Thoughts on acrylic drum screens?

[HairPig]

I've searched the forums and found threads mentioning drum screens for volume control, but few with any feedback about how well they work, and most of those seem to be in a worship setting. My situation: in a (rock) band with a drummer who is a very heavy hitter, and volume has been an issue--not so much at practice (big amps + earplugs = OK sound), but at many clubs. The drummer has tried lighter sticks and just easing up--he realizes the problem--but when he tries to play lightly, it just destroys his feel. Electronic drums are not really an option at this point.

We're thinking about getting acrylic drum screens, but I wanted anyone's experiences, specifically: (1) Since they aren't going to absorb sound, do they just end up reflecting it around and making for an equally loud but muddier sound? (2) Is the acoustic sound of the drums still usable? In most smaller clubs we play it will probably not be practical to mic up much of the kit except the kick drum. (3) Anything else I should know about these screens?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Back in the late 90's when I was on a tour as a FOH engineer, we were strongly considering 'em. After substitution trial run with plywood walls outside the tour schedule, we were encouraged as the results were pretty good.

After calculating the cost, we got no-one to chip in, so the idea was abandoned.

Plus sides I can think of:

-The direct sound which creates most of the problems, is cut in "half", which is significant.
-Since the drummer now hears him-/herself better, they'll play quieter.


Minus sides obviously as well.

-Price.
-Transportability, or more precisely, the lack of it.
-Sheer size in general (the upper edge has to be well over the cymbals, the sides well around the kit), not just for transportabilitys sake, but for setting up, storing etc.
-After a while they'll scratch, regardless of the material, and look ugly as hell.
-Very weird reflections from stage lighting.

So IMLE I'd say they're more hassle than worth.

Regards
Sam

[lowfreq33]

Your drummer will hate it.

[::::BASSIST::::]

There are other things you can do as well. My old drummer would put a small towel over the snare or put weather stripping on it.

[KingRazor]

We use them at church and they're nice, but they don't reduce the volume of the drums all that much.

[Jimbob Jones]

They take that cutting harshness off the snare and cymbals and reduce overall volume a little. As KingRazor said, it's not much. You'll need to mic the at least kick and probably the toms with the screens on; the cymbals still sound fine acoustically, they just don't make your ears bleed.

Some sound guys refuse to work with them because they can (apparently) ruin a drum mix due to the sonic reflections. While I'd never use one in studio, for live I feel that they solve more problems than they cause. They've never had a noticable negative effect on a drum mix for me.

I'd just also like to add that they weigh an absolute tonne, and are my least favourite item to work with during setup/packdown due to their bulkiness, weight, and lack of proper handles or any other means of carrying them.

[ggunn]

If you are in an acoustically reflective environment, they won't do much, but if the direct sound path is most of what you are getting, they can help.

[newwavefrank]

The best sounding acoustic drums ive heard in clubs all use them. I was helping a friends band the other night by running sound. They were pretty loud and I still couldnt control the tone of the snare because I couldnt put it in the mix without it getting too loud. A shield would have been nice

[jaywa]

They're heavy as hell.. a real PITA to haul around.

They look dorky especially after they get scratched / smudged.

Drummers hate em.

They don't make that much difference.

No sir I don't like em.

[WayneP]

Originally Posted by KingRazor

We use them at church and they're nice, but they don't reduce the volume of the drums all that much.

Agreed. But I’ll tell you what made a difference in our church: We put a roof on the thing! Then, just the back of it was open. Suddenly we were able to put the drummer in the mix rather than mixing everything else to the drummer!

Yes, I realize this does not help the OP...

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt



Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club
Big Cabs Club #23
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly

[iridiumrocks]

We have used one for several years now and it really helps the live sound. Believe it not, it was the drummer's idea to use it. If you have a drummer that plays hard, it really keeps the drums from bleeding into all of the microphones and muddying the FOH mix. Our drummer really hits the snare and cymbals hard and we used to have problems with this being too loud no matter how we mixed it, especially in smaller venues. The shield keeps it contained and makes it easier to mix. Our sound guy really likes it because it makes his job easier.

[KingRazor]

Originally Posted by WayneP

Agreed. But I’ll tell you what made a difference in our church: We put a roof on the thing! Then, just the back of it was open. Suddenly we were able to put the drummer in the mix rather than mixing everything else to the drummer!

Yes, I realize this does not help the OP...

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt



Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club
Big Cabs Club #23
My Rig: Stage and FOH Friendly

We put a roof on ours too...but when a drummer is determined to pound the ever living daylights out of that snare...

[Munjibunga]

You need this.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

You need this.

Now that would be a bag (-s, plenty of them) of fun to haul around, set up, and tear down in the venues it's mostly needed, ie. in small bars and clubs .

BTW, does my eyes decieve me or is that "rat-fur" on the base?

On a more serious note, are decent drummers really so hard to find that the normal "If You're not competent enough to play according to the required volume, You're out" does not apply?

Hellishly loud ice-pick guitarists are a sure way to clear the room, but the same IME goes for the too loud drummers.

That all is assuming that one wants or is able to play outside the rehearsal space... .

Regards
Sam

[countrybass007]

Our drummer hates them! We've hit a couple of bars that use them, and even one that put screens in front of the guitar amps for better volume control with their sound system. I'm not a fan.

[Jimbob Jones]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

You need this.

Or even better one of these:

[JimmyM]

They're stupid. I've only done a couple gigs with them and I hated them, and we will never use them again. They cut down the noise of the drums just enough to where I can't hear them and I'm forced to run them in my monitor, which I hate. I find it a totally obnoxious and loathsome practice. Just deal with the damn bleed like soundmen have done for decades long before stupid drummer boxes.

[honest abe]

They dont look pretty and drummers hate them but they work im small venues where sometimes the direct volume can be louder than the amplified one. Its a compromise not everyone is willing to make.

[MNAirHead]

Of coursse my first thought is to have the drummer play quieter.....

I had this happen last night --- the first fix was having the drummer pull his ear plugs (and live through what he was doing) and then have everyone else turn down.

----

When running sound, I've used them... the next issue is getting a good monitor (or IEM preferred) to the drummer.

I didn't find that they "really" made the drums quieter -- just transferred the sound.

For things like toms and a kick you now have other miking issues.

They're a bear to move.

-----

Dumb suggestion... deaden the heck out of everything... Simmons has a trigger pack and brain --- this costs about the same as a shield.

[steveksux]

The perfect solution is actually fairly simple, low tech, and inexpensive.

A shipping container.

The biggest cost is the postage to ship the drummer out of the country.

Then get a drummer that can control his volume.

Randy