So I have a relatively extensive kit. Not ridiculous, but big. How much is "too" much? I also structure and come up with parts based on what I've got within reach. When I play, I think I hear drums and cymbals less as a series of accents and more of a series of notes. Or like audible feelings. I would put forth that every piece of my kit is essential to what I consider my "sound" within the band. I could get it done with less, but I figure if I "wrote" it that way, I should play it that way. My setup time has never been an issue. Here's my gripe(finally) and it's not really a gripe, but more of a like, etiquette question: MY KIT HAS MORE THAN 3 TOMS AND A SNARE! I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO RUN SOME ELECTRONICS ALSO! Would I offend if I brought 3 mics and cables, already mounted, for the the other hi-hat and 2 little toms? If I run my electronics in addition to the acoustics, should I bring my own amp? Even if said amp resembles a P.A. or monitor? I'm not saying, definitely not trying to say that a sound guy would not be able to get me good monitor levels, but I might need to hear my electronics at "certain" levels, just like a guitarist. Or bassist. OK. There it is.

Other than the Launchpad and bigger venues (Sunshine, El Rey, Kiva, etc), I don't think any of the venues in town necessitate drum miking. If it's an issue of hearing your own drums, then I'd say get some mics and a small moniter for youself, sure. But if it's for actual PA purposes, then I'd consider it overkill at say Burt's or such a venue.

I'll clarify. The mic's would be for the Launchpad ONLY, and not because I need to hear them, but I think the mix sounds a bit off to have only half the toms mic'ed. Monitors, amp, whatever would only be necessary if I was running electronics. I hear the acoustics fine. Again, there it is. And shit, Maury, I've got the feeling Burt's hates us Just kidding. But still, we haven't played Burt's or Atomic in a year or so. For no reason. It just hasn't happened. Hmmmmm...

But we are playing The District. Friday, 2-3-06.

With:
NunchuK
Left Brain
Ground Beneath

FREE!!!

I get you-I thought you meant add some electronics to your acoustic setup...but if you were to play an electronic kit for a show, then I see nothing wrong with bringin your own PA for it.

No no, that's what I meant! In fact, when we first started playing out, I WAS using a hybrid kit(3 pads+the full acoustic). I just couldn't hear the electronics. If I was running loops, I'd have to wear cans on stage, something to which I'm opposed. The reason I bring this up is because one of the sound guys at Launchpad seemed a bit offended when Noir Effect's drummer tried to set up his amp(which are 2 monitors).

And I'd like to have the small toms mic'ed up as well. At Launchpad.

I'd say use your own amp. At the very least you'll push the vocals or something out of the PA or monitors. There's enough trouble with that kinda thing around here.

We really didn't offend the guy at Launchpad. He didn't know we had a full on electronic kit so he didn't know why we brought our own monitors. When we first started Clint used headphones but I noticed when we practiced he was a lot tighter hearing what we heard. Being one of few "electronic" bands who actually play all the drums rather than play on top of drums that are embedded in the backing track we had a hard time getting a good sound from the house system. The gig in Thoreau was a prime example of this. We either had to crank the house monitors or use headphones. Either way provided distastrous results so Clint invested in his own monitors. We always bring them to any new place we play to keep it safe. It has been a pain trying to find something that works but we're still trying to find our niche. So yeah, I would invest in an amp for the timebeing and bring it to wherever you plan to play. Talk to the soundperson first and see what they say. Hope this helped a little.

Ok, that's kinda where I was at as far as electronics. What about my little toms? Is it bad form to bring in a couple of my mics?

I run electronics within my acoustic kit, and Sid from http://www.Sight16Studios.Com give me a sweet idea: I bought a little ten channel board and mounted it on my rack. I split the vocals at the mic to me and then to the house, then I run guitars and bass direct from thier pedals. I also split my bass drum and run it into my board. All thats left is running my samples and trigger pads in to my board and... viola! My own monitor mix completly controled by me. I also bought Sure E2 in ear monitors and they come with different ear buds to help cancel what you want and still be able to hear you kit with out splitting all the mics.
For smaller venues who can't pump samples, booms, or run drum mics I have back up triggers on my kit and I also have a ampeg bass cab w/an 18 that we carry for just such an emergency. It's full range and it does the job just fine in smaller places.
As for your set up with your acoustic drums, I have a seven piece and I thought about how the best way to configure my toms would be so the house could double up on toms with one mic. So I grouped my first two toms on the top then my ride then my second two toms on the bottom and finally my lowest tom on my left
OO
O
O O
now, a mic setup for a five piece kit can be used to get all of my toms.
Hope that helped a little!
Dax with Requiem Mass

www.requiemmass.net
www.myspace.com/requiemmass

For monitors, we just went to Shure in-ear wireless a while back and you really can't beat the investment (just don't buy the cheap ones). All the primary instruments are split using a simple XLR "y" splitter or splitter snake. One signal goes to the front of house, the other to a small mixer board. The small mixer board feeds the in-ear monitors and is used during rehearsals and for live performances. Once your mix is set, it doesn't change much from venue to venue as long as your amp settings don't change. To aid in this, we don't change our volume settings when we go play out, and our guitar player uses his own mic and stand mounted on his cabinets (I go direct to the small mixer board). You could also insert a mic preamp here to give your sound guy precisely what you want. The in-ears really help, especially when you play a larger venue that has a ton of natural reverb. I really like the ability to change my mix dependant on what I need.

From a sound guy's perspective - I hate surprises. Well I hate a lot of things, but surprises are one of them. Show up early and give your sound guy a stage plot showing all instruments, requirements and mic placements. Show up the night before if you have to! Make it as easy for him/her as possible. If you're running electronics, buy a cheap direct box that is XLR ready, maybe even the cable. Another thing that really helps is if you play sidefill, putting your amps to cross-cross the stage. Remember that you amp is NOT supposed to fill the entire bar - that's what the PA is for. If your wedges crap out, at least you can still hear across the stage. Also, the amps don't interfere with the house mix.

Don't be afraid to ask for what you need in the monitors - soundguys are not mind readers and you should get everything that you need in your monitor mix before starting your set.

Last thing: Always, ALWAYS tip your soundman before you start your set. It helps.