Drum Shields??

They are completely useless in my opinion.

I wish I could get the folks at my church to realize this but they are convinced it helps reduce stage volume and if thats true maybe we should put little plexiglass barriers in around the monitors and guitar amps too....LOL

my new pet peeve actually - drum shields Aaaarrrrgggh!

yeah some sound guys think drum shields help prevent cymbal bleed in the vocal mic's - bra-ha-ha-ha it's funny...unless you are a drummer and have to sit behind one of those things like we're a caged animal...well that's true but beside the point...

Outlaw drum shields - spread the message - save the plexiglass!
I feel your pain man, but don't worry you won't notice much difference.


Man, I can relate to this!! Yeah I HAVE to use one at my church. That's the way it is. Yes I feel like a caged animal. I peeves me to no end whenever folks are talking on stage during rehearsals and not talking into the mics...I can't hear them. Then whenever I speak into my overhead mic and ask what it is they are saying, (yes, relegated to only one overhead mic), they REMEMBER I'm in that damned cage and repeat it for just me and use a tone of voice that equates to speaking to someone hard of hearing. Yep, it's pretty frustrating.

Also the cages get hot, so I have a fan going all times. The cages are VERY cramped for a simple 5 piece kit, hats, two crashes, and 1 ride, a music stand, and a trap table, plus the Avion personal monitor. Barely enough room for my fat self....Ha

However, and this is point made before....no matter how bad that cage sucks, no matter how much I hate the cage, I'M GETTING TO PLAY!!! I get to keep my chops up (sort of) and do what I love doing, if only for 5 songs. Plus, people love my playing, so that's what keeps me going and putting up with all the other junk.

What gets me though, is when I forget to take home my sweaty rehearsal shirt and leave it in the cage. The next time I'm in the cage, it smells like a high school PE room....
 
They are completely useless in my opinion.

I wish I could get the folks at my church to realize this but they are convinced it helps reduce stage volume and if thats true maybe we should put little plexiglass barriers in around the monitors and guitar amps too....LOL

my new pet peeve actually - drum shields Aaaarrrrgggh!

yeah some sound guys think drum shields help prevent cymbal bleed in the vocal mic's - bra-ha-ha-ha it's funny...unless you are a drummer and have to sit behind one of those things like we're a caged animal...well that's true but beside the point...

Outlaw drum shields - spread the message - save the plexiglass!
I feel your pain man, but don't worry you won't notice much difference.


Man, I can relate to this!! Yeah I HAVE to use one at my church. That's the way it is. Yes I feel like a caged animal. I peeves me to no end whenever folks are talking on stage during rehearsals and not talking into the mics...I can't hear them. Then whenever I speak into my overhead mic and ask what it is they are saying, (yes, relegated to only one overhead mic), they REMEMBER I'm in that damned cage and repeat it for just me and use a tone of voice that equates to speaking to someone hard of hearing. Yep, it's pretty frustrating.

Also the cages get hot, so I have a fan going all times. The cages are VERY cramped for a simple 5 piece kit, hats, two crashes, and 1 ride, a music stand, and a trap table, plus the Avion personal monitor. Barely enough room for my fat self....Ha

However, and this is point made before....no matter how bad that cage sucks, no matter how much I hate the cage, I'M GETTING TO PLAY!!! I get to keep my chops up (sort of) and do what I love doing, if only for 5 songs. Plus, people love my playing, so that's what keeps me going and putting up with all the other junk.

What gets me though, is when I forget to take home my sweaty rehearsal shirt and leave it in the cage. The next time I'm in the cage, it smells like a high school PE room....

