Volume issue

[Chabo]

Believe it or not... I'm actually too quiet for my band when we play shows. I know I could get mics or triggers, but that would require a good PA, which our band doesn't have, and can't afford. Our current PA is just good enough for the vocalist to route through; any more sound in the thing and it would distort wicked badly.

 

Besides just "hit harder," is there any other method of getting more projection? I especially need more volume on the bass drum, and I already play heel-up when I play with these guys. Basically what I'm looking for is ways to tune, or hit differently without hitting harder, that will achieve this goal. Right now I use a Pinstripe with a small blanket in the bass drum (no hole in resonant head).

 

IIRC, tuning up on the snare gives it more projection (at least, it cuts through the mix better), does this hold true for the bass, too?

[Nick]

For the bass drum, just cut a hole in it for more projection and volume, and use a smaller towel.

[Carbafile]

take the front SKin off the kick altogether, that helps, and try and get a thin but heavy pillow, ya know? SO theres air being Driven, push it tight against the back skin, almost like your tucking it into bed....if that makes any sense. Also, take the bottom SKins of the TOms, This Projects the sound more, but u will lose Tone, And depending on your shells, may Pick up one or 2 overtones u dont want, but for live it does the Job. And dude, Hitting harder doesnt always meen louder, alot of volume is in good technique. But Alot of Power is in Strenght of your slam!

I say Bring back the good old Power Toms on the old was it KLM kits? lol

Nah they sucked.

[Chabo]

My understanding was that the resonant head allowed the drum to resonate more, thereby creating more volume... so if I'm right, then taking the resonant heads off will greatly decrease volume/projection, not increase it. I thought that holes in the head were only for micing...

 

If you guys are right, then sorry, but this is how I understood the concept...

[HulkBlood01]

Originally posted by Chabo My understanding was that the resonant head allowed the drum to resonate more, thereby creating more volume... so if I'm right, then taking the resonant heads off will greatly decrease volume/projection, not increase it. I thought that holes in the head were only for micing... If you guys are right, then sorry, but this is how I understood the concept...

 

I was thinking the same thing chabo....

 

I don't know about the bass drums for sure, but pickup some heavier sticks. Just pick up some logs and you'll be fine, lol.

[MoosBros]

Originally posted by Chabo My understanding was that the resonant head allowed the drum to resonate more, thereby creating more volume... so if I'm right, then taking the resonant heads off will greatly decrease volume/projection, not increase it. I thought that holes in the head were only for micing... If you guys are right, then sorry, but this is how I understood the concept...

 

 

I think the obvious question is that maybe the rest of your band is TOO LOUD.....

 

I might suggest you try a single ply batter head for your kick drum... , take ALL the stuffing out...tune the batter head to taste,(I tune mine VERY LOW) and keep the front head just above buzzing....use a WOOD beater, and a flam patch... that'll give ya juat about all the volume you're gonna get out of your drum....

 

 

I use a clear PowerStrokeIII for a batter, a FiberSkyn reso(no hole), and I get plenty of volume.. it's a 22" Slingerland bass drum....

 

 

for your snare something similar to a Ludwig 5 or 6x14 Acrolite, or Supraphonic would cut well,,, use a coated Ambassador batter, and a diplomat(thin clear) weight snare head,,...don't overtighten the snare side head or the snare wires... you'll choke the tone of the drum.....IF you have TOO much ring with those heads, , try a touch of MoonGel or a Rem"O" studio ring.. that outta do it....

 

I still say that maybe the rest of the band mgiht need to come down a notch or two.... and strt saving for a bigger PA...the kick drum and bass guitar should be in it... that way ya'll can play with LESS stage volume...

[relva]

I've tampered with taking the res heads on my bass drum and and here's what I found:

 

No Bass Head: Initial volume spanks all other sounds for about a 3-5 foot radius but drops off both in volume and quality of sound outside of that radius.

 

Basshead w/ hole: Not quite as spanking initial volume, but instead a stong bam for a larger radius. Degree of spanking/radius relationship determined on size of hole. If the hole isn't off center most of the initial sound is lost.

 

Normal Res Head: No initial crankin volume, (compared to other two) but instead a solid boom that carries a longer distance with a good degree of quality. (biggest radius)

 

Basically the less res head you have, the higher attack you have. However, attack carries only so far without resonance to back it up. Playing a gig w/o a head is difficult, playing with a small hole is great for smaller areas. Consider getting the pillow out, find a way to tune your drums that you don't need pillows or such-they're gonna take out the volume as well.

 

For a crackin snare bound to cut through that''s still a bit versatile, go check out a Stewart Copeland Signature Snare. (Tama) It cranks volume if needed, but it is fairly easy to alter sound. (Even if it is a metal kettle.)

[Chabo]

Actually, the band volume is ok for the places we usually play. About 1-200 people, and even still we're usually one of the quietest bands whereever we play. (volume-wise, not tone-wise. we're the only hard rock band in the area. ) Due to the nature of the other bands' music (they're all punk), however, they don't need to have the bass drum project. It's just kick on beats one and three anyway, so it's not really that important that it's there. However, I play double bass with some cool patterns, so to me it's important to have the bass drum come through.

 

We don't want to buy a PA for the band, since two of us will be going to college (myself included) this fall, and the band will effectively die at that point. Also the fact that I'm going to college in the fall puts a limit on what I can spend on my kit. After all, for the next four years I'm probably going to be fairly broke.

 

Hulk- I already play with Aheads.

 

And it's not so much the volume of the rest of the kit that's an issue as the kick. After our last gig I was told that my snare (14x6.5 Tama steel snare) couldn't be heard too well, and I realized that it was still tuned relatively low from when I played with the middle school. Tuned it up, and now the thing kills everyone's ears.

 

Wouldn't taking out the muffling make the tone really boomy?

 

Also, tuning the bass low would reduce the amount that the head pushes back on the bass beaters. Would it still project if I tuned it up to what I have?

[robert-jan]

So let me get this correctly ..you dont want to play louder but you you wanna have a sound off your bassdrum thay says boom even at low volumes?

 

in that case I would suggest not to take the fronthead of and in fact you might wanna have a closed front head,since the hole is going to take away of the deep sound your looking for..try the new evans emad (the one the demping ring attached),maybe a small demping-pillow to demp the fronthead a bit to get rid of anoying overtones and to shorthe the sustain a bit,

If you want more projection ,I suggest you replace your bassdrumbeater with one of those multi beaters..pearl has a beater with three or four different surfaces,wood plastic filt..so you can switch the surface that hits your basshead and change the "attack sound"..

I always use them and quit often change it to go with the music I play ..

it really works..

 

good luck