Home practice studio - where to put drums?

[abstamaria]

I was able to move my tool and parts cabinets (and the car) from my car workshop at home, so am able now to arrange the place for jamming with my friends and practice for the occasional show. The workshop is a rectangular 18' by 36'. There is a row of windows on one long side and a garage door on a short side.

Where should I locate the amplifiers and the drums?

I presently have the lead, rhythm, and keyboard amplifiers in the the middle of one long wall, firing toward the windows. The drum set is at one end of the rectangle, along with the bass amp. The problem is that the drummer can't hear the melody (I wish he would play at a lower volume, but that seems a hard thing for most drummers!).

We play Shadows pieces mostly, but do play Ventures too, which requires a switch to Fender amps. I have amps on shelves so we can switch amps easily and also so that I don't have to set up or move amps into place when friends come to play. The layout seems to work for the guitarists and keyboardist, but the drummer has a problem hearing what we're playing!

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you and best regards,

Andy

[RayL]

A band is a group of people playing together as a team and with the sound of the different instruments in balance. It is not an opportunity for everyone to play as loud as they want. The beauty of The Shadows' sound (and The Ventures) is that is that each instrument has its own place in the sonic spectrum and the sound is balanced.

If your drummer can't hear the lead instruments, he is playing too loud. If he can't balance his volume at rehearsal then he probably won't be able to do so at gigs either. Bad news.

If he has simply got too much energy, let him set up his kit an hour before the rest of the band arrives and bash away until he has calmed down. Also, remind him that pro drummers don't spend all their time between numbers tapping away and annoying others. They just sit quiet, ready for the count-in.

There are several ways of making acoustic kits quieter. Dave B in The Secrets used those flat rings which lay on the batter head, and a big soft cushion in the kick. Ken in The Triumphs uses those drumsticks which are composed of bundles of thin sticks (can't remember the trade name but one of the drummers on this forum will know). They allow the drummer to use muscle if he wants to, but the sound is quieter.

Or how about your drummer using an electronic kit for rehearsals? - fully controllable volume.

Try and avoid the suggestion of putting a mic in front of the instrument cabs then amplifying it and putting a monitor speaker next to the drummer. Ok for gigs where the setup will be quite different but in a rehearsal situation you are simply raising the volume all round.

Your garage is probably not acoustically treated. If the volume gets beyond a certain point you will simply 'raise the echos' and everything will sound muddy and indistinct because of lots of short-term echos bouncing around. Acoustic panels on the walls and bass traps in the corners may help.

Above all, let the rest play while you listen so that you can analyse where the problem is - analysis is the first step in finding a cure.

Ray

[dave robinson]

There are drummers - and folks who have a drum kit and think they are drummers.
The former will always play with empathy for the rest of the band, as has happened in my experience, the latter is shown the door.

[abstamaria]

The drummer we are playing with presently is from the 60s and has been playing since then (they are getting rarer these days). He is a solid drummer and plays in the "old" style, which is nice. He may be hard of hearing though. This was a problem with two of our previous drummers, too (one has passed away and the other, acknowledged to be the best drummer in the early 60s, returned to professional work). This makes the problem worse.

Yes, one of the drummers suggested we mike the amps and give him a monitor, which complicates the set-up and we've resisted. Thank you for confirming we shouldn't do that.

We will try again with the drum mutes and the bundled drum sticks (sometimes called "blast" or "jazz" sticks here; they come in different size sticks). We do want to stick with the acoustic kit.

We are installing acoustic treatment. Here is a drawing of the workshop, The shape is not ideal, but it's what we have. The windows and garage door (a thin roll-up) do let out some of the sound, which is good.



Many thanks. I will appreciate any advice.

Andy

[ecca]

You should always play 'long-on' to a long room.
i.e. Everybody at one end.
It's a fat lot of good just criticising the drummer.

[Paulps]

You should always play 'long-on' to a long room.
i.e. Everybody at one end.

I agree with Ecca, but if that is impossible, try putting the drummer directly in front of the guitar amps.
If that leaves no room for that gorgeous bass guitarist, with the long legs and tight red dress, send her round to me and we can practice together!!!

[RUSSET]

Put acoustic screens around the drummer ?

Tony.

[Paul Creasey]

Whilst falling into the second category of Robbo's Drummer definitions (and proud of it!!), I hesitate to make suggestions to help Andy with his difficulty.
However, I DO agree with Paul(ps) - without wishing to be rude, Andy's Bass Player IS delightful, isn't she?
Regards
Paul
(one of the OTHER ones!!)

[petercreasey]

I keep the Drummer in a different county!

[roninnes]

No Peter, the drummer keeps the string pluckers in a different county.

Having rehearsed in rooms of different shapes and sizes it is necessary for the drummer to be able to hear the lead/Rhythm and bass guitars so if all amps can face the same direction toward the drummer it helps a lot. Failing that put all amps behind the drummer, same effect.



Ron