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Drummer problem #1001

  • Thread starter Thread starter jhan
  • Start date Start date
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jhan

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#1
Drummer problem:

Whether in rehersal or at a gig or just screwing around, our drummer plays hard enough to kill an elephant at two hundred feet away. I really don't know what to tell this guy. His shotgun-blast snare shots during rehersal are making me deaf, despite ear protection. This guy cracks cymbals like they're made out of glass. Don't know what the hell to do about it except to tell him that, 1) He doesn't always have to play so hard, and 2) Music is about NUANCE. Soft, quiet, loud, crazy, controlled, etc, etc, and if all he does is play hard, he'll be a one-dimensional player and make people - including himself - deaf.


Here's what I think the problem is. He CANNOT play without a click track - in rehersal, during recording, or live. And since he listens to the click tracks through huge headphones, he literally cannot telll how loud he's playing.

The guy is pretty young, so it might just be a lack of maturity. But this has gotta stop. I'm 'bout to bat those 'phones off this guy's head if he don't quit it!!
 
#4
Count your blessings and give me your drummer's number! (Kidding, I'm not in NYC area.) You have no idea how hard it is to find a drummer that isn't afraid to hit his drums. It's possible to teach a loud drummer to play softer, but the opposite is never true. Loud drummers can learn dynamics. Quiet drummers just learn to be more quiet.

I know it really does depend upon the style of music, what's appropriate, etc... but mark my words: you will miss that drummer in five years when "barefoot" drummers start showing up to auditions with little tiny chopsticks.

Hang on to him and get a louder amp!

(I know it can be frustrating though.)
 
#5
fu22ba55 said:
Count your blessings and give me your drummer's number! (Kidding, I'm not in NYC area.) You have no idea how hard it is to find a drummer that isn't afraid to hit his drums. It's possible to teach a loud drummer to play softer, but the opposite is never true. Loud drummers can learn dynamics. Quiet drummers just learn to be more quiet.

I know it really does depend upon the style of music, what's appropriate, etc... but mark my words: you will miss that drummer in five years when "barefoot" drummers start showing up to auditions with little tiny chopsticks.

Hang on to him and get a louder amp!

(I know it can be frustrating though.)
Click to expand...

Really? I would have to completely disagree.

I have the exact opposite problem- every drummer thinks they have to kill the things to "get into it". I've had problems at a lot of venues in the past because the drummer is too loud, and everyone else has to come up to his level, or be drown out.

I've never met a loud drummer that has the slightest clue about dynamics that doesn't have to be reminded about them every time we play.

If I go to rehearsal and contemplate putting earplugs in, the drummer is too loud. A drummer that can control their volume is like the the holy grail IMO.
 
#6
CapnSev said:
Really? I would have to completely disagree.

I have the exact opposite problem- every drummer thinks they have to kill the things to "get into it". I've had problems at a lot of venues in the past because the drummer is too loud, and everyone else has to come up to his level, or be drown out.

I've never met a loud drummer that has the slightest clue about dynamics that doesn't have to be reminded about them every time we play.

If I go to rehearsal and contemplate putting earplugs in, the drummer is too loud. A drummer that can control their volume is like the the holy grail IMO.
Click to expand...


Same here.

On a different note, you're wasting your time playing with a drummer that needs a click track. I wouldn't give him a second thought while I considered potential bandmates. A drummer who can't keep tempo is like a bass player who can't play root notes. Who cares how good they are at other things?
 
#7
Plexi wall get some clear (unelss drummer is verry ugly) plexi sheets 2 or 3 ft wide 4 ft tall hinge them togather they will stand in a semi circle around the monkey. that will keep him out of your ears and the vocal/ gutiar mike a great amount. been doing it for years worked well for me
 
#10
Consensus view here is that if he can't play without a click, and can't play with dynamics, I should move on. Seriously considering it.

Tks for the input - which confirms what I was already thinking.
 
#14
jhan said:
And since he listens to the click tracks through huge headphones, he literally cannot telll how loud he's playing.
Click to expand...

As the Mythbusters would say "Well that's your problem right there". The cans totally cut him off from what's really going on volume-wise. He's playing loud to hear himself and doesn't realize how loud he actually is.

Try to get him to switch to some earbuds. They won't block out the room sound like full size cans do. Or if your equipment setup can handle it make his cans his monitor feed with a mix of everything so he can hear the other instruments and also do the plexi shield thing as well. Good luck I know how frustrating it is to play with a guy that has one dynamic level, caveman. :hmm:
 
#17
Rehearsal last night: me, drummer and guitarist trying to piece together a few riffs the guitarist wrote; drummer not using a click track; drummer played much, MUCH better.

Evil plan starting to form . . .
 
#18
fu22ba55 said:
Count your blessings and give me your drummer's number! (Kidding, I'm not in NYC area.) You have no idea how hard it is to find a drummer that isn't afraid to hit his drums. It's possible to teach a loud drummer to play softer, but the opposite is never true. Loud drummers can learn dynamics. Quiet drummers just learn to be more quiet.

I know it really does depend upon the style of music, what's appropriate, etc... but mark my words: you will miss that drummer in five years when "barefoot" drummers start showing up to auditions with little tiny chopsticks.

Hang on to him and get a louder amp!

(I know it can be frustrating though.)
Click to expand...

Ill second the disagreement. I actually went and dropped $3000 on my own Roland v-drum kit, and make any drummer in my band play it. Nothing better than drums with a volume knob.
 

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