ss Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 How well do the drum shields really work? I'm having a problem being too loud for the other musicians more than to loud for the audience and I was considering buying a shield. Any advise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 ss: I use a drum shield quite often. It isn't my most preferenced method of sheilding, but many times ... it is more necessary to prevent mic bleeding from the drums, than for volumn problems. Of course the other alternative ... play softer! LOL, DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss Posted April 30, 2004 Author Share Posted April 30, 2004 Thanks for the reply. Actually my playing isnt that loud and if I get any softer I will not get my drums true tone. Its just too loud for the small space that the musicians play. Here is what I thought about...ClearSonic 5 panel, 5.5' shield with 5, 2' sorbers for the front and some 5.5' tall sorbers for the back to catch the rest of the sound reflected from the shield. Of course I'll have to invest in triggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Ugghh... we did a gig not long ago where the house sound guy made our drummer play behind a shield and we all hated it. We all felt like we were on separate planets from each other. We played fine but did not enjoy ourselves at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 I know what you're saying about pulling the true tones from the drums... but by tuning differently and using different sticks, you can get true tones at pretty much any level. It's an art for sure. Also there are jazz tricks like keeping the beat quietly in the cymbals, and using the drums strategically- actually playing them pretty loud but getting back out of the way before anybody can reach for the volume knob, so to speak... it's a kind of game really. Cat and mouse. Those shields must cause all kinds of comb-filtering (weird sounds) on the reflected sound off the shields... A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 I'm no fan of them either. For twenty+ years they've been able to produce super-high volume concerts without these things.... they are basically unneccessary. A tiny bit of bleed is no crime. Originally posted by Lee Flier: Ugghh... we did a gig not long ago where the house sound guy made our drummer play behind a shield and we all hated it. We all felt like we were on separate planets from each other. We played fine but did not enjoy ourselves at all. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss Posted April 30, 2004 Author Share Posted April 30, 2004 Ted, I know what your saying about the stick size and I always use 7B's. I think thats the # for the small sticks...anyway, I tune my drums to achieve the tom's "sweet" spot, so how would I tune for softer volumes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Originally posted by ss: Ted, I know what your saying about the stick size and I always use 7B's. I think thats the # for the small sticks...anyway, I tune my drums to achieve the tom's "sweet" spot, so how would I tune for softer volumes?I think you'd basically just have to mess around and see what works. One approach is to actually tune the things into a dead spot- resonance is volume, for better or worse... Me, I like lotsa resonance, but it gets very lively and very tricky to play quietly... If you tune the drums real high, you may be able to find some pretty sweet spots up there too. This way you can get the resonant heads to move more easily, which means you can get the whole drum going without playing it as hard. Plus, high frequencies have less power, so it's quieter overall. I don't think you're likely to have a problem with the bass drum being too loud, so probably leave it low. Then of course you can start damping things... For snare, you can adjust the snares to be quieter, either by damping them (too tight) against the head, or actually removing some individual snares... But mostly, playing quieter. If you have the ability to record, throw up a mic out in the room and see what it's like out there. Or have someone else play your kit. I've often found that with nice drums, sometimes it doesn't take much to get the tone out in the room, even if it doesn't sound right at the kit. A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted April 30, 2004 Share Posted April 30, 2004 Originally posted by Ted Nightshade: Those shields must cause all kinds of comb-filtering (weird sounds) on the reflected sound off the shields...Yeah they do... drove us nuts at that gig. I've worked in some studios where they have them, too, and the first thing I do to get a decent drum sound is get rid of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Speers Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 I agree about that shields make the drummer feel isolated. Additionally, you will then need better monitoring (not such a bad idea, anyway.) However, in certain situations, like church services, those shields are almost mandatory, and they do cut down a surprising amount of volume. As for the comb-filtering thing, I expected to hear that myself, but I really didn't. If you think about it, when the O-H mics are a few feet above the cymbals, there are no reflections that will go straight into the mics. (but O-H placement is definitely critical.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.