Live Drum Booth Question

A

astoebe

New member
Sorry, I know this isn't a studio question, but I figured you guys would be the best to ask this question.

I just started working for a church as a music guy. We have a pretty small room, and I would love to quiet the drums down some. I don't think the drummers could play much quieter without feeling uncomfortable.

They had bought a plexiglass shield, which doesn't really do anything drastic because of hard walls and a low ceiling.

I know that clearsonic sells those SORBER panels as an isolation booth with the plexiglass....so my question is....

Could I use the plexiglass shield we have, and then buy some rigid fiberglass and do the same thing? I would put the fiberglass all over the wall behind the drums, back the shield up with just enough space for the drummer to walk in between the shield and wall on one side, and then also build a roof of fiberglass over the drums too. I figure all this could look nice with some fabric.

But, I would hate to go to all this trouble if it isn't really going to make much of a difference. Do you think that there would be a big difference in volume? Would it function pretty much the same as the cleasonic thing, and do the clearsonic booths help? Let me know what you think, thanks...
 
how about electronic drum kits,( Roland, Yamahas ect.) were he can play and control the volume just an idea.
 
same thing happened at our church..we bought foam for the back and it worked..the only difference is that we have a huge ceiling..big church..
 
We use hot rods also, it makes a difference...

Does anyone know how effective the idea I have would be?
 
Adding fiberglass (rigid or fluffy) may inprove the overall sound of the drums but it wont do much to quieten them. It will absorb some of the highs so it may help tame the cymbals a little but if the drummer is a heavy hitter it is not likely to help with volume.
 
you should just get some nice electronic drums. that's what my church does. i don't see why not... sureit's alil different, but it's not like your drummer's in a competition or a band that he has to have "his set" and be able to feel the set properly.
 
astoebe said:
We use hot rods also, it makes a difference...

Does anyone know how effective the idea I have would be?
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Completely ineffective.

One can treat sounds within a room with fiberglass.

One cannot use fiberglass to create a meaningful degree of isolation.
 
unless you are about to drop 3 grand on an electric kit, dont even bother with that idea. ive played a lot of cheap electric drums, and they are not at all like the real thing. everything is different, the feel is totally different and all the nuances dont come through the same unless it is a nice electric kit. the v drums, high end modles, are the best IMO.

i can understand why your drummer wouldnt like that idea.

unfortunately, i dont have any good or useful advice for tamming the sound...sorry.
 
Supercreep said:
Completely ineffective.

One can treat sounds within a room with fiberglass.

One cannot use fiberglass to create a meaningful degree of isolation.
Click to expand...

I agree!
It has been proven time and time again that absorbers will not cause less sound to transfer through walls( or plexiglass in this instance), only mass will, but what ever reflects back off those walls (or plexiglass) can be partially absorbed by the compressed fiberglass and such, changing the characteristics of the sound bouncing around in the room. So putting the absorbent material behind the shield will help what it sounds like back there, for the drummer and the mics.
 
could you put some padding in the drums like they do on the base drum to make it abit quieter ?

dont know really.... find a drummer how hits soft,put big balls of foam on the end of his drum sticks,buy bfd and sack the drummer:D
 
Are the drums in a corner? If so, move them. Corners tend to project sound sort of like a megaphone and make drums seem a lot louder than they realy are.
 
Thanks for the help, I'll keep working with ideas I guess....

So why do the clearsonic things work? Or do they not work? It says the SORBER things are rigid fiberglass...

edit...and to add to that, tmix, so with what you are saying, would some acoustic treatment on the wall behind the drums help tame some of those reflections? The drums aren't right against the wall, but aren't too far away from the back wall...the wall is just sheetrock. I'm not sure that we could move the drums out any more because of stage space.

And thanks for the padding idea, right now I just have them tuned with no muffling except a tiny towel in the kick...I may see if some muffling brings them down a little...
 
astoebe said:
So why do the clearsonic things work? Or do they not work? It says the SORBER things are rigid fiberglass...

.
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They don't work, really. They undoubtedly contain a marginal amount of HF energy, but cause as many problems as they cure.

The rigid fiberglass is good for broadband absorbtion, but again, won't provide any meaningful isolation at all.

Brutal, but true.
 
our church is larger, we have a seperate room on stage at the left with a dbl window, drummer wears headphones and kit is mic'ed up...it is isolated, but not completely sound proof if you stand right next to the room. When the P&W kicks in the drums are only available through the board and yes we have loud music, guitars, bass, keys etc.
 
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If the problem is the drums are too big and boomy sounding then the treatment will help. If it is a matter of snare and cymbal volume then I think you will dissapointed. Either way, making the room sound better is always a good thing.
 
Actually, I say your idea would work. At a church I was the drummer at a few years ago we built a simple drum room and it was very effective. We used 3 sheets of plexiglass backed up in a corner with an eighth inch plywood top (w/ fiberglass insulation) and a homemade bass trap in the corner. We cut the door out of the plexiglass and stuck a fan inside for ventilation. There was plenty of absorption in the drum room and out front you couldn't hear the drums when the rest of the band was playing. Obviously we mic'ed up the drums.
The key was the room was pretty tight with a good seal around the ceiling and door. With the thin walls it obviously wasn't "studio" isolated but the difference was substantial. If you have a small plexiglass shield just use 2x2's and thin plywood to make up the difference.
Rick
 
astoebe said:
So why do the clearsonic things work? Or do they not work? It says the SORBER things are rigid fiberglass...

edit...and to add to that, tmix, so with what you are saying, would some acoustic treatment on the wall behind the drums help tame some of those reflections?
Click to expand...

Andrew,
I think the reasons the Clearsonics work to some degree is because it is rigid and has some mass to it. The most offending aspect of drums onstage is the initial high burst of transients which the panel reflects to a degree away from the others on stage but straight back into the drummers face. Having sat behind those things on numerous occasions it is imperative to wear ear protection.

The second aspect of the drums it cymbals and resonant drum sounds. The absorbers can tame a portion of these sounds, the deeper the panels, the more the absorbing. Kind of like trying to mop up water with a paper towel as opposed to a sponge.
The trick is, only build enough mass to quiet the drums down to a reasonable level.
Because you WANT some of the energy to escape, if not then you HAVE to deal with it bouncing around in the booth.

Remember, it is NOT a recording studio... you are trying to make things liveable on stage.

Tom
 
I found when trying quieten my kit, using rubber practice pads only slightly over the drum skins made a huge difference.

If you bought some practice pads and maybe cut them in half so the drummer could still hit the skin, it would damped the hits.

The only other route is to fully isolate the kit, and then mic it up.
 
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