ProAudio Review - September 2008 - (Page 7)

Letters MORE ON TAMING DRUMS IN HOWS Dear Sirs: Great article on isolation for drums and the problem of overall levels of stage volume (Taming Driving Factor- Drums, July 2008 PAR). As a drummer and monitor mixer for many of the groups I work with - in worship and club performances - I have solved some of these issues. I have been drumming for 44 years (I saw Ringo play with the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964), and I now play a Roland V-Tour series kit with a TD-6V sound module. The total cost was $2,000 - about the cost of any good acoustic kit. There are, in my opinion, three reasons drummers shy away from electric kits: the feel (hard rubber does not feel like a drum head), the factory presets and the directivity soundfield of electronic drums through speakers vs. the 360 degree, omni-directional soundfield of a real drum (drummers like to feel the drums as well as hear them). The first problem was addressed by Roland in the newer fabric heads made by Remo for the V-Drums series. The feel is right and the play dynamics are like a real drum. The second issue is a bit trickier. You must take time to alter the sounds in the memory; I have totally reprogrammed or modified 25 of the 99 presets because I play jazz, country, rock, blues and big band swing in addition to praise and worship. No single kit is going to be that adaptable unless it is electronic. This is going to require patience and a good ear for selecting the pitch and decay of every setting used. Establishing the monitor environment to address problem three took months of trial and error. This was resolved by placing a good pair of powered nearfield monitors in front of my kit, facing me. This gives me an accurate stereo image of the drums mixed with the rest of the band. I even send this to the house PA in a small room without problems. Mixing stage monitors is not an issue when levels are tightly controlled. I can feel the band around me and not overdrive the room. Honestly, without having some training in sound reinforcement and studio session work, this would have been much more difficult to deal with, and I admit that some of the presets in the sound module were changed radically. No matter if you prefer one or the other; drums of any type need some work to sound good and play without problems. Marty Rogers Professional Drummer/Live Sound Engineer STUDIO 2008 | LIVE | BROADCA ST | CONTRAC ProAudio Review Tre SEPTEMBER TING | POST nds In Instru ment Microphones The Review Resource for Sound Professio nals Focal Twin 6 P28 M DIGITAL EDITION M M M-Audio, Studio Projec ts and Casca de New Micropho nes io Monitors Audiophile Pedigree for the Pros In This Issue ! Focal Twin 6 Stud es: Perennial Amp Builde r QSC w w w. p r o audiorev i e w. c o m Behind the Scen OF PRO AUDIO REVIEW NOW AVAILABLE Pro Audio Review is now available via Internet delivery. To get your free digital subscription (and renew your print subscription), go to: http://www.myparmag.com and fill out the form. To check out an on-line demo of the digital edition of Pro Audio Review, go to: http://www.proaudioreview.com/ digitaldemo Pure Inspiration • • • www.proaudioreview.com September 2008 | ProAudio Review | 7 http://www.myparmag.com http://www.proaudioreview.com/digitaldemo http://www.fairlightau.com http://www.fairlightau.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

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ProAudio Review - September 2008 Contents Publisher’s Page: It's A Hard Drive World Broadcast News and New Products Lawo mc256 Digital Production Console Studio News and New Products Earthworks PM40 Piano Mic System Onkyo Professional PR-SC885 HDMI 1.3a Surround Sound Processor Developments and Trends: Instrument Microphones Benchmark Media DAC1 Pre Focal Twin6 Be Studio Reference Monitors Cascade FAT HEAD II Blumlein Package Studio Projects CS5 Microphone M-Audio Pulsar II Small-Diaphragm Condenser Live News and New Products JBL MRX512M Live Monitor QSC: Behind The Scenes Contracting News and New Products Primacoustic Broadway Professional Acoustic Solutions Buyer's Guide: Contracting Amplifiers/Mixers Buyer's Guide: Contracting Speakers Single Slice: pc muñoz "Chatter & Buzz"

ProAudio Review - September 2008

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