Drum Sheilds and Mic's

[Tom Moore]

hey guys

Im either building or buying (whateva ends up cheaper) a drum sheild so i can play at church. Its not a big church because the reason im building the sheild is because im actually too loud (using rods!).

So would i just be able to have two overhead mics to pickup everything and a snare mic. The kit still should be heard through the sheild.

So yeh. is it possible to just have a snare and two overheads?

or are there any other options?

Thanks

[surftex363]

your gonna need to mic your bass with that shield, it makes it super easy though. And just to let you know they dont cut much sounds, i own one and its not a super duper sound stoper.

[MrPresident]

Probably better off building your own. I know that a 4 piece drum shield that my school bought ended up being between 250-350 dollars. Not worth it for some pieces of fiberglass or whatever the material is if you ask me.

As far as the mic...definitely don't skip out on a bass drum mic. You're audience won't be able to hear the bass drum at all if it isn't miced and you are playing behind other music and a drum shield. I know that from personal experiences. For your kind of setting I would even say a bass drum mic is more important then the snare. The snare probably carries better behind a drum shield then a bass drum.

[notsocoolguy]

Like another guy has said, I would just like to point out, these shields don't cut down the drum sound!! If you are making one for that reason don't bother!
Those shields just stop other sound, guitars etc, bleeding into the drum mics...

Repeat, they DONT cut down overall drum sound levels!

[dlute]

From one church drummer to another, don't waste your money on a drum shield unless you completely enclose the drums....front, back (with absorption panels and top and then mic then very well. All they will do is reflect the sound and actually make the sound more harsh. I have played behind one for the last year in church. I personally purchased a six panel shield, 6ft high. It was more of a "visual" sound stopper. If the people saw me behind the shield, they may not freak out about the drum sound as much.

However, the best advice is to control your volume with your technique. All drummers have to learn to "play to the room" that they find themselves in. I play for 5 different churches in differening locales and each one requires a different technique. Sometimes I play with brushes and hands. Other vneue I let it rip, even with mics.

[dlute]

Also try switching to polymer plastice rods, I believe they are Blasticks or something like that, made by Vater. Much quieter than wooden rods of any dimension.

[surftex363]

From one church drummer to another, don't waste your money on a drum shield unless you completely enclose the drums....front, back (with absorption panels and top and then mic then very well. All they will do is reflect the sound and actually make the sound more harsh. I have played behind one for the last year in church. I personally purchased a six panel shield, 6ft high. It was more of a "visual" sound stopper. If the people saw me behind the shield, they may not freak out about the drum sound as much.

However, the best advice is to control your volume with your technique. All drummers have to learn to "play to the room" that they find themselves in. I play for 5 different churches in differening locales and each one requires a different technique. Sometimes I play with brushes and hands. Other vneue I let it rip, even with mics.


yeah i play in church also, and i would try like 7a sticks or something really really small

[trickg]

Like another guy has said, I would just like to point out, these shields don't cut down the drum sound!! If you are making one for that reason don't bother!
Those shields just stop other sound, guitars etc, bleeding into the drum mics...

Repeat, they DONT cut down overall drum sound levels!
No, but they do redirect and restrict the sound, and it can have the effect of cutting down the overall volume coming off of the kit. Besides, if you add some sound tiles to the lower half of the shield it can soak up some of the sound.

One question: do you really think so many of them would be sold if they didn't serve the purpose for which they are being sold?

I say to buy one - if you try to make one, it's likely that it won't hold up well (drum shield plexiglas is a bit softer and more flexible than the plexiglas you buy at your local hardware store) and you will be happier in the long run.

[notsocoolguy]

One question: do you really think so many of them would be sold if they didn't serve the purpose for which they are being sold?



They do serve the purpose for which they are being sold... Some have got the idea that they also cut down the noise aswell which isn't true unless other products are bought also.

From the clearsonics website...

''...acrylic will reflect more direct energy, but that energy still needs go somewhere...''

So unless you have some sort of baffle, like the clear sonic sober panel, it won't do what you desire...

[trickg]

Ok - you and I are on the same page. But also keep in mind that every time sound bounces from one thing to another, it loses energy and amplitude, although in truth, with plexiglas panel, it won't be much. The idea is that if you redirect the sound back and up (preferably up to acoustic sound tiles on a hanging ceiling) then THOSE will be what soaks up some of the volume, which will then make it appear that the sound shield is cutting down the sound....or something like that. ;)