We drummers have many names for the dreaded drum shield. The cage. The aquarium. The safe room. But even we can’t deny that drum shields play an important role in taming live drums in worship settings. The trick is in knowing which solution to use for which room.
At Sweetwater, you’ll find many options for controlling drums in worship spaces, ranging from absorption panels to the creative uses of low-volume sticks, cymbals, and drumheads. But when it comes to proper drum shields and iso booths, the two major manufacturers we carry are ClearSonic and Sound Shields. Why these two? The answer is clear. Read on for more information.
- The Technology Behind Worship Drum Shields
- Will a Drum Shield Make My Drums Quieter?
- Can I Use a Drum Shield Without Additional Absorption?
- What Drum Shield Is Right for Me?
The Technology Behind Worship Drum Shields
Sweetwater’s portable drum shields come in many configurations but are comprised of just two main parts: acrylic reflective panels and fiberglass absorption panels.
Acrylic Reflective Panels
These freestanding, accordion-style panels of thick, acrylic sheeting deflect drum sounds away from your congregation. They’re most effective at taming high and midrange frequencies, such as those expressed in the crack of a snare drum or the zing of a cymbal. Acrylic reflective panels are highly directional and adhere to sight lines, which means that if your members can see uncovered cymbals from above or off to the side of the shield, then they can hear them, too. Note that a hard wall behind your drummer (such as smooth wood, drywall, or plaster) can reduce the effectiveness of acrylic reflective panels alone. In these situations, you’ll want to pair your reflective panels with absorption panels.
Fiberglass Absorption Panels
These cloth-covered fiberglass baffles are highly effective at soaking up low and midrange frequencies (roughly 300Hz to 4kHz) from kick drums, toms, and snares. Paired with acrylic reflective panels, fiberglass absorption panels do a commendable job of reducing boom and resonance onstage and sound transmission from the platform to the room. Fiberglass absorption panels are self-supporting when used in surround or lid configurations but can also be mounted to walls and ceilings to clean up room acoustics.
Will a Drum Shield Make My Drums Quieter?
Most clear acrylic drum shields don’t actually reduce drum volume in the congregational seating area — at least, not the way many churches implement them. They just redirect the sound.
Much of the sound energy contained in an acrylic drum shield is deflected back toward the drummer, where it’s then free to bounce off a rear wall or ceiling and back out toward the congregation. This principle is called “reflection.”
Sound also has the ability to work its way around obstacles, particularly at low frequencies. This is known as “diffraction.” Putting a shield in front of the drums only presents an obstacle for the low-frequency information (bass drum and floor tom) to go around. Much of the sound energy will still make its way out into the house.
These acoustic phenomena mean your congregation will only notice a dip in drum volume behind an acrylic drum shield if it’s paired with absorption. Fortunately, absorption can be as simple as placing acoustic foam or broadband absorption panels behind the drummer to stop reflections in their tracks.
However, if you really want to soak up those SPLs in a worship setting, then you’ll need to invest in a portable isolation booth (also known as an “iso booth”). This type of product combines an acrylic shield with an absorptive lid and lots of acoustic absorption inside, making it more difficult for sound to find an unobstructed path to the congregation’s ears.
Can I Use a Drum Shield Without Additional Absorption?
Yes. Even without a lid or additional panels, there can be benefits to adding an acrylic drum shield to your worship platform. Although a shield alone won’t make a big difference in the house, it can make a difference onstage. Vocal and instrumental mics near the drum kit will pick up less bleed from the drums, leading to greater isolation. Musicians near the drum kit will hear less acoustic drum sound onstage, so their own instruments and monitors won’t need to be as loud. This can be a benefit if you’re trying to reduce overall stage volume or clean up your mix!
What Drum Shield Is Right for Me?
Best Drum Shields for Worship: Full Coverage
If your goal is to reduce drum volume in the congregation, then you’ll want a wraparound acrylic shield with absorptive panels behind, in front of, and above the drummer. Drum shields in this category are so effective at reflecting and absorbing drum sound that they’re known as “portable isolation booths.”
Full-coverage portable isolation booths are great for sanctuaries with stadium seating in which members in the back may be positioned higher than where shield-only setups are able to treat. Many of these options include a dual-speed fan to keep your drummer comfortable inside.
The portable ClearSonic MMP MiniMegaPac isolation booth package promises a 60- to 70-percent reduction in ambient drum volume, with zero hot spots out in the room. This is the ultimate solution for reducing drum bleed and stage volume; it also gives your FOH engineer the highest degree of control over mix levels and drum sounds.
Other ClearSonic portable isolation booths include the 7-panel IPA IsoPac A, with seven front (22-inch x 24-inch) and three rear (4-foot x 5-1/2-foot) SORBER baffles, and the 6-panel IPB IsoPac B, with four front (22-inch x 24-inch) and three rear (4-foot x 5-1/2-foot) SORBER panels. Both come with lids, too.
Sound Shields also has much to offer with its standard height, 6-panel VDS6SPS and extra-tall, 6-panel VDS-6SPS-78 portable isolation booths. Both give your drummer full, 360-degree coverage with plenty of panels around the rear, sides, and top to soak up sound. A clear, acrylic-only front keeps sight lines open between the band and drummer, while front “mouse hole” cutouts make for easy cable management.
Best Drum Shields for Worship: Full Front
If the goal is to reduce drum volume onstage in order to clean up vocal mics and monitor feeds, then an acrylic drum shield around the front of the kit can do the job. Since lower frequencies diffract around obstacles better than higher frequencies, these reflection-only solutions have a veiling effect on a drum kit’s high-frequency content. Cymbals become more muted and drums less directional when placed between the drum kit and the listener (or stage mics).
Choose the 7-panel ClearSonic CSP A2466x7 acrylic shield system for wraparound coverage or the 5-panel ClearSonic CSP A2466x5 acrylic shield system for unidirectional treatment. Both have 5-1/2-foot-tall hinged, acrylic panels that reach high enough to accommodate nearly all cymbal setups. The full-front options do improve FOH control but to a lesser degree than lidded, full-coverage solutions.
Sound Shields’ full-front drum shields offer additional options depending upon your venue’s seating. Choose the brand’s standard 5-1/2-foot-tall, 6-panel VDS-6-K acrylic shield system if your members stand at height of the stage or below. Consider the company’s 78-inch, extra-tall, 6-panel VDS-6-78-K acrylic shield system for stadium seating.
Best Drum Shields for Worship: Partial Front
Partial-front shields offer the least obstruction between the drummer and congregation. Unlike those above, these types of drum shields have a greater likelihood for sound to spill over the top of the shield. The 4-foot-tall panel options below are tall enough to reduce the directionality of most drums and low-positioned cymbals (hi-hat and ride) without significantly impacting sight lines or stage communication between the drummer and other musicians.
Partial-front acrylic shield systems from ClearSonic include the 5-panel CSP A2448x5 and the 7-panel CSP A2448x7. Partial-front acrylic shield systems from Sound Shields include the 3-panel VDS-4X3-K, the 4-panel VDS-4X4-K, and the 5-panel VDS-4X5-K.
Get Your Worship Drum Shield at Sweetwater!
Remember: worship drum shields come in too many sizes and configurations to list here. Contact your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700, and we can spec a custom solution for a drum shield to suit your church’s needs.
