[Alwayswantmore]

Hi all, I play drums in a oldies band. We have regular gigs in a ballroom with floor to ceiling windows on the entire wall. The windows are covered by black out shades, which are a thin material with a vinyl-like feel to the visible surface, and about a two inch gap to the glass.

I play with my back only a few inches from the black out shades. Questions:

1.) As described above, what kind of absorption / reflective qualities would you expect from this surface?

2.) I have about 8 sq feet of 2" fiberglass (the kind used for first reflections). I could cover the area directly behind my kit / head, by placing panels in front or behind the black out curtain. Would the crowd hear much difference (I also use mics, so less reflections might be an advantage?).

3.) The opposite wall is wood cabinets top and bottom, and a countertop (like your kitchen), with a soffit above. So it is irregular in shape. Would we be better off playing in front of the cabinets facing the black out curtains?

Ultimately we want to minimize reflected sound for the audience. We also want to minimize stage noise which gets picked up by mics and makes it harder for us to hear each other.

Thanks, Kent

[Jeffrey Hedback]

It would help, possibly a good amount.  The snare especially has a great deal of complex energy and would reflect through the shades and be a part of the "house" sound.  Even (2) 2x4 panels could not only soften the harsh reflections but tame the lower mid push.  Yes, I think 16 sq ft would be better.

Your kit will likely sound more cohesive to you.  This benefit alone can help you play better, enjoy the gig more and all of that makes mics happier.

A big part of stage confusion (sonically) can be the floor (especially for the rhythm section).

Hope this helps.

[bpape]

I would agree that at a minimum, it will help the mics - not to mention making YOU a lot less stressed.  It would drive me nuts to be sitting that close to that wall and playing drums all night.

Bryan

[Alwayswantmore]

I would agree that at a minimum, it will help the mics - not to mention making YOU a lot less stressed.  It would drive me nuts to be sitting that close to that wall and playing drums all night.

Bryan

Thanks. My math was bad last night. I have 4x4, so that's 16 sf. I assume the vinyl surface on the shade reflects some high frequency. But putting panels behind black outs would be a cleaner look. Will majority of benefit still be realized if panels are behind black outs? BTW: Black outs are motorized on track, so they are flat to room (not like a drape).

EDIT: Wall or no wall, drummers are nuts anyway 

EDIT 2: I've been experimenting with getting a custom mix from the board using Etymonic ER4Ps. So less volume and clutter. IEMs are new for me on drums, so I'm still attempting to figure out if this will be permanent.

[bpape]

The vinyl will certainly reflect some higher frequencies.  How low it will start to pass will be determined by the density of the material.  I'm sure it would still be a problem with cymbals at a minimum if the 703 was behind the blackouts.

Bryan

[Alwayswantmore]

The vinyl will certainly reflect some higher frequencies.  How low it will start to pass will be determined by the density of the material.  I'm sure it would still be a problem with cymbals at a minimum if the 703 was behind the blackouts.

Bryan

Thanks, thanks, thanks. We've always played from the wall in front of the black outs. I'm thinking, for a variety of reasons (some have to do with crowd flow and table placement), we may want to go to the opposite wall. That will put irregular shapes behind us including wood cabinets, open space (countertops), soffits, etc. Unless the wood cabinets create their own issues? I could still put panels directly behind me to subdue reflections. Kent