volume restrictions at a gig?

jonutarr

Member
How many of you do gigs that have volume restrictions?
Seems most of my gigs lately Im use multi rods 80-100% of the time, I'm certainly not a heavy hitter either,
This doesn't bother me like it use to, I'm adjusting to the lack of rebound, I think this is why we are seeing more Vdrums live
Maybe this is only an issue for cover bands like ours doing small clubs, private parties and weddings
Be interested to know your thoughts
 
I've done a lot of gigs with volume restrictions (about 35-45% of everything I have played), but try to look at it as a challenge. It is possible to play as soft as brushes/rods using sticks. And you could almost get as loud as sticks using rods. It's a practice thing, and have to be done live as well. But you'll get the hang of it.

As you might think, I don't believe in changing the equipment to be able to play at lower volume settings. You should be able to play everything from FFFF (REALLY loud) to PPPP (REALLY soft), without having to rely on certain pieces of equipment =)
 
Volume restrictions: Here's one that happened to me just yesterday... I play drums for "The Birks-Bentley Jazz Explosion" here in Omaha NE (shameless plug...). We were playing downstairs in a large hall at a benefit at a Shriners Lodge. Upstairs in the same facility, they actually had a "funeral" for a guy going on. Can anyone say, bad planning? Right after we started playing, someone brought a note to the bandstand that said, "Funeral going on upstairs! Can you turn the jazz down?" It was hilarious to think about the idea that here's this serious somber funeral going on and right below them there's this band wailing through "Fly me to the Moon", "Straight, No Chaser" and "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy".... We should have pulled out Mile's "7 Steps to Heaven"... We're framing the note.
 
One more thing: In our band, we actually have a personal hiring policy. Since we mostly play gigs where we headline and the crowd is for the most part coming out to hear us, we tell people before they book us"We're not Rock-Band loud, but we're not mouse-in-a-corner either. I realize that this is not practical and if you want to work and play the cocktail music thing , that you have to often compromise on the volume. But i for one am really glad that at this time in my drumming career, we can say that we play what we want to play, when we want to play it, at the volume that we want to play it at. Oh, and we don't take requests. :>) :>)
 
I've played in church bands for some time where the room is small, the nearest person is feet away, and the drums can't be heard, they have to be felt. I use either rods or the smallest, lightest sticks I can find (like Vic Firth SD5 Echos). And I have to focus all through the music, lest I forget and put down a THWACK rimshot that'll blow out half a dozen pairs of eardrums in the front pew. Tricky.
 
I actually experienced this exact problem last night, I am a fairly hard hitter, I like to drum with conviction, however a few places call for lighter playing. Fair enough

Last night was a little extreme, we were asked to turn down because people were trying to have conversations. 'uhmm, so why book a rock band to play at your party?' So I was pretty much using tap strokes on the back beat and had a towl over the kit.

It was pretty damming when even the woman on crutches got up and went outside. B'oh
 
I think that virtually every gig has volume limits, and the drums are obviously the most difficult to control because changing the volume means changing playing style and often the gear as well. It's not as simple as turning down the volume with a knob, as using different sticks, cymbals, tuning, padding and drum sizes to control volume, also change the drum sound and affect how we play to a much greater extent than electric instruments.

I will occasionally use multi-rod sticks, but only in the most extreme situations where the next step would be brushes. Rods can be quieter while helping to maintain one's personal playing style, but they're NOT sticks. they produce a different sound, and are best suited for textures rather than controlling volume. I also use different drums with different heads for particular gigs, and the correct cymbals are especially important for a good volume blend without sacrificing a good sound.

If a drummer can play quieter and maintain a natural drum sound, he'll get plenty of work. Tuning and playing style are crucial for that, maybe more so than any other factors.

Along the lines of selecting the right gear for quieter volume, don't forget it also applies to the correct gear for more aggressive volume, where perhaps the drummer should be mic'd, but isn't. Drum size, cymbal type, head selection, stick size, playing style and tuning are important for getting more volume and attack from the kit.

I'm pretty sure there are other threads about this with more detailed explanations.

Bermuda
 
In a nutshell.. Drum Dynamics. This was stressed to me from practically day one.

Dennis
 
Part of being a drummer.

Even in original bands, sometimes you get booked into a smaller venue, or a venue where the inside is so reflective, that you have to control your volume.

And cover/bar bands, playing at lower volumes is certainly going to come up.

Having some hot rods and smaller cymbals in my collection, even if I rarely use them, is a must just for those times where it becomes imperative.
 
I run into this quite often and it's pretty funny because some of my gigs we get asked to turn up and I can hit as hard as I can. (outside gigs) but alot of gigs we get will be in volume limited situations.

Usually it is because of the acoustics or small size of a room. I have all sorts of tricks up my sleeve. I have a regular wednesday acoustic gig and the bar is in a stingy neighborhood and they like to keep the patio doors open and they have a big garage door they open up by one of the bars so part of the bar is outside when it's open. I just bring a kick snare and hats to that show. I don't use rods hardly at all anymore mainly because I play a ton of rolls in my playing. (2nd line/trains/etc)

I use really big sticks too (pro mark jason bonham) but I just choke up on the stick and keep my stick height down and I can play quieter than anybody using hot rods. It's actually alot of work to play with hot-rods.

I remember a few tours back we played at this bar in new jersey during happy hour and they had this huge fundraiser party for a politician and the place was mobbed but obviously people where there to talk and not really to listen to the music. The owner was terrified when he saw me setting up my kit but I told him I would keep it down. He was so grateful to me after the gig and said we could come back anytime!

another trick I do alot is just playing on the rims of the drums instead of the hats or sometimes instead of the snare. it sounds really cool.
 
