feedback, thoughts and opinions

plastickman

Junior Member
Drum shields are a pain for any number of good reasons:

expensive
heavy/bulky
complicated assembly/parts
fragile
limited effectiveness
high dork factor

What if there were an alternative?

competitively priced
incredibly lightweight
easy to assemble
indestructible (yes you read that right)
offers significantly better sound reduction than existing products
truly portable
easy to customize/modify
not dorky
no moving parts or fasteners
reducible to a package as small as 2X2X2 feet?

Who would be interested in that? I have a working, tested and proven prototype. Any thoughts on the subject would be appreciated.

And please, o Forum Gods; I'm not spamming or selling anything - just seeking out honest feedback from serious people to determine overall interest. It will help me determine my next steps.
 
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I'd be interested...........let's hear more.


That's all there is to hear for now - I'm just looking to determine if there's a significant market. I'm only weeks from going public with it. I can only say that it really does everything I say it does. You can literally take a baseball bat to this thing - that was one of my endurance tests. Oh - and a tire iron.

It's a full surround, but it weighs in at about 90 pounds.
 
I'd be interested, there's been some discussion about shields for me, but keeping them clean and safe in transport, and the general poor effect a shield has on the sound of the drums closest to it (rack toms & kick) have prevented a move forward.

A workable alternative would be a good thing (we hit the road again July 1... hint hint!)

Bermuda
 
Mr. plastickman,

If you take Bermudas hint and lend him one, and it's a winner...I can't think of a better way to start some good buzz.
 
I'd be interested, there's been some discussion about shields for me, but keeping them clean and safe in transport, and the general poor effect a shield has on the sound of the drums closest to it (rack toms & kick) have prevented a move forward.

A workable alternative would be a good thing (we hit the road again July 1... hint hint!)

Bermuda

Clean is always an issue, but safe just isn't a factor with my design. Sure you can't push that tour back to August? (hint hint!)

Mr. plastickman,

If you take Bermudas hint and lend him one, and it's a winner...I can't think of a better way to start some good buzz.

If only! I'm so close to production! Each unit will be handmade and come with an ironclad guarantee against casual damage. If someone can actually damage one of my units through normal use, I'll be astounded :0
 
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If only! I'm so close to production! Each unit will be handmade and come with an ironclad guarantee against casual damage. If someone can actually damage one of my units through normal use, I'll be astounded :0

Define "normal use" when musicians are concerned or you might end up with some warranty claims. Jumping into it, for example. Will it burn? Does it melt under hot stage lights?
 
This sounds like the holy grail of drum shields to me (can you give us an idea of the noise reduction factor)? But until then....
 

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Define "normal use" when musicians are concerned or you might end up with some warranty claims. Jumping into it, for example. Will it burn? Does it melt under hot stage lights?

I wouldn't claim it's indestructible either. Claims like that get the assault rifle test in my neck of the woods!
 
Define "normal use" when musicians are concerned or you might end up with some warranty claims. Jumping into it, for example. Will it burn? Does it melt under hot stage lights?

To define normal use:

"Normal" for say, Aerosmith during their toxic period. You can jump on it, hit it, smash through it, bash it with a baseball bat - it keeps on ticking. In theory it will burn, but you're looking at 500 degrees before that becomes a concern. When I say indestructible, I mean pretty much that. It can take all the drunken, stoned, angry, angst-ridden musicians - and audience members you can throw at it. "Normal" means I'm not going to pay for damage deliberately inflicted by inquisitive idiots ;)
 
This sounds like the holy grail of drum shields to me (can you give us an idea of the noise reduction factor)? But until then....

Hahah yeah - love the pic!

As to noise reduction, I have specific sound reduction specs - but they're in the hot little fist of my sound engineer who did the tests right now. Let's say roughly a 6-7 decibal reduction in a controlled test over the competition - and that's only the rough prototype. The finished model will offer a considerably higher reduction factor.
 
For me how it sounds when behind the shield as well as reducing unwanted reflections is a big deal. Plastic does a very poor job in these areas. Unwanted reflections get sent up and bounce around like sonic bullets, getting into the mikes.

At my church a generous guy with wood skills built a set of hinged sound baffles NOT made of any plastic. The wood, cloth and sound absorptive material absorbs sound and reflects much less than any plastic or hard surface I've played behind. Of course you can't see the drummer except from the neck up - which is fine with me.

The next best thing I've experienced is one of the mixed material, total enclosure like this. A bit of an isolating experience musically and puts more weight on the shoulders of those providing and mixing monitors for the drummer. It's also $3000 (I think) not including the Avion monitoring solution that is necessary for this to function.

There's definitely a need for better products in this area. Come up with a winner and the first thing you'll want to do is market to churches in the U.S.

Jim
 
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