Query for drummers: How to lessen drum noise?

[khalil]

hi new drummer here...

i would just like to ask things how to lessen drum noise. we have a small church and hitting the kit seems to loud..

1. i was wondering what can i do to lessen the noise so that playing drums may be distractive while worshipping?

2. what is the use of the O-ring and how to install it?

3. what does the "remo david weckl active snare gate dampering system" or other dampering pads do?

4. what about the remo muff'l ring control or sound control whats their use and how to put it in the kit?


these items has no description on remo's site so i was wondering if this can be of use..
you can check it out here:
http://www.remo.com/portal/products/2/599/607/dh_muffl_ring.html

NOTE: if you are going to answer pls indicate the number of the question you are answering thanks!

thanks for the reply and infos...

i'll be giving blessings to your replies

[bmxchampga]

1. You could put a glass shield around the whole kit. That would probably help a lot.

2. An O-ring is more to stop the drums from ringing then to lessen the volume. I wouldn't suggest these. A lot of the time they can make the drums sound like cardboard boxes

3 and 4. Again these are more for controlling the tone of the drum, not the loudness.

In conclusion, I would suggest getting a drum shield if it's in your churches budget. That's gonna lessen the volume of the kit from the audiences point of view considerably.

[drumerboy1988]

ive used the remo 'muffls and really like them, they fit under the drum heads so it doesnt affect the feel....only problem is your cymbals will still be very loud..

we use an electronic kit at our church..

[justinhavu]

I second the drum shield suggestion, it will cut down the volume, and at the same time, keep the vocal mics from picking up the drums.  As far as the muffling systems, they don't really lessen the noise, but rather change the tonal characteristics of the drum.  Now, about cymbals; try to avoid a 'brilliant' finish, as that is a VERY bright sound.  The natural finishes tend to be a little darker, and probably more pleasing to the ears.

[khalil]

i thank you for your answers guys...
+1 to all of you

i dont have problems hitting the cymbals...i can control it somehow...

my problem is really the loudness of the kit. if you could share some links of those drum shields i would really appreciate it..

thanks and God bless!

[budjie]

Best thing to do is to practice your chops.  (Loudness is a matter of perception and as such, what may be "controlled" for you may be too loud for some.  Still, it should be the worshiping congregation's feel/taste that should prevail.) 

Next, Play with your drums "alone".

Some drums may sound terrible at low volumes but would be very sweet when beaten louder.  If this is your case, I suggest you (re)tune your drums so that it can "open-up" even if you don't whack on it too hard.  (and remember to use fresh drumheads-re tuning with used drum heads can a very tedious task and you might still not get the effect that you desire)

or... you may also choose smaller drum-sizes. (fusion, etc.) 

As for the Cymbals, you may also want to use smaller cymbals.

14" crash/18" Ride  (k's or similar)

But if you really love your kit and doesn't want any modification,
An isolation booth/drum shields, would be the best alternative for you... That may however be very expensive...

It's your call really. . . Just thank the Lord that you're the drummer and always glorify His name whenever you roll and crash...  Let Him guide your hand and fingers...  by doing so, you can never go wrong...

[muskratt]

well, when worshiping, playing soft is not really an option. unless the song calls for it. You can build a small wall out of wood around your kit, only as high as your toms, say 3 and half feet tall. put some padding or something to soak up sound, even old blankets on the wall. this way it looks nice, you can paint it whatever color matches the church, usually can find spare wood lying around, so it should not cost much. also, used cracked cymbals, they wont be as loud, and tune your drums to a flat tuning, so that they wont resenate as much. hope that helps.

[Timmay91]

drum shields aren't always the solution to the problem, but in your situation its your best option. The most important thing to note if you do get a drum screen is that whoever is playing drums, whether it be you or someone else must wear ear plugs, as using the screen will cause damage to your ears, because instead to the sound from the kit dispersing throughout the room it all gets thrown straight back at you. Make sure you wear eardrums if you want to be able to hear in the future.

[iamjustin]

hit the drums easier?

the thing about putting the drummer in a display case, it will force you to mic the drum set and give the drum a good set of headphones, it gets very expensive very quickly

im not a drummer so this isnt the right lingo, but theres the hickory sticks that are bound together (i dont know the spacific name of them, this sorta thing :http://www.zildjian.com/images/products/zoomImage_2240.JPG) we used to use those when we needed a lighter sound and it worked alright

[Frankencelery]

The leader in drum shields are Clearsonic
http://www.clearsonic.com/

I highly recommend getting both a drum shield and adding some absorption. Clearsonic has some decent packages with both of these elements, and will drastically reduce the volume of the drums...

[drum_mer_2.0]

A drum shield for sure, the O-ring doesn't do much for decreasing the loudness of the drums.

[juan]

hello young and old cats...

"Less is More"
First i will suggest to practice your dynamics, you can add great feel and punch without being noisy, so its important to you to know how to play softer but always with consistence. remember the golden rule of the musican "Less is More" well maybe it isnt the golden rule but please play with that in mind.

"The Lesser The Better"
If you are in a small church please let your kit grow from the basics... 2 or 1 Tom, maybe a 13" or 12" snare 1 or 2 cymbals, not to big in sizes, this way you wont be tempted to hit everything any time you could... challenge yourself! maybe for one sunday you could use just hihat, snare and bassdrum! try it, you will star to grow in creativity that way.

Now that you are playing with a very basic kit, One thing that may help is to play with loops (practice first, dont try it on a sunday for the first time!) you can use Ableton Live anda computer (that needs another post)

a very important thing is to add textures to your sound, please leave behind those 2B sticks and use smaller sizes 5A, or perhaps a 7A pair! (i know they feel like pencils, please dont break them on the first hit) buy a pair of brushes (vic firth white or black's) a pair of HotRods medium or small size, this helps a lot! really!

now, thats all to improve your playing, remember that worship is not only to get lost in the flow and hitting the drums as hard as you can, worship also is to serve the people in front of you! so get a pastoral heart for those people and be a channel for them to encounter the Lord, dont be obstructive... loudnes can obstruct sometimes

ok an then the other important thing... your church, the room acoustics, try not to get the drumset too close to a corner, if theres a plain wall behind you, put some acoustic pads behind and then decor the wall with a courtain make it look nice according to the church decoration (talk with your pastor and sound guy first)

A shield is great, if you install one understand that you will need to mic your drums, so again talk to your pastor and talk about the money you have to invest... dont get sad if he says "no yet" thats why you have to learn to play soft... it may take a while before you get the IDEAL equipment, in the meanwhile research, research and research, so the next time your pastor says "1000 bucks for drum stuff" you guys know what are your inmediate needs.

if you want you can post some pics of your kint and church to have an exact idea of what your needs are

hey dont be shy and talk to the guitar center guys, they can give you great ideas, and when you buy just tell them that you want a discount because is for a church (most time it works!!!)

im hungry now, gotta go ;-)


blessings!