drumming secrets

I have tuned my toms in a proper way, not using any tape or cloths for damping. But in many occasions when I play a gig, during soundcheck technicians often ask me to use ductape to dampen the toms. To my opinion my drumset sounds well balanced and in tune, so my quetion is: am I in my right to refuse to use tape on my toms if the acoustics of the room we play in is good, or do we have to always follow the instructions of the sound technician? Do you ever use tape on your drums?

John Everdeen (Farnham, UK)

Hello John, 

First of all thanks for your question. I might have some answers for you... 

I have to say that you might be right; it all depends on how your drumset sounds in certain acoustics of the various rooms you play in. And that depends of how you tune your set, what kind of drumheads you are using, your way of playing on the set and so on... As you can see there are quite a few facts that can be of influence on your sound! But let's concentrate on your question: when do you 'stand up for your rights' and say no to ductape even when a sound engineer advises you to use it. 

I assume that you know how to tune your kit properly and that it sounds 'killing'. In average I would say that as a drummer I really think that you need to be able to tune your instrument well. If you play the kit and it feels great playing,  it probably sounds open and punchy and that's exactly what you need to make the band sound awesome! In this case no ductape is needed at all! 

Sometimes a soundtechnician might ask you to use ductape, even without having heard your drumkit! In this case you probably have to deal with a not so professional technician, who's never worked with a well tuned kit! The profi and good sound technicians will come up to your kit and ask you to play a little for them, so they can actually hear what you sound like. Very often, if you have your kit well tuned, he wouldn't even suggest any damping, but if he does, then make sure that you discuss on what tom exactly and maybe re-tune it before using any tape! 

Oh, and never forget: the sound technician wants to create the best sound ever just like you do! So it's better to find eachother halfway, than to try to 'stand up for your right'. In the end everybody wants to have a great gig! 

And finally: I always have 'Moongel' with me and that works better than any ductape! 

Good luck and come back again! 

Juan