To recap points I've always agreed with:
1) The bulk of the (volunteer mostly) worship band drummers are young and inexperienced, overplay loudly and tend to create the general cloud of volume issues in churches choosing to use contemporary worship music. There are
some good excuses why that happens but leaders rarely do the right thing in my opinion to take care of those issues. This is not a good issue for public discussion but 'OK' to poor musicianship is more the norm than exception in church settings where the expectation is to have the music sound like the recording.
2) The plexiglass sound barrier solutions do not improve sound problems, and only stop sound that goes out directly. Not the general ambiance and certainly not the quality of drum sound.
3) The 'older lady in the front row' mention. True. But here is one of the only issues I think has to be addressed when discussing church volume on a macro level. Or church thermostats. Or church decorations. Or ratio of contemporary songs to hymns (I'm sure you get it). Rarely will you come into a playing situation with so many different kinds, races, ages, cultural backgrounds, education levels, income differences as in a church setting. And that IS the way it is supposed to be. Go to a bar, you have a certain type of people that show up. Same with a wedding, bar mitzvah, concert or most other music events. So compromise after thoughtful consideration, congregational assessment and counsel is absolutely necessary
There's more but I don't want to 'Me, too' the post.
Here's what I feel is rarely addressed.
Good info in this quote:
One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet in the thread or the article is the importance of quality monitoring for the entire worship team, to include the drummer. I swear by my in-ears, I appreciate the fact that I can mix in my drums at an appropriate level so that I'm not bashing away to hear myself over anything else, and have control over the other elements of the team in my mix. Unfortunately, the drums at my church are not in the monitor mix at all, and so what they hear is purely stage volume. When dealing with less confident timekeepers, I have to give it an extra 5 or 8 percent to make sure they stay on-track.
AH! There's the rub. To be more succinct, the problem to be solved in most instances ESPECIALLY when there are electronic drums being used is having a proficient and knowledgeable sound tech(s) equipped with an appropriate sound system capable of creating quality monitor mixes. If I am playing an electronic kit, not only does my electronic drum mix have to be right in the monitor, it has to be right with all the other instruments and vocals. That means separate monitor mixes, attention to detail in headphone mixes (not my favorite) and the goods and drive to create an environment for the drummer and other players to feel like they can interact musically.
With acoustic drums you can balance more effectively your own 'mix' and levels between drums and cymbals (if you are proficient) and you have sound coming back to you immediately from what you are playing. Not so with electronics.
The quote above makes me wince because of my experiences. I played at a church where I had to play on a TD-10 through a wedge with one monitor mix so low that the rubber pads were just as loud. The misery came when two players - including the leader on guitar - would play as if there were no time keeping going on, and outright confuse each other. If I had an acoustic kit I cold at least start to 'bully' the time. Not so with electronics.
So as I see it, one of the main grievous problems for proficient level drummers, playing electronics, trying to provide thoughtful and tasteful playing for a worship band - is the skill level of the sound techs and equipment. And that can be even worse than the usual skill level of your average worship team player. This along with the almost cover band style expectation of sounding just like the recorded ROCK CONCERT style tune (Ahem....Hillsong!). Distorted driving guitars, slamming drums, soaring vocals. This is what the expectation is. No go as far as I can see.
Done.