Hello there. Brian Smith here, the guy who probably made the shields you have to play behind. I understand all the negative issues about shields that you raise here, but the truth is, they make the sound engineer, other musician's and, most importantly, the audience experience a lot more pleasant if used properly, and I think most people would agree that should be the overriding goal for everyone involved. We all have to make sacrifices for the sake of the overall quality of the experience. Of course the idea is very simple: if you put a 1/4" sheet of plastic between a drummer and someone else, that someone else is going to hear drums that are considerably more muffled, especially in the high frequencies. The more acoustic absorbing treatment that is used on the inside of the shields and around the drummer, the better they work. It ain't rocket science. I personally prefer more absorption treatment around me when I play than reflective plastic because you are right: without the absorption, the drummer hears twice as much drums. I know there is a conflict of interest here because I make and sell this stuff, but I created these tools because I was in desperate need of these products back when I was doing acoustical consulting for churches and no one else was effectively addressing the problem. If the sound engineer tries to boost the vocals and gets just as much drum bleed as vocals, it's game over. He/she no longer has any control over the mix and the most common result is loss of vocal intelligibility. For most vocal-based groups, this is a big problem and the reason the use of shields has become so common throughout the live music industry. And, not to beat up on just the drummers here, guitar players are often too loud, also. That is why amp shields are also gaining in popularity. Finally, I like playing behind the shields because they not only reduce the amount of drum bleed into the other mics, but they also shield me from that guitar amp next to me that is ripping my ears apart.
 
I think they are useful for an orchestral setting, let's say an orchestra that has a pop singer or jazz singer as guest artist, and there are a bunch of string players sitting in front of the set. Then, as a wall between set and those players, only. Not the full 3-sider.
 
I see 'em just like any other tool...depends on their use.

A room with loads of reflection and other musicians are using mikes to amp sounds from amplifiers or acoustic instruments and i want to perform at a moderate or high energy/amplitude level?...give me a shield...and please make it so I can see through it!

..easier than shielding each mike individually.
 
They use a drum shield at the church I go to as well. However, it is a fairly big church sanctuary so it works for us. At first they had this huge sheet of padding over the top, so it was literally like a circle cage with a roof. But I finally convinced them to take the top off and the sounds is a lot better.

Since I play bass at my church I was thinking of playing a joke. I was going to come in early on a Sunday morning and set the cage around me lol. I think that sometimes people go over board with the shields for sure!
 
If it makes the check writer happy, it makes me happy. I use IEM's so sonically it makes no difference to me. The other band members do complain about not being able to hear my hats and ride, as well as needing more kick and snare in their monitors. I really don't mind either way. If the venue is concerned about it, you'll be asked to play quieter all night which drives me more insane than a shield ever would. Trying to play rock at piano trio volumes feels so unnatural.
 
They use a drum shield at the church I go to as well. However, it is a fairly big church sanctuary so it works for us. At first they had this huge sheet of padding over the top, so it was literally like a circle cage with a roof. But I finally convinced them to take the top off and the sounds is a lot better.

Since I play bass at my church I was thinking of playing a joke. I was going to come in early on a Sunday morning and set the cage around me lol. I think that sometimes people go over board with the shields for sure!

I have to say, I think it's just a church band trend. Like you don't have a real worship band thing going on unless you have one. Probably propagated by church band leaders. Like the band leaders who qualify your playing by walking up to the kit and reading the logo on the cymbals. They don't know what they're looking at, they just want to see the "Z".
 
I have to say, I think it's just a church band trend. Like you don't have a real worship band thing going on unless you have one. Probably propagated by church band leaders. Like the band leaders who qualify your playing by walking up to the kit and reading the logo on the cymbals. They don't know what they're looking at, they just want to see the "Z".

Seriously? Is there some kind of bizarre trend in worship bands using Z Customs, or were you just referring to Zildjian in general? I don't think I would use Z's unless I was playing right beside a jet with the engines running.
 
I meant the Zildjian logo and non-drummers in general. My point is that the shield seems to be very present in that genre, and I'm inclined to think by the results some of these guys are reporting regarding boxy tone that the leaders out there may be getting them because it's the thing to do, without understanding the actual intent. Why put a shield around an instrument that has to project through the room, usually unamplified?
 
