Hi All,

I'm actually a bass player, but I need your help. Our drummer plays way too loud, as well as way too much, a bad combination. We constantly remind him of the volume issue. He has tried the lightest sticks around, and Hot Rods, but doesn't really like either of them. He has a pillow in the kick drum, rings and gels on everything else, and is still too loud. I once mentioned his overplaying, but he got defensive. That's ok, because I shouldn't really be critizising his style anyway. He doesn't think he is too loud, but my ringing ear tells me otherwise. He has suggested earplugs, but since I'm having trouble hearing the other players in the band over the drums, I can't see that as a solution. Plus, we don't want to jeopardize our practice space with complaints from the neighbors.

He is just a big, strong guy who likes to really pound. If he tries to play quietly, he loses his style and energy, and doesn't play all that good. His set is an older Pearl, with clear heads and bottoms. The toms and the kick are tuned fairly low, so they sound awesome by them selfs, but seem to drown me out. Do they occupy the same sonic range as the bass guitar? We tried stuffing pillow everywhere, which was nice in the practice space, but too much muffled for a gig. I would like to see the stage volume reduced, but still allow the sound to carry off the stage.

It really seems to be louder in front of the drums, than behind them. That probably why he doesn't think they are too loud. Maybe the rings/gels should be on the bottom, since the bottom kind of faces forward. Would removing the bottoms skins make them louder or softer? How about tighter tuning? He mentioned heads that were designed to be quieter, but I'm not sure he really wants to do that. His dream is to play on a large stage, all miked up, playing as loud as he can. Typically though, we play small rooms and backyard parties, where noise is an issue.

Sorry for all the questions, but I know very little about the mechanics of the drums, but I think we can apply physics here to get the results we want, while still allow him to play with energy and enthusiasm. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks, Vinny