Played in lots of bands/groups when I was a young man playing a guitar. No keyboards back then - just a couple guitars, slap bass player, piano player and a drummer. And, because I've always had a nice, smooth voice, I was the vocalist most of the time. There were times when I couldn't hear myself singing, which I consider somewhat ridiculous. Of the half-dozen drummers I performed/played with, only one seemed to actually know what he was doing.

I hear drummers here on the island nearly every night - most are just loud, but some are louder! Last week, our incredible female vocalist was drowned out by the guy playing the synth. Unfortunately, he was the person controlling her mic volume, so I couldn't do anything to rectify the situation. This Saturday night, she will be singing through my system, which makes life a lot better.

Guess it depends upon what you enjoy. But overwhelming drums, even on an arranger keyboard, just don't cut it for me. If you have a chance, please record your group the next time you play so I can better understand what you are describing when it comes to drum balance and overall sound. I would be more than happy to record my stuff, and have posted many of them in the past, but I only have so much room on the boat for stuff. And, the salt air is beginning to have some detrimental effect on some of the gear.

Cheers,

Gary