Great topic jonutarr.
I have to keep it down on a lot of gigs too. I never use rods, hate the tone.
I just play really really light when I have to. It's just as hard as playing real loud but in a different way. I don't enjoy it nearly as much, but it's a necessary skill to have. I've recently discovered how choking up on the stick can be employed. But usually I just hold them regular and tap. It's another unsung skill that we need to have in our repetoire. It's funny when I listen back, you'd never know that I'm struggling more than usual, it sounds more or less like it should thank goodness. It takes more out of me mentally, and I really can't get in the zone when I have to keep every hit at 1/4 volume. But, it's part of being a drummer, so even though I never feel I play my best in those situations, I'm doing the best I can and don't let it bother me. It's freaking hard to keep musical intensity with major volume restrictions.
 
The strangest gig I every played involved a wedding reception. We were set up just a few feet from the first set of tables. We started playing at a modest volume. Almost immediately, someone came up and told us we needed to play quieter. Fine. I've dealt with these situations before and my technique was developed for such a situation. We started playing again. After the first song, we were told again that it was too loud! We noticed we had elderly people in the first two rows of tables. So, we started playing again. We were playing so low at this point that we could talk to each other on stage in a normal voice!

Well, as the gig went on, a lot of the elderly went home and all that was left was the young, drunk guests! The bride came over and told us to crank it! I went from stuffed shirt ensemble playing to full blown heavy metal drumming!

It was a good time, but it was one of the weirdest gigs I've done!
 
I keep having this experience where I allow myself to get psyched out about sticks being "too loud" for a gig, but eventually pick them up anyway, and realize that there is no volume difference between them and the brushes. For me the switch is pretty much seamless at mp, using VF SD11s- a maple stick about the size of a fattish 5B. Hickory sticks are harder to control and produce an ugly sound at low volumes. I also do not dig the little stick a lot of jazz drummers think they have to use- VF SD4 "combos"- for the thin tone they produce. Multi-rods are right out for jazz, and sound almost completely like crap.

Another pet issue of mine is that I don't believe the drums are all that loud in the first place. There's some kind of weird psychological thing where venue people and some musicians see you hitting things with sticks and they believe that you must be the one offending their ears, whatever your true volume. When comments come in on moderate-level playing gigs, usually if the guitar will turn down and/or the horn/s will play down a bit, the drummer can play at a reasonable volume without bothering people.
 
I am getting use to multi rods and am stating to adjust my playing with them, my ride and toms sound better with multi rods IMO, I have a few different type which are good for a slight change in to and or volume, I made some out of 4x dowel Tasmanian oak (similar wood to Jarrah) they are great for some songs
playing lighter with stick is sometime better also, I hope I can be good with both
 
I just played at a retirement center this past week, and it had the most volume restriction I've ever experienced. They kept on saying, "Play quieter!" and "Turn it down!" (the keyboard, and vocals--it's a jazz group). We were playing SOOO quietly, but it was evidentally still too loud. You could hear the sound of the keyboardist's fingers playing the keys above the sound of his volume in the monitors and mains, and I ended up using only brushes for that gig. The thing that struck me as odd was that I gigged there just a couple of months back with an a cappella quartet, and we were pretty loud, almost causing feedback through our mics from the sound of the room, and they kept on asking us to turn up over and over again... :O

I. don't. get it.
 
I keep having this experience where I allow myself to get psyched out about sticks being "too loud" for a gig, but eventually pick them up anyway, and realize that there is no volume difference between them and the brushes. For me the switch is pretty much seamless at mp, using VF SD11s- a maple stick about the size of a fattish 5B. Hickory sticks are harder to control and produce an ugly sound at low volumes. I also do not dig the little stick a lot of jazz drummers think they have to use- VF SD4 "combos"- for the thin tone they produce. Multi-rods are right out for jazz, and sound almost completely like crap.

I agree about the maple. I was using SD10's for years. But recently switched to SD4 trying to quiet down a bit more.

Here's a fellow playing SD4s who's not getting a thin tone or playing lightly by any stretch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyOLbAWv7bw If you get used to them, they can be pretty versatile. I'm getting addicted to how they sound on ride cymbals. Of course playing them like this, they don't last that long. But I played in a corporate band (I was on guitar) with this guy for 3 years and he broke one maybe every other gig.

He also turned me on to the Vic Firth/Steve Smith multi-rods with the foam cores. They sound much less "brushy" than Hot Rods.
 
Nice clip- is that you? I used combos in loud settings for a long time, but I think they messed with my touch by making me work too hard to get a sound. I wasn't meaning to be disparaging of anyone's choice of sticks- what I was getting at was that I think the smaller sticks start giving diminishing low-volume returns at a certain point. Tone quality starts to suffer, while not really being that much softer. That's just what I notice whenever I dig them out and AB them with the SD11s. But what the hell, many excellent players use them.

I'll look into those VF/SS rods- if they can come up with a formula that doesn't get that annoying superficial raspy "doink" sound on the toms, I'm there.
 
We Play in some small clubs where we are told to tone it down sometimes,and i just go to the hot rods,.While its not as intense its easier for me to play them,then trying to play lighter with sticks.
 
Although I rarely encounter gig volume restrictions, I think it's worthwhile throwing a twist on this. Keeping your band volume down is a very good thing to do to assist the mix. Getting that perfect band balance becomes much more difficult the louder you get. Separation is greatly helped by lowering the volume.

Really sweet drumming clip there Aeolian! Great energy.
 
No issues with volume here; I play a lot of brushes and use small sticks.

I'm another who dislikes the sound of rods. For those who do use rods, don't you find they sound tinny and disgusting on a tightly-tuned snare? Just curious.
 
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