How many gigging edrummers go straight into the PA?

[rikguy33]

I'm pretty new to all of the edrumming so I wanted to tell ya'all how I'm hooked up and see if there are any suggestions for making things better. I am playing a A2E set with mesh heads, Ddrum triggers thru my Yamaha Dtxplorer module. The line outs from the module go into the L - R inputs on the main mixers then out to the PA speakers and subs. Its seems to work out fine. The only issue had been the guitar player not "feeling" the drums on stage since I don't use a drum monitor.

[tttom]

When using my TD-30 I use the master outs. I pan Kick Right, Everything else I pan left. I send those to my XR-16 channels 15 and 16. From there I adjust EQ etc and send my Kick to
MY QSC K-Sub sitting next to me, I send everything else to my QSC K-12 sitting on top of the K-Sub. Then I add a little kick to the top and add a little everything else to the Sub. That way I get the high end attack of the kick in my top speaker and the low end floor toms in my sub. I then route my kick to Aux 1 and everything else to Master left and send those to FOH. They can then do the same thing I did Kick to sub, everything else to top then putting a little kick in top and a little everything else in bottom. That way they are getting MY mix of how I want my Drums to sound (That took me Hours get sound that way) in stead of them getting Raw unprocessed drums having 20 minutes to get the sound I want that took me hours to get. They can't always mix like I want. So,,,,,the crowd hears what i hear. Perfectly mixed, EQed with FX drums that I want heard.

The reason I do this , is because we rarely play the same place with the same PA and sound man. (Casino's and corporate gigs mainly, They like using their PA and FOH person) But when we do play the same place the sound person (Maybe a different sound person and PA than last time) already knows they're getting 2 outs from drums. Simple and clean. Less work for him. I can raise and lower individual drums using my sliders if needed. But Most ALL of the time I have a ready to go, perfect mix needing little adjustment. Of couse after using the same equipment for 4 years, I'd better have it right. I don't get ant complaints. I did at first but not now.

This is an old thread but back to wondering about the best way. So you give the soundman the ability to adjust your kick and on the other channel the rest of your edrums? Thanks

[rsosborn]

Im using my mimic on stage for the first time on Saturday night. I've done 4 rehearsals direct into the board.(twice on a qsc Mix wizard and once on a Beringer 18x air. It's amazing. I'm taking up 7 channels.

1 and 2 OH stereo l/r
3 Kick
4 Snare
5 Toms
6 HH
7 Ride

My bass player isn't as excited about it either, he likes loud stage volume. Singers, Guitarist, keys all LOVE it. Im the only one going IEM's but I'll also bring a K10 monitor for stage sound and a fail safe if my in ears go down(this will be my first time using IEM's on stage).

This is our first gig using eDrums in years. I tried a few years ago with my TD15 but not having control at the board over kick/snare at the very least made it not fun. We gave up on live E's after 1 gig.

I am in the same boat. I will be using a cheap e-kit to get in the water again. Probably won't have separate drum mix control. But the band thinks we can EQ things out. The lower stage volume and sound quality will be worth it.

[skod]

I also just send 2 to the FOH (kick right, everything else left), from the TD10 and TD20 I used to have and the TD8 I have now. I drive my own IEMs with my own local mix ( a little 4ch that takes the whole stage monitor mix and a direct feed from the bass as well), and then the FOH guy can do whatever he wants with my blessing. The nice thing about this is that this also provides me a clean kick-only feed for a buttkicker or the equivalent. But your mileage may vary.

[jpsquared482]

I also just send 2 to the FOH (kick right, everything else left), from the TD10 and TD20 I used to have and the TD8 I have now. I drive my own IEMs with my own local mix ( a little 4ch that takes the whole stage monitor mix and a direct feed from the bass as well), and then the FOH guy can do whatever he wants with my blessing. The nice thing about this is that this also provides me a clean kick-only feed for a buttkicker or the equivalent. But your mileage may vary.

For the most compact transportable kit, I use in ear monitors and go into the FOH. Alternatively, for monitoring without IEMs, I have a hot spot monitor that i position close to my head.

[rsosborn]

I am the soundman from behind the kit.

We run all instruments thru the PA. No stage volume and we always have a good, consistent mix.

It's a good QSC digital mixer and powered 28" subs with powered tri amped mains, each with two 12.s

Our monitor mix is the same as our FOH mix and runs thru (almost ) the same powered speakers as our mains. Sounds great and adds some dimension to the FOH sound. We get our mix done in rehearsal and rarely have to change it at a gig, just turn it up

The beauty of the E drums is that, in the rehearsal studio, I can sit in front of the PA and get everything sounding exactly as I want it. We rehearse with the mains pointed right at us and everyone can give their opinions on the mix. Once we get it set, it stays set.

