Bass drum Mic help

blue · Post by **blue** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:39 pm

Hoblit wrote:Our drummer doesn't have a hole in his bass head either. Sound guys frown but we don't care. HOWEVER, we have a gig where we're bringing our own P.A. equipment and may need to mic the kick. Now where it's always been 'somebody else's problem' it has suddenly become ours.

I'm gonna go with Sober and not be a pussy. However, I'm afraid that the kick mic will pick up everything around it therefore heightening the risk of low end feedback. (theory: if there was a whole, the mic would be IN the bass drum and out of the direct line of other wave forms.

Would some sort of cone or mic cover help? Or would this just cause even worse problems?

We're gonna test this out on Sunday WAY before the show in February but I thought I'd try to get some advice before then. I want to go into that practice with some ammunition.

mic the front head. sounds better anyways.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:04 pm

blue wrote:
Hoblit wrote:...my previous post...
mic the front head. sounds better anyways.

That sounds like it would get in the way.

ANYWAYS, I talked to our drummer last night and he's agreed to take off the head, cut around a can. Which I told him I would not ask him to do and that it was completely up to him. I added that it would make it easier for me and future sound guys to mic him up. (as he did receive a complaint from at least one sound guy from one of our previous shows)

blue · Post by **blue** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:27 pm

Hoblit wrote:
blue wrote:
Hoblit wrote:...my previous post...
mic the front head. sounds better anyways.
That sounds like it would get in the way.

ANYWAYS, I talked to our drummer last night and he's agreed to take off the head, cut around a can. Which I told him I would not ask him to do and that it was completely up to him. I added that it would make it easier for me and future sound guys to mic him up. (as he did receive a complaint from at least one sound guy from one of our previous shows)

if you're gonna cut a hole, go to the music store and get a ring. it'll keep the drum head from fraying, which it will do as soon as you tension it. it's only $5 and hey, excuse to go to the music store.

Sober · Post by **Sober** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:34 pm

john82 wrote:a whole in the bass head really isn't necessary when it's for performing only.
if you want to record with it, then it's worth the work.
it allows you to position mics more closely and get different sounds.
Johnny from fags

Can we ban this guy, stat? Don't exhume 2+ year-old threads with spam, asshole.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:23 am

Sober wrote:
john82 wrote:a whole in the bass head really isn't necessary when it's for performing only.
if you want to record with it, then it's worth the work.
it allows you to position mics more closely and get different sounds.
Johnny from f@gs
Can we ban this guy, stat? Don't exhume 2+ year-old threads with spam, asshole.

Gotta admit though, it's creative. He does seem to contribute to our community BUT is spamming it at the same time. Its like the famed record producer who wears Hawaiian shirts buttoned down to expose the gaudy gold medallion resting in a next of chest hair who is shooting his finger guns from behind large mirrored sunglasses. Appreciated but hated at the same time.

<b>BLUE:</b> I told him about those too. Guitar center is on my way home so maybe I'll just stop by and pick some up just in case. You know, as an excuse to go in there and buy something I don't need. (actually, I want to get one of those things for the head of my acoustic guitar so I can put a strap on it)

Reist · Post by **Reist** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:09 am

I'm doing some work to get a more useable sound out of my kick. Once I've actually made a recording with it, I'll show you some pics and the sound ... I'm sure there are better ways than what I'm doing with it now.

Billy's Little Trip · Fri Jan 25, 2008 10:47 am

So, no one like the sound of the front head off, with a pillow in the shell? I love that thud on a deep kick. But I don't think it's good for recording. I don't like a ringy kick.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:29 am

Billy's Little Trip wrote:So, no one like the sound of the front head off, with a pillow in the shell? I love that thud on a deep kick. But I don't think it's good for recording. I don't like a ringy kick.

All of the kick drums at the rehearsal studio we practice at are like this. However, I thought that was just to be cheap and the owner didn't want to replace the second 'easily damaged by various come and go hourly tenants' outer head.

It's LOUDER, I'll certainly give it that but its not as 'deep'.

Billy's Little Trip · Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:58 am

I think that might be why I like it. Back in the day of scroungy punk clubs, you were only as loud as you could play because the crappy PA's were primarily for the vox.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:41 pm

Billy's Little Trip wrote:I Back in the day of scroungy punk clubs, you were only as loud as you could play because the crappy PA's were primarily for the vox.

whaddya mean 'back in the day of' ... ?

Sober · Post by **Sober** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:14 pm

Sigh..

There are no rules in bass drum micing. Try as many different setups as you can. Head-off, no hole, double-miced with a mic on the beater side (I did this back in my live engineering days, with great effect), whatever. Really.

My preferred setup for live or studio is a standard off-center hole on a kick with an eq blanket in it. The Audix D6 is a great mic, I vastly prefer it to the D112. Mic placement is directly in front of the hole. Move the mic between 2 inches outside the hole to 2 inside depending on eq goals.

obscurity · Post by **obscurity** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:15 pm

Billy's Little Trip wrote:I don't like a ringy kick.

Biting back the obvious joke here, but I have to agree - in fact I don't like any drum sounding ringy. Toms are always the worst offenders.

Reist · Post by **Reist** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 5:52 pm

obscurity wrote:Toms are always the worst offenders.

Tell me about it ... until I gate my toms, I can barely hear the drums through the muddy slop. I should try putting tape on them ... apparently that works.