How to make acoustic drums softer....hot rods?

ikes

Senior Member
hi......i play drums for church, and i was wondering if using hot rods would lower the volume, instead of using the drum shield (we r kinda low budget)

are these a good choice?
 
I play drums in church also.

Sometimes I use brushes. Sometimes its sticks. Ive never owned hot rods.

I also play out with a gospel group... drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, with very slight sound reinforcement for the vocals. We play in a lot of retirement homes. Rooms are never "big" and range from small and cozy to extremely unfriendly. Some are carpeted, some have vinyl or even stone tile. Ceilings range from acoustical tile to hard finished drywall. Sizes can be anywhere from 20x30 to 30x50 and anywhere in between, and some smaller. I use vintage Rogers sets from 64, 66, 84. Three ply maple, Five ply maple and eight ply maple. 20-12-14-16, 20-12-16, and 18, 12, 13, 14. I use Paiste 2002 Cymbals.

I have had people less than 5 feet away from my setup. I have never had a complaint from being too loud, even in rooms that sucked for acoustics. I do use brushes on some songs, but those are songs brushes are best for.........mostly I use sticks.


This is something you are gonna have to learn. There is no trick, no gadget, no easy road here.

You arent playing solely for your enjoyment here. You play for the enjoyment of others, to enhance their worship experience.

the drum shield would be a waste of money.
 
Rods can lower the volume, but they should not be regarded as quiet sticks - they make a different sound and also feel and play different than sticks. I would strive to get comfortable with lighter sticks, and tuning, coated heads, and smaller, thinner cymbals will allow you to play more naturally while keeping the volume down. If you need to be ultra-quiet, perhaps V-drums are the right option to allow you to play well and get real drums sounds without the volume level.

Bermuda
 
what if i mic the drums, and put the drums in the back of the stage? and play with sticks?
 
what if i mic the drums, and put the drums in the back of the stage? and play with sticks?

Aren't you aiming for them to be quieter? Micing them up is amplification....the complete opposite of what you're trying to achieve.

If the stage is half a mile deep, placing them at the back may reduce the volume. Of course, if it's a normal stage it's unlikely to have a material effect.

Drums are loud by nature mate. Dynamic control is your best bet.....failing that, look into an e-kit.
 
Aren't you aiming for them to be quieter? Micing them up is amplification....the complete opposite of what you're trying to achieve.

If the stage is half a mile deep, placing them at the back may reduce the volume. Of course, if it's a normal stage it's unlikely to have a material effect.

Drums are loud by nature mate. Dynamic control is your best bet.....failing that, look into an e-kit.

i meant micing for the sound guy to have control, and in the back of the stage to not be too loud.

what do u think of changing sticks, and dynamics...........or just dynamics .....

i have an e kit, and i don't really like it because it doesnt seem real, and it doesnt always catch my hits, and there arent dynamics, it just straight forward.

thanks
 
Ths sound guy having control is always the best option....however, he can't make you any quieter than the drums are acoustically. If the drums themselves are too loud, the sound guy won't be able to do much about it other than turn everyone else up.....and that's the scenario you seem to be trying to avoid.

I think lots of the idea of changing sticks and dynamics. If I've ever needed to be really quiet, I'll grab some 7A sticks and aim not to play at the same volumes as I would at a rock gig with full PA. Adjusting the way you play to the room you're playing in is the best bet IMHO. You don't use a sledgehammer to knock in a thumb tac......same with quieter gigs. Drop the 5B or 3A sticks in favour of a thinner, lighter model and learn to play quietly, is my best advice.
 
Ths sound guy having control is always the best option....however, he can't make you any quieter than the drums are acoustically. If the drums themselves are too loud, the sound guy won't be able to do much about it other than turn everyone else up.....and that's the scenario you seem to be trying to avoid.

I think lots of the idea of changing sticks and dynamics. If I've ever needed to be really quiet, I'll grab some 7A sticks and aim not to play at the same volumes as I would at a rock gig with full PA. Adjusting the way you play to the room you're playing in is the best bet IMHO. You don't use a sledgehammer to knock in a thumb tac......same with quieter gigs. Drop the 5B or 3A sticks in favour of a thinner, lighter model and learn to play quietly, is my best advice.

yeah the control thing for the sound guy was why the drums would go farther back, so it's not loud...............do lighter and smaller sticks help with the volume ????
 
yeah the control thing for the sound guy was why the drums would go farther back, so it's not loud...............do lighter and smaller sticks help with the volume ????

As I said, a matter of a few feet is not gonna have a material effect on volume....at least not enough to aid the sound guy.

To a small degree they'll aid with keeping the volume down. But for the most part, dynamic control comes down to the player.
 
As I said, a matter of a few feet is not gonna have a material effect on volume....at least not enough to aid the sound guy.

To a small degree they'll aid with keeping the volume down. But for the most part, dynamic control comes down to the player.

what do u think if like everyone else is mic ed.......but just not the drums?


hahah......again......sorry...........

it has to do with dynamics........
 