Well from a mixing standpoint, wouldn't it be more logical to put a shield around the vocalist since they are the quietest and most susceptible to bleed from stage volume? Just having a little fun here, but it would make the most sense for THAT intended purpose. Now if the intended purpose is to achieve a quieter mix than acoustic drums would allow, then there's no argument.
 
Drum shields work fine and can make the band sound better "to the audience" as long as there is an excellent sound man doing his job.
If you are a church or small-venue band without a great sound man or enough room, then the shield is, as so many say, useless.

From our, the drummers perspective, they are a pain, I don't love them, but do the gig if I have to. Generally I don't have to, as my ego will allow me to lay back and keep my volume down, way, way down if needed, as is appropriate for the venue.

The downside for a drummer after you've learned to play ultra-quietly, is that some folks see you as a "weak" player, and that's too bad. But such is life.

A friend once told me never to judge myself by my surroundings, and so when I'm seen as a weak drummer, I don't worry, because the general listener will compliment "the band" on the sound, and that's plenty of payback for my struggles.

My advice to complainers, is to get over yourself, it's not about you, it's about the band as a whole, and your target audience.
 
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. . . The thing that kills me is the people who always suggest the sound shields have NEVER played behind one to know what it's really like . . .

Are you sure of that? Do you ask them? Anyway . . .

I e-"stumbled" upon this article while doing research for DIY drum shields for private and professional use. I was amazed at the large number of inaccurate statements that I read. So, I decided to address some of them (even tho' I may be "resurrecting" an otherwise dead topic). Then, having addressed them--to my chagrin--I wiped out my comments by failing to log in.

. . . (I hate reading "nonsense" when I'm looking for sense, even when what I'm reading is "old" by "bulletin board" standards. I'm sometimes compelled to correct some of it.)

So, . . .

First: high frequency sound does not have less energy than low frequency sound. If you take a sound-level meter and measure a pure sine wave at 100 SPL dB(C) at 100 Hz and another at 100 SPL at 10,000 Hz, each measurement is denoting the same amount of energy, just for a different frequency. The frequency of the sound is completely independent of the amount of energy contained by the sound waves. This misconception that high frequency sound has less energy may be due to the fact that high-frequency horns are much more efficient at converting electrical energy into mechanical energy (sound) than lower frequency direct-radiators ("speakers"). Thus, much more electrical energy is used to amplify the "bass" than the "mids" or "treble".

Second: "mic-bleed" and "stage-'volume'" (correctly termed "stage loudness") are interrelated. Sound is simply a mechanical vibration propagating through a medium, or, in lay terms, a "wave" traveling through the air, through wood (in instruments, through a wooden stage floor, etc.), or some other medium (steel, water, glass, etc.). Higher frequency sounds tend to propagate ("move") in more directional patterns and lower frequency sounds tend to be more uni-directional in their paths of travel. Unwanted sound that travels from a source (a kick-drum, a bass-guitar amp, etc.) to a destination (a microphone, the stage under the microphone) is problematic because it: (1) interferes with "picking up" wanted sound (i.e., at the lead-vocalists mic 4' to 20' in front of the kick drum), and (2) gets "picked up" too easily causing feedback.

Third: Any object placed in front of a source of sound (i.e., a kick-drum) tends to: (a) absorb, (b) deflect, or (c) reflect some of the sound. That's all a drum shield is: an absorber (of higher frequencies more than lower), a deflector (of lower frequencies), and a reflector (of mid to high frequency sound).

Fourth: Plexiglass absorbs some sound energy at all frequencies (for this discussion, audio-frequencies, 20 Hz to 20 kHz). It absorbs a higher percentage of higher, treble sounds than it does of lower, bass sounds. BUT, Plexiglass does absorb some bass sound.

Fifth: Because bass sounds (kick drums, bass guitars, tom toms, etc.) are lower in frequency (usually, and somewhat incorrectly called "pitch"), they have longer wavelengths. Sound with longer wavelengths will deflect, will go around and over barriers as well as through them (albeit slightly attenuated). Thus, what bass is not absorbed by the drum shield will be transmitted through it or around it. Or, . . .