That is beautiful. I am nervous about gigging with only stereo outs. I thought about pushing the kick/snare to the left and everything else to the right. Or something like that. I can't afford a Strike or TD-20/TD-30 right now.

[ddrummer68]

I've recently started gigging again, PMP straight into the PA. Bass, Snare, Toms, direct out into a Porter & Davies throne. We're all sharing a single monitor mix same as FOH mix. Sounds OK out front through the Bose L1 PA, but the monitors are ... weak. I've been using one in-ear to fill the gap in the electronic drum monitor mix.

I'd like to improve the presence of the drums for everyone on stage, without drastically increasing the stage volume. Do I need something like the 180W Roland amp, or is there something else that would work better? There aren't a ton of places I can go listen to various options, so I'm hoping someone in the vdrums community has already been through this and can offer some advice -- even if that's just a suggestion on the best search terms to use when trying to research this. I've spent hours searching the internet for electronic drum amplifiers and don't feel I've gotten any solid info.

[Trip McNealy]

I've recently started gigging again, PMP straight into the PA. Bass, Snare, Toms, direct out into a Porter & Davies throne. We're all sharing a single monitor mix same as FOH mix. Sounds OK out front through the Bose L1 PA, but the monitors are ... weak. I've been using one in-ear to fill the gap in the electronic drum monitor mix.

I'd like to improve the presence of the drums for everyone on stage, without drastically increasing the stage volume. Do I need something like the 180W Roland amp, or is there something else that would work better? There aren't a ton of places I can go listen to various options, so I'm hoping someone in the vdrums community has already been through this and can offer some advice -- even if that's just a suggestion on the best search terms to use when trying to research this. I've spent hours searching the internet for electronic drum amplifiers and don't feel I've gotten any solid info.

To clarify, when you mention "single monitor mix" do you mean logically or physically? A few posts above I list what we did, and we found having at least two physical monitor speakers (laying on floor, pointed "up" like a wedge) was just fine for all my singers and instrumentalists. Our PA system was dual 18" subs and 15" tops. All the bottom end rumbled fine through the floor on our stage area and I didn't need anything else. Of course, quality speaker brand with good wattage and size will help; we used 12" (sometimes 15") EV ZLX monitors.

Be very careful with both IEM and stage monitor volumes - too much of either and you'll blow your hearing. It is very tempting to keep creeping up the IEM or monitor volume through the night.

[ddrummer68]

To clarify, when you mention "single monitor mix" do you mean logically or physically? A few posts above I list what we did, and we found having at least two physical monitor speakers (laying on floor, pointed "up" like a wedge) was just fine for all my singers and instrumentalists. Our PA system was dual 18" subs and 15" tops. All the bottom end rumbled fine through the floor on our stage area and I didn't need anything else. Of course, quality speaker brand with good wattage and size will help; we used 12" (sometimes 15") EV ZLX monitors.

Be very careful with both IEM and stage monitor volumes - too much of either and you'll blow your hearing. It is very tempting to keep creeping up the IEM or monitor volume through the night.

I guess "both". We have a single monitor feed, which is just the FOH mix being sent through a different output. Three of us using in-ears (same mix) and there's one JBL 75W speaker on the floor near me. We don't have the issue of volume creeping up over the course of the night, thanks to electric drums... when I was playing acoustic, I would definitely become more exuberant as the night progressed. The JBL sounds boxy, on the drums. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that a different monitor/amp might do a better job than the JBL, maybe even eliminating the need for me to use an in-ear.

[Trip McNealy]

I guess "both". We have a single monitor feed, which is just the FOH mix being sent through a different output. Three of us using in-ears (same mix) and there's one JBL 75W speaker on the floor near me. We don't have the issue of volume creeping up over the course of the night, thanks to electric drums... when I was playing acoustic, I would definitely become more exuberant as the night progressed. The JBL sounds boxy, on the drums. I suspect, but don't know for sure, that a different monitor/amp might do a better job than the JBL, maybe even eliminating the need for me to use an in-ear.

Gotcha - we used to do a similar routing.

From experience, I would stick with IEM's. If you want to supplement the "ambient" sound around your drum area for yourself and/or your bandmates when using IEMs, then definitely a higher-powered monitor is needed - 75W is far too little. A good reference speaker that is highly rated for E-drums is the QSC 10.2 or 12.2. Go check out it's specs to give you an idea of wattage, freq response, SPL, and features.