Tune Your Drums

You can always spot a drummer that doesn't perform very often. Not only by the fact that they normally aren't very good, but there are other signs as well. For instance, the toms will be set up at awkward angles, indicating that the drummer in question is not very comfortable tearing down and setting up the set. However, the one that bothers me the most is more subtle, and is made more annoying by how easy it would be to fix.

You see, drummers that primarily play in their basements or garages hardly ever get the chance to hear someone else play their drums. By always being behind the kit, it's impossible to know how your drums, tuned the way that you have them tuned, sound from the viewpoint of the audience. Three things take place - first, the drummer's proximity to the drums makes them seem louder and snappier than they sound to the crowd, which is a natural effect of acoustics. Second, the drummer is, in a way, behind the sound. The drummer sits on the impact side of the instrument, and the air and sound is being projected forward, after it has a chance to ring through the wood of the drum, the resonant head, and whatever mics have been set up. Third, the sound of the drums is dampened by the sound of all the other instruments on stage. To get an idea of what this sounds like, it is exactly like putting studio rings or masking tape on the drums - the sound is muffled, shorter, and darker.

The end result is that the drummer is back there rocking away, and the audience is hearing mud. The muffling effect is most noticeable on the snare drum - get up behind the drummer, and the snare sounds poppy and sharp. Move to the front of the stage with the crowd, and it is almost indistinguishable from the music, meaning it can't project that essential backbeat and give the song any rhythm. This is extremely common with broken dreams bands and weekend warrior cover bands. Having never played a show where drummers share a set, or stood in the crowd while a friend sat in, the player never realizes how bad their set sounds.

There is a simple solution to this - TUNE YER GODDAM DRUMS. Take a drum key and actually tune your drums, and listen. The snare should be sharper and more "ringy" than you want it to actually sound to the crowd. The toms should ring for just a little longer than you want them to, and this is easily controlled with any of the million drum muffling products on the market. With every part of your kit projecting a little more sound than you think is appropriate, the sound that will actually cut through the band will sound natural, lively, and genuine. In other words, good. If your drums are being mic'ed, a lot of this problem goes away.

Yeah, nothing really funny in this one. It's just a pet peeve.