Low-volume Drumset… an Oxymoron (kind of).
OK. First and foremost, I will admit, I am a hard-hitter. And my drums are LOUD (that is an understatement)! It can tend to be a problem on occasion, especially on the low volume gigs in small spaces.
So… I’m on a new mission…I’m going to put together a drum kit that is naturally a low volume kit (hopefully).
Now some of you may think that’s a oxymoron – a drum set that is not loud – but I think it can be done. You see, different woods/materials have different sound characteristics. For instance, I owned a set of Ludwig Vistalites back in the day. Vistalites are made from Plexiglas, they were the loudest drum set I have ever owned. I just got a great deal on a Gretsch Catalina Club Rock kit that is made of Mahogany, and much to my my surprise, the kick drum and toms are much softer sounding than my PDP Maple LX or MX kit. I have also heard that Birch drums are loud, but I have no experience with that.
As far as cymbals, I recently began to checkout Dream Cymbals (I’ve always been a Zildjian guy), but there is something intriguing about the sound of these cymbals. They remind me of the old Zildjians from the 50′s and 60′s. I recently bought a set of 14″ Bliss Hi-Hats, and was amazed to find that next to my 13″ Zildjian K/Z hats, they are much quieter.
So here’s what I’m doing… a small jazz BeBop kit (18′ or 20′ kick, 12″ tom, 14″ tom) made of Mahogany, and a set of Dream Bliss cymbals. Certainly the new 14″ Bliss hats are going to be a part of this setup. The main requirement of this set… low cost. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Drum technology has really come a long way in recent years, and even cheap drums in the hands of a drummer who understands drumhead selection and tuning can sound pretty phenomenal!
There may be hope for this old rocker after all. Stay tuned…
