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Plexiglass amp & drums shields

 
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corramont



Joined: 24 Dec 2016
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 12:22 pm    Post subject: Plexiglass amp & drums shields Reply with quote

Hi Scott, once again back here for some advice. I’m in a trio and when we play corporate or well behaved venues we struggle to deliver the same energy when lowering our volumes.

So I’m wondering what is your advice re plexiglass shielding for both amps and drums in situations where these are not mic’d through the p.a.

Is it an option worth exploring or is it a waste of time?

Many thanks, and hope to see you soon in the UK.
Dodi
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Scott Henderson
The Man


Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 2121

PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've never tried it, and the only time I've seen it done was at a Mike Landau Raging Honkies gig. There was a plexiglass shield between Mike and the drummer, who was crashing his cymbals so loud that it literally drowned out the whole band. I guess Mike didn't want to go deaf.

I've never seen anyone put shields in front of the amps - it seems like that would make them sound extremely weird. As much as I hate attenuators, I think that would give you a better result.
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gonzo



Joined: 16 Aug 2005
Posts: 3
Location: Salt Lake City Utah

PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i used the plexi solution years ago....

it works in blocking the sound from specific directions,
but behind the plexi, the reflections are harsh.
but on a big stage, would get pretty lost....
really depends on the volume and size of stage.

now, joe bonnamassa has been using the plexi shields for a long time,
and he likes to crank it up,
so maybe he has good insight on it.

on small stages, at decent volumes, it works well,
but at a certain point you can overwhelm the stage volume by reflecting all that sound backwards on small stages.
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dizzy



Joined: 26 Apr 2006
Posts: 401

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 12:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Something I have been feeling lately is that the only sound that can’t be done pretty quiet is a higher gain sound. If the amp is turned down with a high gain sound everything sounds thin and bad. So I use a slightly dirty sound on my quiet gigs and change the way I play.
That doesn’t work if your music depends on a high gain sound as part of its essence. Since I don’t play fast legato stuff much I can get away with it.
So I know this doesn’t have to do with your question but it relates. My point is that when you play quitter gigs you could change approaches if that works for your style. But for some people that doesn’t work to express what they want to say.
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corramont



Joined: 24 Dec 2016
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 7:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks guys. I’ll try some options and maybe get back to you here for further discussion. Best to all
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Thanasis



Joined: 14 Feb 2017
Posts: 132
Location: Thessaloniki, Greece

PostPosted: Fri Apr 13, 2018 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Coincidentally I went to a gig last night at a small venue and it was the first time I saw the plexiglass in front of the drums.

My opinion is that it works quite alright for the audience as the drummer was deafening loud but then I had to ask the band how they felt about it and they all said that it totally ruined the interplay, as their set depends on it.

The drummer couldn't hear anything beyond the glass and even though they can really groove (I know them very well and I have been to dozens of their gigs) they found it hard at this particular occasion.
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erakare



Joined: 07 May 2017
Posts: 17
Location: NY

PostPosted: Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanasis wrote:
Coincidentally I went to a gig last night at a small venue and it was the first time I saw the plexiglass in front of the drums.

My opinion is that it works quite alright for the audience as the drummer was deafening loud but then I had to ask the band how they felt about it and they all said that it totally ruined the interplay, as their set depends on it.

The drummer couldn't hear anything beyond the glass and even though they can really groove (I know them very well and I have been to dozens of their gigs) they found it hard at this particular occasion.


My band uses a plexiglass shield. It has 6 6' panels, and each panel has an angled plexi plate attached to the top of it creating a partial "roof" for him. He has a wedge on the floor behind him pointing at an angle into the 'box'. We give him everything he needs in the monitor and if we can get him against a wall behind him, he gets a nice little isolated area to play in and all the volume he needs. The shield cuts enough high end and direct transient information to make his stage presence workable, and allows him to play as hard as he likes. I run our monitors from my side of the stage. I get bass, guitar and vocals from the main board and submix during soundcheck for myself (vox & guitars), the guitarist (vox & bass) & drummer (vox, bass & guitar). We've rehearsed the process for setting up as a separate rehearsal apart from playing the sets. We've been able to get it so that we can find a spot almost anywhere we play where the shield has become an integral part of getting stage volume right. The plexi takes 10 minutes to set up usually, and once we get the board feed, we can usually be ready to play in 30 minutes or less. Does it always sound (and importantly, feel) good? Nope. But it's consistently predictable which is almost as good for us...
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Thanasis



Joined: 14 Feb 2017
Posts: 132
Location: Thessaloniki, Greece

PostPosted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Erakare I am sure it works when the drummer has monitors, sorry I forgot to mention that at the gig that I was at, none of the guys at the trio had monitors. I think corramont was talking about a set up that doesn't involve a PA and monitors.

The sound man just miked the guitar and took a line out from the bass amp just to direct everything towards the audience but the band was fairly loud so it was not working well on the stage without monitors. As an observer, I could hear everything pretty well.

Having read the thread, I thought I might ask them just to hear what their opinion on it was and they didn't seem to like the idea, especially the drummer who was isolated from the band and the only thing he could hear was his harsh cymbal frequencies bouncing back.

This stage was nothing like you described, your setup seems very well organized and I am sure it works.
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