Home practice studio - where to put drums?

[ShadsDrums]

Ron's reply is the one to go with.

Lead amps are directional so it's always best to have the amp either to the side and angled towards the drummer, or behind the drummer. This is the way we do things in The Silver Shadows and we never have a problem with the drummer not being able to hear the melody.

Good luck
Chris

[abstamaria]

Thank you, all. I appreciate the advice.

There’s not enough room for all of us to be at one end, unfrotunately, so that option is not possible. The drawing I posted is not to scale, so can mislead.

A friend who is an acoustic engineer came over and tested the room. Interestingly, he said that putting the amps at a long end produced longer delays (since the sound would take time to reach the far end and then bounce back), which confused the overall sound. He recommended we place the amps against a long wall. While this produced an echo too, the bounce back would be very short, almost coinciding with the original signal. He had very good ears, too, and would notice differences in moving things around and opening and closing closet doors. The good thing is that his suggestion coincided with the only practical location for the lead, rhythm, and keyboard amps in my tight workshop.

The bass amp is behind the drummer, as shown in the drawing, and our bassist could stand some distance in front of it and still hear it clearly. This probably is due to the long sound waves a bass amp produces. The bass signal I think goes right through the garage roll-up door, so that serves as a bass trap. I will tell Anna, our bassist, you complemented her (she subscribes to ShadowMusic).

I will try your suggestion and keep the amps where they are but angle them toward the drummer. And have him use those bundled sticks. And perhaps also move him closer to the middle section.

I will let you know how this turns out. (By the way, our other drummer, who is in his 60s and played in the other year's Madeleine Cookie Company shows, hurt his achilles tendon and had to be operated on, so that puts him out of commission for a while. They are getting fragile, these vintage drummers.)

Many thanks,

Andy

[51 Relic]

Try an electronic drum kit ( they have a volume control ) and all turning down for a better sound quality after all its not a gig its called practice !!

[abstamaria]

Yes, an electronic drum kit would be an easy solution, and I read that some models are very good. However, we do have a very nice acoustic drum set that we tend to not to take out of the house, so don't want to make that redundant.

[noelford]

I can't help but feel this all sounds very formal for a practice room! My experience is that band practices work best when people are relaxed and just set up where they are comfortable (in a circle works well, I've found, where amps are all facing the drums). Do you need to set up in such a rigid way?

And you change amps for different numbers, too? Sounds like too much hard work!

[ecca]

We practised in the dining room, no room to swing a cat.
As Noel said, it's a practice, have fun.

[abstamaria]

Yes, that’s true, but we have the option now of a somewhat dedicated studio. That gives us the flexibility of putting the drums and amps at their best location, but also means we have to find out what that is. We used to move the car out and set up each time we played. And when the band left, I would have to pack up and move the car in. The advantage with a fixed set-up is that we can just warm up the amps, plug in, and play; and when we’re done, we just put the guitars and cords away.

I just read somewhere that a large recording studio, having determined where the drum kit sounded best, nailed the drummer’s throne to the floor. We’re not recording, of course, but do want to find a good place for the drums and leave it there.

We don’t really “jam” usually, but try to replicate as best we can the early Shadows and Ventures “sound.” Everyone studies his part carefully and uses the right guitar and amp (and strings!), and we play as closely as we can in the original recorded style and arrangement, hoping to put together a credible, close cover. This forum has been invaluable for Shadows work, but the Ventures pieces don’t sound right on a Stratocaster and Vox amps. So we switch guitars and plug into Fender amps. This is now easy because the amps are permanently on a 2-shelf rack. Ultimately, we’re just kids playing at being the Shadows and Ventures.

My regular band did do a series of shows the other year withe the Madeleine Cookie Company, whose objective was to play songs from 1958 to 1963 as closely as possible to the original sound, involving several singers, a back-up chorus, strings, brass, etc. If we do that again, we’ll use this studio for rehearsals, as we did then.

But some of my friends will not ever do stage work, so playing at home is the most they will do. They still want to capture the old “sound,” so we aim for that and set up the gear accordingly. That is why also we use an acoustic kit, so they get the "full" experience. We even use a Chinese drum for "Apache"! It’s a somewhat serious approach, but still a lot of fun.

Regards,

Andy

[Paulps]

We practised in the dining room, no room to swing a cat.

I bet the cat was happy!!!

[abstamaria]

I'm having my friend, the acoustic engineer, come over to propose acoustic treatment for the workshop. It has a low ceiling, so that is a problem that he has to address. Since I have no neighbors within hearing range of the workshop, sound insulation is not an issue, but standing waves, reverberation, reflections are. I hope, with the advice received here, and acoustic treatment, we can have good venue.

I know this sounds very serious. However, I enjoy playing with friends at home, trying to get the sound right, without having to deal with the compromises of playing live. Anyyway, I will let you know how the project turns out.

Regards, and thanks again.

Andy