Drum Isolation Room Help

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director.gtr

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Hi there- I play lead guitar at my church and like most churches, we have the well known problem of STAGE VOLUME. We've tried a few things but I think we've decided the main problem is the drum volume.
I've looked at portable drum rooms with the plexi-glass and sound dampening material around the bottom and roof. I don't know what the church can afford right now (not much if anything I'm sure). An other option rather than a portable kind like that (I saw one for like 7k), would be to build a room in the corner on stage. we have the room for that. We also have skilled carpentry workers in the church, including myself, who could build the room.
Is there anyone who would have plans for this or who have done this?

Thanks guys!
 
Taking a completely different tack...

Some praise bands/houses of worship have moved to electronic drums to avoid this problem.

I don't know if e-drums would fit into the budget, but that is one of the best ways to solve the problem...
 
I've played churches, libraries, community meeting rooms and other small and acoustically resonant rooms. The answer is that the drummer needs to play softer and not wallop the drums as if he/she is playing a loud club. It's part of the drummer's craft. I play lighter sticks in small rooms and go a lot lighter on the kick pedal. If the drummer refuses or can't do this, it's time to get a new drummer.
 
Amen to that !
Sometimes, the drummer needs to be told that not every song is the theme tune to WWF and not every skin is Colonel Gadaffi......
 
Thanks guys for the help. E-drums are out of the question right now b/c of lack of funds. But yeah, I could get on the drummer more about his intensity. Stinkin drummers haha

I'm still thinking a drum room would be the best way about it
 
Rimshot said:
You do realize that you are talking to mostly all drummers here don't you?
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yes I do, and I love them- Thats why I said 'haha'

I've played drums for around 5 years as well as bass, flute, piano, mandolin, and as I said, guitar. I'm a music kinda guy so Nothing I said was meant to be offensive. I may be able to play all those instruments but I need some help from people who have either been in the same situation or have ideas about it.
 
Let the drummer play loud and the rest of you turn your shit up.

"Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise."
 
NE WAY- still wondering some drum room ideas. I was thinking I could use the plexi-glass 6' shield that we're using now and possibly use that for the windows. or maybe I should be thinking about using that with some type of absorbent material around the lower half attached with Velcro or something. Plus a roof. IDK IDK help?
 
How can you afford to build a drum room but not afford an e-kit? They're more wallet-friendly these days.
 
Stop thinking like techno heads. You have a drummer that doesn't have the ability, so you're thinking of compensating for lack of skill by throwing money and technology at the real problem. I don't get it. Is the drummer some hot babe that performs in a see-thru tank top?
 
Most churches just take what they can get. Rock solid drummers aren't lining up to play praise-and-worship music at a small-time church that's broke.
 
Given a lack of funds for e-drums, I would go along with those suggesting a change in technique...

Have your drummer drop down to something like a 7A stick, and, if he can find one, a lambs wool bass drum beater. Have him stuff a blanket or two into the bass drum. And tell him not to hit the cymbals so hard. Drums do not have to be loud.

Another trick is to have useless people like the bass player or the rhythm guitarist stand in front of the drum set to kill some of the sound...:D
 
bdenton said:
Given a lack of funds for e-drums, I would go along with those suggesting a change in technique...

Have your drummer drop down to something like a 7A stick, and, if he can find one, a lambs wool bass drum beater. Have him stuff a blanket or two into the bass drum. And tell him not to hit the cymbals so hard. Drums do not have to be loud.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to tell the drummer tonight at practice to play softer. He's very talented so I think he can do it. I'm also going to give him some hot rod sticks (correct name?) to try out.
I think I heard somewhere about attaching something to the bottom of the cymbals to dampen them? What would that be?

My next question- I've done a little bit of research on e-drums but there are so many. I know ALL about guitars and pricing and quality but nothing on drums. I think it was a Roland that had small toms with open bottoms. It was very expensive but looked like sound wise, it would be awesome. We can't afford them obviously so what would be an alternative? How are the kits with rubber everything? Sound quality? Actual playability?


bdenton said:
Another trick is to have useless people like the bass player or the rhythm guitarist stand in front of the drum set to kill some of the sound...:D
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^ FUNNY GUY OVER HERE!! ^ :p
 
I've found e-drums to have a much different feel than a real kit and haven't been to happy with them.

Damping the cymbals is something I wouldn't recommend since you'll really end up degrading the sound by removing the higher frequencies.
 
Thanks Bassman good to know. I went to practice last night and the drummer was all for playing lighter, and he did. The hardest part about the sound was the snare popping. He said he really had to concentrate to not hit it to hard. Understandable when its habit. I think what we decided was to tape something to the bottom of the snare to dampen the reverb. We also took down all the stage amps (for guitars and keys) and went direct into the board which also helped ALOT with stage volume. We still have the smaller speakers for the A/B channels to hear ourselves up there so its not all gone but it's a start.
I found a Roland v-drum kit for 1,800 on Craigslist in my area. Says its in excellent condition and comes with everything but doesn't that seem cheap? :confused:
 
Greg_L said:
Hey I'm just advising you follow what the Bible says.
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Though I suspect Greg's pulling someone's holsten here, there's actually alot of sense in this. Most churches try to follow some kind of biblical direction in public music performance and there are two very clear extremes for groups of people gathering before God ~"Be still and know that I am God" and the one Greg quoted. Plus some in between.That tells anyone that there's a time to be quiet, a time to be mellow and a time to BLOW THE ROOF OFF !
It's a matter of learning to be sensitive to the direction the Spirit is taking you.

director.gtr said:
NE WAY- still wondering some drum room ideas. I was thinking I could use the plexi-glass 6' shield that we're using now and possibly use that for the windows. or maybe I should be thinking about using that with some type of absorbent material around the lower half attached with Velcro or something. Plus a roof. IDK IDK help?
Click to expand...
I've played in halls that utilize this and they cut down a fraction of the sound ~ but not at close quarters in a small room and they still don't address the issue of dynamics where the drummer is concerned. I've found that some drummers are great listeners and anticipators and you rarely have volume problems with them. I've also found that some drummers just want to beat the shit out of the drums and others still just want to demonstrate their 'chops', regardless of the what the song may or may not need.

Rimshot said:
Stop thinking like techno heads. You have a drummer that doesn't have the ability, so you're thinking of compensating for lack of skill by throwing money and technology at the real problem. I don't get it.
Click to expand...

Greg_L said:
Most churches just take what they can get. Rock solid drummers aren't lining up to play praise-and-worship music at a small-time church that's broke.
Click to expand...
Very true. That's often the thing that we don't want to admit ~ in many a church musical set up, you'll find a mixture of abilities but because often the musicians and singers are volunteering their services, they'll be taken, regardless of their standard. Rock solid drummers are less of a rarity than they used to be but I've often observed that some of the drummers don't appear to listen and control their playing. Whereas a drummer in a band playing regular gigs has to be more versatile as the threat and reality of replacement is no empty suitcase.

This reminds me of the "a good drummer can play to a click" argument. In a church set up especially, a drummer needs to be able to vary their dynamics. The congregation has to be taken into account but can't be allowed to dictate, the musicians need to know that for what is taking place, they are the least important component there.
 
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