Need a Kick Mic With That Basketball Sound

JG96

JG96

Active member
I'm trying to get this kind of sound out of a bass drum: I have been somewhat successful with an MD 421 and a lot of plugins. Unfortunately the 421 has a boost around 2K that results in a really dirty peak in the high mids. And with the amount of eq it requires it sounds lackluster in a live setting. I plan on selling my akg D12e to buy a new kick mic. Any recommendations? Also PM me if interested in the AKG D12e
 
That kick sounds really scooped; The opposite of what a d12e would give you.
Funny enough, a d112 would be much closer to that sound, but they key of course is the sound of the drum itself.


Is the d12e in good nick? Proper full bass? They fetch great money these days.
 
The D12e has what I think is a proper full bass. Ill test it with some low frequency sine waves before I sell it. I think it may be a d112 on that record as that mic was used on some other primus albums.
 
I think most kick mics will get you that sound. You just have to scoop the mids enough. D112 would do fine. It sounds like most of the lows freqs weren't messed with much, the mids were carved out hard, and a there was slight boost around 2K-4K to give that good attack and click.
 
Steenamaroo said:
That kick sounds really scooped; The opposite of what a d12e would give you.
Funny enough, a d112 would be much closer to that sound, but they key of course is the sound of the drum itself.


Is the d12e in good nick? Proper full bass? They fetch great money these days.
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Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Quiet Paul.


I'll give ya a few bucks for that old thing
 
My experience with basketball kik drum sound has ALWAYS been a function of how the kik actually sounds. I could change mics all day and it still sounded like a basketball.
 
could u give me some advice then on how I could obtain that sound with a good balance of lows to highs and a quick decay then?
 
Track Rat said:
My experience with basketball kik drum sound has ALWAYS been a function of how the kik actually sounds. I could change mics all day and it still sounded like a basketball.
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This is what I was about to say. It's a function of the kick, not the mic. Mics and eq won't get you there.
 
We could get into triggering a sample with the kick. In that case all you would need is a $2. rat shack microphone.
 
omtayslick said:
Basketball? That's easy, SM57 or 58. Really, no kidding.
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Track Rat said:
My experience with basketball kik drum sound has ALWAYS been a function of how the kik actually sounds. I could change mics all day and it still sounded like a basketball.
Click to expand...

bouldersoundguy said:
This is what I was about to say. It's a function of the kick, not the mic. Mics and eq won't get you there.
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But why do we want our kick drums to sound like basketballs? Most people that I know work to get rid of that sound.
 
Track Rat said:
My experience with basketball kik drum sound has ALWAYS been a function of how the kik actually sounds. I could change mics all day and it still sounded like a basketball.
Click to expand...

^^^This is true^^^ But along with that it is mic placement and how you've EQ'd it. You don't want the mic inside the drum and you want a solid resonator head on the kick drum. The AKG d112 is the "ideal" mic to get the basketball sound. You place the mic about 4-6" from the resonator head about 4" into the drum at about 3 o'clock (and then try it) then adjust where needed. The d112 is a chameleon of a mic. It sounds very different depending on placement (some people hate it for that reason, but I rather like working with them). I own and use an ATM25 and an EV RE20 most of the time, but for what you are looking for, the d112 is the animal you want. The older d12 is very close but more darker colored (I really like that mic for that reason).
 
D-112's are scooped in the middle for sure and if the kik is already bouncing I bet you could find that "spot" and catch that "poing".
 
Perhaps a basketball was not the right description. I kind of just want a lively sound with some high frequency slap and a quick thud delay in the low end. I just purchased an audix D6 and I can record with either a tama swingstar 18 inch kick or a ddrum D2 22 inch kick.
 
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