fiber glass cage panel...

[stratman]

I need something to keep the drum sound not to "in your face" during live gigs in small venues. I saw in the musicians friend catalog a three 2x4 ft panel made of fiberglass around $250. Has anyone have any use expirience or any info on how good this unit is? It looks simple enough to make. Anybody knows where I can get fiberglass custom cut for me? Thanks. Greatly appreciate all incoming comments.

 

[mikeh]

The plastic sound shields serve two main purposes: 1) they do reduce the drum volume which leaves the stage (although it is not going to eliminate the sound - loud is loud) 2) they provide isolation for mic'ing purposes. The primary purpose is the mic isolation.

The main thing I have noticed (from a drummers perspective) - since the sound reflects back off the shield, the drums seem much louder in the drum throne (and the higner frequencies seem hyped as well).

I have not played behind shields a lot (maybe 1/2 dozen times) - but I had a hard time adjusting - although it actually made me play softer (ironically - playing softer achieves what your stated goal was to start with - reducing volume)

As far as where to get the fiberglass - check your local phone book.

 

[foreverain4]

check at glass supply places. you will not save a whole lot of money doing this. and it really is alot of work to drill and hinge the joints. i would recomend just buying one if you can afford it. i bought the pieces and put one together myself. it ended up being more work than i anticipated! i put it at my church to get the isolation. it did keep quite a bit of sound from bleading off the stage. we also built a sound absorbant panel to put behind the drums so that the sound would not reflect off the sheild, then off the back wall, and into the audience totally defeating our purpose to begin with. also, get yourself a good set of ear plugs. as mentioned above, the drums get quite a bit louder.



lynn
www.therecordinghouse.com

 

[rushfan33]

Let's start with the drums, drumheads and the drummer. Another big factor is the venue's size and if the drums are miced or not.

IMO the best place to start is the drums. Maybe some padding or more damp type of deads!!?? Next, does the drummer pound? If he or she does, do they have to?

It really pays off at each show if everyone arrives early to see what the place is like and make adjustments as needed. If you're playing a 500 sqft bar with 100 sqft audience area, you might want to make adjustments that differ from playing a 5,000 sqft venue where you'll all be miced up..... especially the drums!

RF

 

[rushfan33]

Yikes.... I just noticed you said small places specifically. Oh well, It all still applies!

RF

 

[-passenger-]

tone down

If your only reason for purchasing one of these is to lower your stage volume save your cash. I would just use more muffling on the drums. Lots of jazz drummers do this when they play coffee house type gigs. You can buy silencing rings and what not for about $30.00.