Sweetwater's Nick D'Virgilio talks with Josh Fisher from Jesus Culture about how he controls his drum volume onstage. After the video, learn more from Sweetwater Worship Connect here: www.sweetwater....
Vic Firth AJ5 sticks help. If a cymbal hit needs to be done quickly(in time), sticks that carry less inertia will make quieter cymbal hits. We have a smaller stage(the kit is about 13ft from the front of seating) and I've been playing for a while without the Plexi shield(no volume complaints that I've heard of).
Justin Brand Yamaha recording series drums sound pre eq'd then to add to that he tunes his drums where the heads are almost falling off giving them a very dead sound. That is probably what you are hearing.
I'm amazed that it's assumed that because a drummer has some sort of "fame", they know all about all things related to drums. This kid has figured out what works for him & the obviously heavy music he plays. It's pretty obvious that if you asked him to come up with a completely different sound, he'd be lost. What he says is really not much help to anyone that isn't playing the style of music he plays.
I was thinking the same thing as I was watching. He didn't come across as a drummer, just a dude who was hired to specifically learn how to drum for them. Nothing helpful
Sound engineer's need to be able to control drum volume, just like everything else in the mix ( not rely on rotating, volunteer drummers to consistently play quietly -- especially when many of the musicians don't know how they sound in the house ). So, you need e-drums or a cage, or possibly a full shield with good room sound treatments.