Sixth: . . . it will reflect off another surface, i.e. a back wall.

Some of you have noted some of these effects, albeit often naively and usually incompletely. But, to really understand how a drum-shield works (i.e. "The straight fact"), you need to put it all together.

So, if much of the bass, lower-frequency sounds just go around the shield or bounce off other surfaces, then why do people use them? Because it's the mid and high ranges that are causing much of the problem.

Most microphones used on stage are unidirectional (tend to pick up from one direction better than all others). In fact, unidirectional mics have to be used to get any useful acoustical-gain (amplification) on anything but the smallest stages. But--repeat BUT--so-called "unidirectional" microphones are only moderately directional at the highest usable frequencies. The lower the frequency of sound gets, the more omnidirectional all microphones are. Thus, by combining the use of shields (the cabinet around the speakers in an amp are also a shield!) and directional microphones, placing each properly, properly tuning the PA, and EQing--cutting frequency bands where necessary--we obtain the best "signal-to-noise" ratio possible.

Now, "noise" is any unwanted sound. 4' to 20' in front of the kick-drum, all the sound coming from the kick drum that gets into the vocalist's mic is noise. There's not a lot that can be done about the bass, but deflect it a bit, make it bounce off a rear surface as far a way as possible so the distance attenuates it as much as possible (makes it softer). We sound-people (soundmen, soundwomen) try to turn the bass down as much as possible in the vocal mics. But, we can't turn down the upper-bass (for males), nor the mid-range and treble (for both males and females), otherwise the lead-singer's singing sounds like [expletive deleted]. They, the other band-members, and the audience, tend not to like that. But, along with that "boom, boom, boom" bass coming from the kick-drum, from the toms, from the bass amp, there's a lot of mid-range and treble in those sounds. So, we use directional mics and point them away from the drum set and the amps as much as possible, we stick all the amps in the back, etc. But, at some point, we're still getting too much noise into the vocalist's mic, so, we put up a drum shield.

"But, John, . . ." you say, "the bass just goes through or over or bounces around the shield". Yes, and we can't change that except for turning the bass down in the VOX mics as much as possible without changing the character of the singers' voices. BUT, the shield does not allow the mid-range and treble drum-kit sounds to travel around it (which is why the unmiced- or unamplified-kit sounds like someone is playing it from the bottom of a well, when listening from in front of the shield). The Plexiglas absorbs some directly and bounces the rest back. Sure, the drummer has to deal with that increased sound, but, better him or her than the lead vocalist (unless the drummer is the lead vocalist). But, if you've read closely--and some of you by your comments haven't--tho' some equally or more astute-and-less-verbose posters previously have noted--you will also note that you have to put some insulation around the inside of the shield's panels at the bottom, where it is less visually-objectionable. On a large open-air stage, with multiple mics on the drum in "close-miced" placements, the amount of sound bouncing back from the panels is probably less than that from the drummer's monitors. But, it's not as much a problem as there usually isn't a hard wall within a reasonable distance behind the kit. When it is a problem, those surfaces--on the shield bottom and the back wall--have to be insulated.

But that relative thin (by acoustical standards) shielding doesn't work well at any but the highest frequencies. Indoors, where sound can and does bounce around more, the solution--at least partially--is to make less of it, less sound and especially less noise. That means if you're having stage-loudness ("stage-volume") problems, you NEED to make less sound, and especially less noise and try to deflect, reflect, or absorb it only where necessary. So, if your church is contemplating a "Drum Booth", iso-booth, putting the kit in a separate room, etc. the first thing you need to do is to "TURN DOWN" everyone and everything, including your guitar amps, including your wedge-monitors, etc., including the drums.

