How can I control the volume of my drums?

Hi my band has a performance coming up tomorrow and we are in an arena. We have a marshal cabinet and 2 1000 watt monitors with a mixing board but my guitar player doesn't really know how do use it. Anyways we did sound check today and to make everything sound good and not drown out i had to play really soft which is really not what i like doing at all. I was watching videos of bands playing live recorded from video cameras and the drummer is pounding on the drums but everything is just as clear. Do you have any advice that could help make it so we can be louder but still sound good? We don't have one of those things to get rid of feed back should we get one and do u think we should use the mixing board right now? Thank

ANSWER

Hi, Zachary--

You don't say what size of PA amp you are using or whether your drum are going through the system (via microphones).

The bands that you have seen most likely have VERY powerful amplification and sound men who know how to use it.

If the volume coming from the main amp is too loud, and the mixer volume turned down in comparison, you will get distortion and not clarity. Try turning the volume on the main amp- up only about half way and use the mixer to increase the volume. Then experiment and see if you can get a clearer sound.

The feedback can be easily controlled in most cases with an equalizer. And yes, you need one.
Every venue will have different frequencies running around and you will need to compensate.

If your drums are miked, try turning down the volume on the mics so you can play harder and not overpower the band.

If you are not miking the drums, then the problem is most likely with the amp and the mixer as I described above.

It might be a good idea to think about getting a sound man.

Best Wishes and Good Luck to you and your band!

Lynne