Overhead mics...
After a 25 year break from drumming I decided it was time to get back into it. I now play in a church worship band. Our sound guy has made the comment that I need to hit my cymbals harder as he cant hear them. I feel I'm smacking them pretty hard and he still cant hear them. My question is, what kind of cymbal would "cut through" better than what I'm using? My current crashes are 2 older 18" Zildjian medium crashes and a Paiste 17" Rude crash/ride. Thanks
Jack
Overhead mics...
If he can't hear a rude crash then something else is going on, I am not even sure you can hit them quietly if you tried.
Ludwig Classic Maple 22x16,10x8,12x9,16x16
7" Moon Gel Practice Pad
Sabian HHX Legacy
Decide whether this is love for the craft or simply an ego thing
http://www.redskymary.com/ NOT MY BAND, JUST A GREAT LOCAL BAND WHO SHOULD BE SOOO MUCH BIGGER IMO
Are you miked? Are you behind a shield?
Wow, with those cymbals in a small place, I would think people would be asking you to tone it down, LOL. I guess I would ask the sound guy how HE wants to run mics for the cymbals....cause you might be able to hit harder, but who's gonna buy you new cymbals if you destroy them? My view is; he's the sound guy, so if he thinks the cymbals need to cut through more, he should be able to figure out how accomplish that without pushing it off on you by asking you to abuse your equipment or spend your money on different equipment. (Hope that's not too harsh ?).
If it ends up you DO need to hit 'em harder, I would probably just buy some cheap, used B8 Sabians. The B8 should do a good job cutting through, and if you break 'em, throw them away and buy more.
Last edited by N2Bluz; 05-19-2014 at 03:27 PM.
-Brian
"Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"
Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!
"I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham
So your sound guy in church says that he can't hear your cymbals and wants you to hit them harder? The 18" Zidjian med. crash cymbals are pretty "loud" to begin with and the Rudes are typically used with heavy metal music. I've had a full set of Rudes and they were really loud. Geez...I think you'll end up playing too loud if you were to hit them any harder? Like xsabers said...maybe an overhead mic?
Do you have a monitor? Its often difficult to hear much when you are at the back behind the drum kit as most of the volume from guitars/vocals etc are projected forward - if that is the case then buying different cymbals would not change anything, could be you are automatically adjusting to the sound levels you are hearing at the back of the room
Just how good is the sound guy's hearing. Has anyone else stated you need to hit your cymbals harder? This seems unlikely but it may be worth (diplomatically) asking someone in the audience for an unbiased opinion. No harm in asking before parting with cash for something you may not need.
I'm going to echo some of the others. 18" cymbals of that nature are somewhat loud without trying. Are you sure it wasn't sarcasm?
ask him to hit them and you go to the back of the room and see what they sound like.
Have you got you're ticket for the rock train? You gotta earn that Ticket!!
Premier Genista - Pearl Masters - Primus custom snare - Zildjian A Custom- DW 5000 pedal - Zildjian Zack Starkey sticks
I play lead Drums
Give him a hearing aide.
Anybody else complaining?
I would think, 'church music' should not be so 'hard'
It's a bit louder that one would think. At least we are. Maybe our sound guy has a different definition of what hearing the cymbals should sound like. Or, like you said, maybe he needs a hearing aid. There are several other bands that play in the rotation and I can hear their cymbals just fine.
I am using the earpiece monitors. I can hear the cymbals fine. Sound booth is in the far rear corner of the auditorium so maybe he is just not hearing them well.
As far as buying more cymbals, I could use another trio of crashes as I'm transporting mine between my rehearsal set and my home/gig set.
Thanks for the replys. I will keep playing as I do and let him go without hearing them. If I recall these meduim crashes were not cheap even in the
80's when I bought them.
What size stick are you using? If you are using something like a 7A, and it's been a long time since you've played, then you may be coming across as a little timid; therefore, the concern of your tech is warranted.
Just my $.02, but IMO, when it comes to church drumming, it's much better to have smaller cymbals that you can hit hard than big, heavy cymbals you can only tap.
This past year, I went from playing these:
Zildjian A series 18" medium/thin crash
Sabian AA 17" medium/thin crash
Sabian AA 20" rock ride
Zildjian A series 12" splash
to:
Zildjian A Custom 15" fast crash
Zildjian A Custom 14" fast crash
Zildjian A Custom 20" ride
Zildjian A Custom 10" splash
It's made all of the difference in the world. I can hit the smaller cymbals harder and I don't get nasty stares from others like I used to. They sound amazing mic'ed.
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