kick drum problem

[rediflight]

I cant get my kick drum to sound good. I've tried a couple of different placements but it still sounds like a rubber kick ball. I have a D112 and am still new to recording so I'm sure its something stupid that I am not doing right. Any placement and EQ tips?

[tourettes5139]

Check your tuning. And then check it again. Seriously, making sure it is tuned well can make a HUGE difference. If it is already tuned, try tuning it differently. What kind of sound are you after? That will affect what advice you will get, as well.

[rediflight]

I'm going for a deep tone, lots of double bass stuff. I play in a metal band if that helps. Any specific tuning advice?

[PhilGood]

When you say "rubber kick ball" are you referring to a sound like a high "sproing"??? (best anomatapia I can think of...)

Are you using one head or two?

[cobradenim]

What kind of wood is the drum? Where is the mic placed? Place the mic outside of the drum in front of the sound hole and you'll capture more of the actual kick sound rather than the "ball" sound you get when you stick the mic inside the drum.
It also depends on the shell size and head/tuning combination.

[FunkDaddy]

If you're doing a lot of double bass stuff you're going to want that "rubber kick ball" sound (I'm assuming it's the impact "click" type sound) or your double bass work will get lost in a sea of muddy bass drum. You can always EQ in a bit more bass to the sound. I'd want to keep the impact sound though, especially for metal/double kick.

[fritzmusic]

I think I know the sound you're after. First off, the most common bass drum recording error is either too much or too little dampening. In your case, it sounds like too little dampening going on.

For metal sound (and to stay away from the rubber ball sound):

- Mic on the batter side.
- Boost 1k-4k frequencies signals before they are recorded to get more of that "clicky" beater definition sound like Pantera or ...And Justice or what have you.
-experiment and keep repeating until you get the sound you want.
-Use hard beaters (not felt) although the difference may be subtle to your ears, it's the world of difference to the mic.
-You can try those spot pads (you can find at any music stores) you stick on to the batter area of the bass drum to get even more definition. IF that still doesn't work...
-I illustrated a bass drum "click trick" to get that nice, fat clicky sound ready for a mic. This is something I stumbled upon a few years back. Download the image I attached to this post. Basically, you take any old broken drumhead you have lying around, loop pieces of duct tape sticky-side out, stick it on the bass drum batter side to batter side dead center of where your beaters hit. Just don't put tape on your bass drumhead where the residue left behind can catch your beaters.
-Tune the kick drum up or down according to the key the song is in, making sure that the tuning works well with the bass guitar.
-Eq: If you need more bottom end, try boosting 60 to 100Hz. Try rolling off lower mids (300-700Hz) to get rid of a box or bouncy ball-like sound.
-You should try an Evans EMAD head on the batter. It's the quickest way to that beefy "metal" sound out of your kick in my personal opinion and I've tried every bass drum head under the sun on many different kits in pursuit of that venerable metal sound on the quick.

[rediflight]

Originally Posted by cobradenim

What kind of wood is the drum? Where is the mic placed? Place the mic outside of the drum in front of the sound hole and you'll capture more of the actual kick sound rather than the "ball" sound you get when you stick the mic inside the drum.
It also depends on the shell size and head/tuning combination.

They are Pearl Exprot series drums (I'm not sure what type of wood they ues) and I had the mic placed just inside the drum pointed at the beater.

[rediflight]

Originally Posted by fritzmusic

I think I know the sound you're after. First off, the most common bass drum recording error is either too much or too little dampening. In your case, it sounds like too little dampening going on.

I dont think there was anything inside the drum when I recorded (if thats what you mean by dampening).

Originally Posted by fritzmusic

- Boost 1k-4k frequencies signals before they are recorded to get more of that "clicky" beater definition sound like Pantera or ...And Justice or what have you.

What do you mean by "Boost 1k-4k frequencies signals"?
Sorry I'm sure thats a newbie question.

[emergencyexit]

Fritzmusic,

Im pretty sure he doesn't have any rack EQ since he is new to this. And as for having a board with EQ on the channel strip, well there isn't much you can do with that for specifics.

Here's the real question from me. Do you like the sound of your drum before you record? Just live and to your own ears. If it doesn't sound good there then there is no way its gonna sound good anywhere else. But if it does sound good there then micing it will be very easy. Maybe you could post a clip of what it does sound like?

Ben

[rediflight]

yeah it sounds ok, im sure if i mess around with tuning and dampening and stuff i can tweak the sound a little bit more. i have a dbx 2 channel 15 band rack mount eq that i use for my guitar, is there any way that this could help with my eq issue?

[tom5]

I know that rubber ball sound you are talking about. I got it when i tuned too high, without muffling of anykind. Just tune alot lowerand try some muffling techniques such as taping a twoel to the batter from the inside.

[seryozha]

yeah....you prob. have it tuned way to high. I tighten my lugs on the batter side just so that there arent any ripples in the head and do the same with the other. And then you put a pillow or blanket in the drum so that it touches both heads.