Sick Drummer Magazine

Hello fellow drummers. Im a giging drummer and im still looking for the right sound. Im currently using an Alesis DM5 with Ddrum triggers. This gives a great sound but i know there is more to it. Is there any other processors, EQ's, or anything else that is needed. Any thoughts??

Is there such a thing as the "right" sound?
No matter what your sound is, you'll always want to find
a "better" one. That's half the fun of this...drums never end.
It's a constant evolution, tweaking your tuning, your technique, blah blah blah.
That said, do you have your own sound guy or do you let the club's guy
figure out your sound? If you like the sound that's coming out of your cabinet
in the practice room, well...that probably isn't what the audience is hearing.
Remember, your sound is probably being pumped through the
sound man's mixing board...and there's no telling what he might have done to you.
Try and work with him while he's getting you set.
Otherwise, all you can really control is the sound he's getting from you.
As far as that goes, you can use any combination of things. Try this:
Borrow some of your guitarists effects pedals, any EQ or reverb pedals.
Mix them into your sound after your module and see what you come up with.
You can also use computer software live. Experiment with triggering into some
software like Cubase or FruityLoops. You can mess with that stuff ALL DAY!
Never know what you'll come up with. Not so sure how that works live,
but I'm sure enough people can chime in to help figure it out.

blastmaster wrote:
Is there such a thing as the "right" sound?
No matter what your sound is, you'll always want to find
a "better" one. That's half the fun of this...drums never end.
It's a constant evolution, tweaking your tuning, your technique, blah blah blah.
That said, do you have your own sound guy or do you let the club's guy
figure out your sound? If you like the sound that's coming out of your cabinet
in the practice room, well...that probably isn't what the audience is hearing.
Remember, your sound is probably being pumped through the
sound man's mixing board...and there's no telling what he might have done to you.
Try and work with him while he's getting you set.

Indeed, when you have the soundguy/girl on your side, they will do much more for you then when you would come in and only talk to them during the soundcheck.

Next to that it's a matter of knowing your gear and making sure that it already has the sound you want. Not every sound person or venue might be as good as you're hoping, but knowing your shit and being nice makes all the difference.