Great Drum Sound In A Small Venue

As a live sound engineer in a small venue the most common problem is the volume of the drums. They are the only instrument in a standard rock band that cannot be turned down. There are a few things you, as a drummer or sound engineer, can do to make a loud kit quieter.  I wont be asking drummers to change their style or the way they hit the kit instead Ill offer practical advice to improve the sound of your performance.

Cymbals
The biggest offender in a small venue is the cymbals. As a drummer you should avoid using Zildjian cymbals. Although they sound great, they are the loudest of the professional cymbals and usually have a long decay. Sabian or Paiste sound great but usually aren’t quite as explosive. Avoid using large cymbals. 24″ rides and 18″ – 20″ crash cymbals may sound good but use them sparingly. 16″ are usually quieter crash cymbals and 20″ rides are just as good as there larger siblings.
If using different cymbals isn’t an option then look at dampening them some how. Gaffa tape on the underside works quite well. Try buying some good quality Duck Tape so you don’t leave a mark when you take it off for the recording session.
Another tip is to tighten the cymbal up on the stand. Use a round solid rubber instead of the cushion on top of the cymbal. Keep them tight to bring the ringing and initial attack down.
As an engineer you should take in to account the spill from the cymbals to the vocal mics that are usually infront of the drums. Try cutting the ‘high’ pot a little to takeout some of the cymbals without effecting the vocal clarity too much. You could also try playing with the phase of the vocal mics if you are getting allot of spill from them. Changing the phase may reduce the amount of volume from the cymbals arriving at the audience.

Snare
The second offender is the snare drum. The loud crack from the drum pierces the eardrum of everyone in the room. Shallow snares are generally quieter than deeper ones. If you have an option try to use a shallow one at the smaller venues. Snares with holes in the shell are also louder than those without so try to avoid these if you are looking for a quieter sound in the smaller venues.
Again, if your stuck with the snare you have and dont have an option to buy a second snare for the small venue gigs there is still hope! Try keeping the batter head skin quite loose. This will give you a deeper sounding snare but will give it less of the piercing sound that hurts the ear.
For live sound engineers if the drummer is singing try and point the vocal mic away from the kit. Keep an eye on the gates for the toms. Make sure they aren’t opening for the snare.

Other tips

Click To Buy HotRod Sticks

To make your drumming quieter for small venues without changing your style of play you should look at using hodrod sticks, or something similar. They do change the sound of the kit but I think its a small sacrifice to make for the sake of making the audiences experience of your band an enjoyable one.

Your in a band, your band should sound like one cohesive unit. If you follow my advice your kit wont sound as good on its own but it will sound great as part of the band when in a small venue. Why would you be part of a band if all you were interested in was making your kit sound amazing on its own and disregard the interests of the band as a whole? Surly pleasing the audience is the biggest priority when playing live? If all they can hear is your drum kit clouding the mix & making it impossible to hear any vocals or guitar then they wont enjoy the set!