the world of ear plugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 I'm talking about the custom molded (moulded? ) earplugs. Mine are from Westone and the filters are by Etymotic. I don't know what's available in UK, but I'm sure some forum members over there have 'em and can answer. They are well worth the extra money! "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsm Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 It's been my experience that musicians with little technique cannot play softly ... It simply takes more technique to play softly. I found this to be true with regards to myself on keyboard. In the past year or two, I've been practicing a lot more, and working on basic technique a lot more conscientiously then I have in the past, and it has greatly improved my ability to play softly. It used to be, I could only played loud or louder. I couldn't keep a grove going if I played softly. But now that my technique has improved, I can play quietly while still having good control, a solid tempo and even a fast tempo, and good feel. I could not do this in the past with a weaker technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Wearing earplugs doesn't keep everything from bleeding through all the vocal mics and screwing up the FOH mix. The lower the stage volume, the more control the sound guy has over the mix (which I suppose could be good or bad - but there have been many threads on that topic). Speaking of stupid sound guys... we had one tell us that our mics needed Cymbal Deflectors one time (and he was serious). And another told our bass player to turn down his amp - problem is that he was running direct through a D.I. and using IEM's. Our bass player turrned around and acted like he turned a knob on our monitor rack and said "How's That?" The sound guy said "Much Better". Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gismo Recording Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 And another told our bass player to turn down his amp - problem is that he was running direct through a D.I. and using IEM's. Our bass player turrned around and acted like he turned a knob on our monitor rack and said "How's That?" The sound guy said "Much Better". Best laugh of the day. Ken Denny Gismo Recording So Cliché Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT156 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 It really takes a former musician/live player to be a good soundman. Other musicians know how instruments should sound, and what a "good" mix sounds like. Those that have no musical experience can be trained, but then those people will not have as good an ear for music, and still won't be as good as a musican is at mixing sound. A lot of "sound" men don't know the meaning of dynamics. Neither do a lot of guitar players and drummers. Usually they only know one sound level-LOUD! Mike T. Yamaha Motif ES8, Alesis Ion, Prophet 5 Rev 3.2, 1979 Rhodes Mark 1 Suitcase 73 Piano, Arp Odyssey Md III, Roland R-70 Drum Machine, Digitech Vocalist Live Pro. Roland Boss Chorus Ensemble CE-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gismo Recording Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 It's been way warmer than usual of late here but looks like it's getting more normal. High today 54, low tonight 30, high tomorrow 46. That's about normal for this time of year. It's been much warmer than that for the past couple of weeks. Ken Denny Gismo Recording So Cliché Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gismo Recording Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I meant to post that on the thread about weather. How did it get in this thread? Ken Denny Gismo Recording So Cliché Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 It really takes a former musician/live player to be a good soundman. The only problem is that former drummers usually mix the drums really loud, former guitar players mix the guitar loud, etc. We were just having a discussion with a sound guy 2 weekends ago about that. He said he can always walk into a club and know right away what instrument the sound guy USED to play. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenElevenShadows Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Ask nicely for the drummer to play quieter (in context, after the first song, as suggested). If that doesn't work, use gobos and block the drummer in, and aim all your amps at him while in rehearsal. Get good earplugs, the kind that are molded to your ears and attenuate the frequencies evenly. They are invaluable and will save your hearing. Ken Lee Photography - photos and books Eleven Shadows ambient music The Mercury Seven-cool spacey music Linktree to various sites Instagram Nightaxians Video Podcast Eleven Shadows website Ken Lee Photography Pinterest Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 I meant to post that on the thread about weather. How did it get in this thread? Maybe the other thread was too loud. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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