I can't hear my drums when i'm covering songs

Steven P

Member
Title says it all. I can't hear my drums when I'm covering songs. It's my bass drum that's the problem. I can't hear it. So sometimes I don't know if i'm playing the bass drum part right. Any help? I can't have my bass drum any louder or the neighbors will get pissed. :( Trust me if I could I'd have my drum kit miced and stuff. When ever I'm not covering songs and just messing around. I can only just hear the bass drum...
 
Weird. What kind of drums do you have? What kind of heads do you have?

I tried the EMAD2 once and had a similar problem. I dropped that head so I could use a PS3 or EQ4. Bass drum is much more open and sounds great.
 
When you say "covering songs", are you listening to the songs as you play them? Are you listening through headphones or speakers? If speakers, where in relation to you are they, and how loud is the music?

If you have no problem hearing yourself when not "covering songs", including your kick, I would suggest turning down the music a bit.

The kick drum, being so low-tuned and pointed away from you, is the hardest thing for the drummer to hear the true voice of. It's also, due to its frequency range, the least likely to cut through the mix. Many times bands will mike that drum if nothing else for that reason.

If you have the kick crammed full of pillows, blankets, etc. and/or the batter is tuned fairly loose, this will affect your kick's cut. Remove the muffling and tune up the batter a bit.

Good luck.
 
I have a similar problem &my kick is unmuffled( i play a 26" kick with Remo coated Emperor batter&Ludwig coated resonant head) , as well as i can,t hear the music! :(.
I don,t play thru headphones i,ve only got a mini stereo(15w or less max) even when i have the volume turned right up i STILL can,t hear the music any advice/help? :).
 
I have a similar problem &my kick is unmuffled( i play a 26" kick with Remo coated Emperor batter&Ludwig coated resonant head) , as well as i can,t hear the music! :(.
I don,t play thru headphones i,ve only got a mini stereo(15w or less max) even when i have the volume turned right up i STILL can,t hear the music any advice/help? :).

Can't hear the drums or can't hear the music? This thread was about not hearing his drums over the top of the music, but it seems to me you're talking about not being able to hear the music over the drums, right?

If so, try the obvious......play quieter, get a bigger amp or get some head phones.....or perhaps all three.
 
Maybe you're just THAT awesome. Anyone else ever noticed that when you're BANG on time you can't hear the click any more or when you're playing note for note perfect time on cd you 'can't hear yourself'?

Disclaimer, that doesn't happen to me much, that's why I notice when it does.
 
I find that 20 inch kicks have the most cut when playing to your ipod or in a band. They have a fair bit of attack and punch than larger kicks. My yamaha kick has a similar problem, which is a 22, maybe try less muffling/remove the pillow and tune the batter head down a bit to get lots of attack, which is what defines the sound of the drum being hit.
 
I am the only one that feels that unless your motor skills are really bad you should be able to feel when you hit the bass drum even if you can not hear it?
 
I am the only one that feels that unless your motor skills are really bad you should be able to feel when you hit the bass drum even if you can not hear it?

I was thinking the same thing.....
 
I can definately relate to this. Nowadays I mic my drums at home and play along with my mp3 player which is also going thru my board so everything is mixed nicely. If your not using mics then probably I'd just suggest turning the music down. I also have this issue when playing live with a band. I'm always telling my sound guy to put my kick in my monitor. Without the kick in my monitor, yes I can feel myself playing it and might be able to hear it slightly, but without really hearing it it's hard to feel the groove and play in the pocket. It is true, and a lot of sound guys and other musicians don't get this when you say you can't hear your kick drum, that from the position of our ears relative to the kick drum it is hard to hear. Our ears are above the drum, out of the path of the sound, unlike snare and toms which are coming up right into our face. Ever watch a marching band and notice the HUGE difference in the sound of the bass drums when they turn and face you as opposed to when they are turned sideways with the head of the drum facing you? That same effect happens to us who play drumkits too. There's really not a whole lot you can do in this situation if you're not using mics. The accoustics of the room you're in might make a difference too. Try placing a very shiny reflective surface in front of the bass drum, angled up towards you, see if it might bounce some of the sound back at your ears from the resonant side of the head.
 
I find for playing along with mp3s, electronic drums work best. You can mix the music with your drums and you can mix the drums with each other through head phones. Also the problem of noise and neighbours won't exist anymore.


Just a thought.
 
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I DO realise that this thread is about NOT being able to hear drums over music BUT i was hoping that i could get some advice/help about the REVERSE of this thread NOT being able to hear the MUSIC over my drums! :(.
 
I DO realise that this thread is about NOT being able to hear drums over music BUT i was hoping that i could get some advice/help about the REVERSE of this thread NOT being able to hear the MUSIC over my drums! :(.

So obvious things like playing quiter, buying a more powerful amp or listening through headphones doesn't help at all??
 
Steven, as Al said your issue is that the bass drum has a lower frequency and it can get lost in the mix. That's why some drummers, like Bermuda, use a Butt Kicker for stadium gigs - that way he can feel each note on the bass drum when it's lost in the bottom end of the mix. It's a better option than cranking up the headphones and damaging your hearing (says someone who's never played a stadium and glad of it :)

Obviously, it's not needed for home drumming so one thing that helps is to sharpen up the attack of your bass drum notes to cut through - tighten up the head, use a harder beater, maybe some more dampening and turn down, even if you prefer a rounder sound with bands.

You could try turning the music down (your ears will thank you) and staying aware of the relative volume of your limbs. Ideally, when you play a drum cover you should be blending with the music as much as possible, just as you would when playing with people. Your bass drum is the right volume but your cymbal playing is too loud. Bottom line - turn down and go easy on the cymbals, including the hats.
 
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