But, you need to realize that sound-reinforcement (especially "transparent" sound-reinforcement) is a set of compromises. The noise on stage is the reason why live albums NEVER sound as good as good studio albums. Noise on stage can only be reduced. It can never be completely eliminated. Putting a recording booth onstage to quiet the drums may work acoustically (but not aesthetically, as so many of you have stated, some so none succinctly), but, it's a rather large expense and inconvenience. If just turning down isn't sufficient, then I'd suggest you try a few panels. If the drummer's feeling disconnected, try moving the back-line back so it's a true back-line: move the guitar and bass amps back so that they are behind the drummer (not directly behind; behind a line parallel to the front of the stage, which line is behind the drummer). Try 2 or 3 panels that shield the vocal mics in the front-line, but allow sound to travel straight out the sides (and vica versa) to the instrumentalists (if your bassists and guitar players also sing, then, make them stand in the front line by putting their mics up there, but, leave their amps in the back-line and keep them turned down. If that is insufficient, then add some more panels. Then, . . . a roof for the "iso-booth."

(Almost) Finally, IEMs are a necessary fact of 21st-Century life. We live with ear-damaging levels of noise,: traffic-noise, air-conditioner- and heating-system-noise, TVs and stereos and iPods and iPads and Walkmans (well, only for those MP3-challenged individuals). On any stage in any area where more than 50-100 people can easily congregate and easily hear unamplified instruments, amplifiers will be in use for electrified instruments (electric-guitars and -drums, keyboards, etc.). Any place where instrument amplifiers are in use, unless TURNED DOWN, singers will have to be amplified. Any venue large enough to require a PA--so some or all of the audience can hear--will eventually have a stage too loud (in terms of what is and isn't healthy for our ears). Thus, the best way to quiet your stage is to use In Ear Monitors. Even then, TURN DOWN the IEMs or you'll still go prematurely deaf. A good idea is to get a daily noise-exposure chart and abide by the limits therein (from the point of view of hearing damage, music is noise).

"But, John . . ." you say, " . . . I feel disconnected from my audience when I [insert choice of: (1) "use IEMs", (2) "play behind a shield", (3) any other excuse you think of]. I'll say--right back to you--"Feeling connected with your audience is as much a matter of your perception as it is of theirs. If you absolutely can't use IEMs because you have to hear your amp, then, at least tilt it back at your ears because you're NOT hearing what the audience is. And, if you have to have "more ME", "more my guitar" in the monitors, you may be experiencing temporary hearing loss. Temporary hearing loss--whether from the kid down the street driving up and down the street with his trunk lid flapping in the breeze of his 10kWatt car stereo system with 8 x 18" sub-woofers--or from you saying "turn me up"--that is repeated becomes permanent hearing loss. Learn to play in tune, learn to sing in tune, learn to play and sing in tune and in time with the rest of the worship band, regardless of whether you have to turn down, play in a booth or in the cry-room, etc. That will do more to connect you to your fellow band-members and audience than anything else!

And--even tho' I'm not a member of your church--remember that your church service is not a bar, not a club, not an open-air outdoor concert for which you generally have to buy tickets. It's a worship service and people don't worship well, nor as often, nor willingly, when they go home with tinnitus because you're too loud.

FINALLY: Use a shield! Use IEMs! TURN DOWN! (Use a condom. Brush your teeth. Eat three square meals a day. Take your vitamins, but not mega-vitamins. Etc.)

John Edward Lawton

PS At 58, I am a fledgling ("wanna-be/never-really-gonna-be") drummer, a singer, a fledgling (...) lap-steel player, an oookulele player, fledgling harmonica player, etc. I'm investigating building a shield so I can play e-drums longer, more often, and especially (as I'm a night-person) later at night more quietly, but, also so I can get better live sound onstage. While I love plugging my kit (primarily a Yamaha DD65 at the moment, due to space constraints) into a "stereo-pair" of JBL EON 315s (from my sound reinforcement company), I usually have to compromise and use a set of head phones. I prefer Shure SE215's good price-to-performance ratio.