Depends on the room - but usually getting the stage volume low enough that the kit can be miced & put through the PA will help get a more even drum sound across the congregation. For church stuff this tends to be very important because God is supposed to be the focus - not the musicians (apart from performance pieces of course). So if the drums are too loud near the front - and too quiet near the back - it's hard for the drummer to underpin the music without distracting...
Personally I use a Steve Smith Tala wands (great feel & sound - and quieter than most rods) for louder songs - but often smaller sticks (Vic Firth AJ6 - great rebound) for quieter songs! What I find is that my dynamic control is better when playing slower/quieter/less busy parts. But when we're doing more intense (faster/louder/ more exuberant) songs I can overplay - hence the rods :)
Eventually I'll get my dynamics under control enough to just use sticks - but I'm not there yet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x50muKPdo2M&feature=channel_video_title

has some good advice on this sort of stuff...
 
Depends on the room - but usually getting the stage volume low enough that the kit can be miced & put through the PA will help get a more even drum sound across the congregation. For church stuff this tends to be very important because God is supposed to be the focus - not the musicians (apart from performance pieces of course). So if the drums are too loud near the front - and too quiet near the back - it's hard for the drummer to underpin the music without distracting...
Personally I use a Steve Smith Tala wands (great feel & sound - and quieter than most rods) for louder songs - but often smaller sticks (Vic Firth AJ6 - great rebound) for quieter songs! What I find is that my dynamic control is better when playing slower/quieter/less busy parts. But when we're doing more intense (faster/louder/ more exuberant) songs I can overplay - hence the rods :)
Eventually I'll get my dynamics under control enough to just use sticks - but I'm not there yet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x50muKPdo2M&feature=channel_video_title

has some good advice on this sort of stuff...

thanks


have u tried the 8D's???
 
....and i was wondering if using hot rods would lower the volume...
Yes, the hot rod, bundle type stick is a very easy way to lower the volume. But with that, add into the equation ... dynamics .... don't hit so hard ... use smaller cymbals .... maybe a smaller snare (my 12x5 wood is certainly quieter than my 14x5 steel) .... and a soft wool "vintage" type beater. And different heads and drum tuning.​
 
have u tried the 8D's???
Yup - they're quite nice - but I prefer the rebound you get from the AJ6 - at least when playing quietly. If I need to play a bit louder then the SPE2 (Peter Erskine ride stick) is good - nice and chunky, but good rebound. I certainly find it easier to control the dynamics when playing quietly with a stick that wants to rebound, even when tapped lightly.Of course for playing medium/loud then anything will rebound enough - and I usually end up picking a 5A - or the SPE2 :)
 
bunch of RUTES (dowel & plastic brushes) & Smith's Tala Wands. my Hot Rods seems to be gathering dust as these are so much better.
 
I use an 8D for loudish gigs, and an AJ5 for quiet-moderate gigs. I get planty of whack & volume from the AJ5, and because they're long, they have a good feel without much volume.

Don't forget that unlike amplified instruments, a drummer must actually change the way he plays in order to control the volume. This can result in different feels, and because the drums are acoustic, in different sounds from them.

But the compromise is two-fold: the player needs a lighter touch with lighter sticks, and the drums and cymbals should also be adjusted so that they don't sound like a kit being played lightly. As I mentioned before, this can be accomplished with coated heads on the toms, lower tunings and some muffling to cut down on the attack (perceived as volume,) and smaller, thinner cymbals which are generally quieter but sound bigger because they're thinner and lower in pitch.

Good luck,

Bermuda
 
thanks to all who replied...... i would much rather change the way i play, instead of being trapped in a cage....hhahaha jk

thanks
 
Practice on a pad. It does wonders. I went away and did some serious practice a few weeks ago, a lot of it focussed on low volume rudiment playing and I found a pair of sticks I was comfortable with.

I play in an acoustic swing band and it's easy to overpower the band if I play loudly and this was the case until recently. When I came back after a month of practice, not only was I a cleaner player, but I was half the volume with the same intensity. That surprised a lot of the band - it's not like I was a hugely loud player anyway, but it made a lot of difference.

So, two messages here. One, practice, practice, practice. Low volume ability is a sign of good technique and control. Two, find a pair of sticks you are comfortable with. The size or tip shape doesn't actually matter but if you're comfortable with the sticks, then you'll have more control.
 
Practice on a pad. It does wonders. I went away and did some serious practice a few weeks ago, a lot of it focussed on low volume rudiment playing and I found a pair of sticks I was comfortable with.

I play in an acoustic swing band and it's easy to overpower the band if I play loudly and this was the case until recently. When I came back after a month of practice, not only was I a cleaner player, but I was half the volume with the same intensity. That surprised a lot of the band - it's not like I was a hugely loud player anyway, but it made a lot of difference.

So, two messages here. One, practice, practice, practice. Low volume ability is a sign of good technique and control. Two, find a pair of sticks you are comfortable with. The size or tip shape doesn't actually matter but if you're comfortable with the sticks, then you'll have more control.

thanks.............................
 
One approach to lowering volume is, don't think about playing quieter... think about playing lighter. Yeah, it's the same thing, but how you approach it makes a difference in the outcome.

Bermuda
 
Back
Top