JEL
 
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The sad thing is that many churches are very prone to follow current trends. Decades ago the trend was to totally isolate the sound booth in a fully enclosed, semi-soundproof room, often in the balcony. Why? Because someone did it only to record and duplicate sermons with no regard for mixing worship bands and others jumped on that band wagon thinking "that must be the way to do it." Fortunately that trend has pretty much met its demise and people realize the sound booth needs to be "centrally located" on the first floor fully open in order to hear and mix the band.

I think leadership has a Catch 22 situation at many churches today between wanting to have drums in worship service but enclosing the drums to prevent some church members from complaining about what they perceive to be sheer volume. But no doubt, drum shields are another phase of church trends that many of us are stuck with. Most church leaders--if totally honest--are using shields because in their eyes "everyone else is using them."

I think ultimately this trend will also go by the wayside. Our church, while it still has a full shield with a top, is now starting to allow the drums to perform with either a half-shield, or no shield at all. The half-shield (just slightly above the toms but below the cymbals) is a decent compromise in my opinion. It prevents some bleed into other stage mic's, but also acts as a visual "courtesy" barrier for church members concerned about volume (i.e.--it meets the perception by members that their input is being heard by leaders). It also helps the drummer not feel nearly so isolated from the band. Our church is also moving towards having the drums play without any shield at all, and I think it's the best way to go, especially for the sake of the musicians. Our FOH sound crew is receiving more training in learning how to mix sound. We just overhauled and tweaked our entire system to improve the quality of our audio.

I've been encouraging our leadership to do away with the shields altogether for years and to cut back on the number of mic's (kick drum, snare and two overhead) and allow the tone of the drums to fill the house. Ultimately I feel that the shields will mostly come down over time. When that happens I think it's all about playing with finesse.
 
Sorry, gotta resurrect this from 2012 -

BTW, I never did get my shields. If they show up one day, that's fine.

Al & the crew are having the discussion about shields again for the upcoming tour, and I figured I'd search for comments from people already using them. I had completely forgotten about this heated thread, and the replies I posted, but I stick by them 100%. I don't think I learned anything new though, and will probably leave the decision up to our main audio tech, who tours with other bands and undoubtedly has more exposure to shields in the field. If anyone has any fresh recommendations as to brand and configuration, I'd like to pass along those experiences.

Bermuda
 
Between using APX Solids and playing hard, apparently my underheads aren't on in most theaters! So reducing that direct sound from them has been a goal for a few years, and changing my style or gear are not options on that gig.

Update: I did in fact change my cymbals since I posted this 3 years ago, and have been very pleased with my Paragons. They don't have the biting attack and harmonics that the APX do, but they sound and feel great under my stick. I don't miss my APX at all.

So, never say never.

Bermuda
 
Hey Bermuda,

Been behind a shield for 2 1/2 years now. We ended up with Clearsonic shield customized a little. Instead of a bunch of 2 ft panels I was able to get our leaders to order one with a 4 ft front panel so there are no obtrusive angles or lines directly front of me, then there are 2-2ft panels on each side. Aesthetically I like it a lot more.

As for being behind it. Still not a fan. I use IEM, but feel cut off from the band but that's how it goes I guess.
 
Sorry, gotta resurrect this from 2012 -



Al & the crew are having the discussion about shields again for the upcoming tour, and I figured I'd search for comments from people already using them.

Bermuda

In an effort to increase the comedic effect... You could switch to vDrums and play behind the shield ;-)
 
As I was scrolling down through this thread, i found it kind of funny that Bermuda -- an Administrator! -- was necroposting...but, that's cool...

Something that has amazed me, as I watch concert performances on Palladia or AXS networks, is how often I'll see a BIG name touring act with some sort of shield on the drummer...we're talking arenas and stadiums here on HUGE stages. It's not always a full shield, but sometimes a partial shield. The caliber of acts I'm talking about surely use best-in-the-business sound guys. So, there must be something to the "shield" thing. I have only played behind a shield once. The isolation factor -- the communication and interaction with the other musicians part -- WAS a real obstacle, IMO.
 
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