micing the bass drum

[Newbie dude]

Okay, tomorrow I'm going to be recording a drum track, and I'm gonna have to use a studio projects b1 condenser mic. How should I go about micing the bass drum.

Also, today, I noticed when some plays a bass drum, air shoots out of the whole. So I assume I either need to use either a pop filter or a foam mic condom, cause won't the wind damage a condenser? Which should I use? And should I use a 10 db or 20 db pad? or no pad at all? A post before 3 tomorrow would be appreciated.

[Track Rat]

The best advice I could give you is to find a dynamic mic. Any dynamic and put it inside the kick pointed at the beater. Then take the B1 and point it at the front resonent head (NOT near the hole!!) maybe 2 -4" away. You probably don't have to worry about flipping phase on one of them. I've never found it necessary.

[Farview]

Normally, you don't use a large diaphragm Condenser on a kick, at least not alone. You would be better off with a 57 inside the drum and, if you have to, put the LDC a few feet away from the kick.

[Newbie dude]

alright, well, tell me these. Would it be better to have the b1 on the snare and a 57 on the bass drum, or the b1 on the bass drum and the 57 on the snare?

[surfmaster]

make a kick tunnel with cushions and blankets out a couple of feet with the mic at the end of the tunnel. this is the only way i have ever gotten a LDC to sound good on kick.

[Newbie dude]

umm...the bass drum has some sort of pillows and blankets in it.

Ok, I have a 57 and the b1, and I just remembered I have a cheap 20-30 buck dynamic mic.. I need to do a take of just the bass drum and the snare. What should I do?

[TexRoadkill]

You only have a few options. Try them all and go with what sounds best.

[Newbie dude]

Well, normally, thats what I'd do, but if micing the bass drum with the condenser is gonna rruin my mic, then I'd kinda perfer not to even try it. So, thats why I'm trying to figure out if it will. Plus, it'd just be nice to know your opinions. I have limited time with this band time

[punkin]

I've had good results with my MXL V69 on kick. I put it about 3 feet out front maybe more, about a foot off the floor off center from the drum about a foot and pointed at the edge of the kick drum rim. With a set up like this I like to go minimalist, 2 OH's in X/Y, maybe one on the snare and the LDC out front. Don't think of the LDC as a kick mic perse' but rather a center room mic with the added SPL of being out front.

Like one of the other posters said, DONT put it in front of the hole unless you're ready to throw it away. EQ will be your friend and if you can, isolate the mic from the support device, the thumping can get to the mic and make all kinds of noise. It can work but it would be best if you had something else to support the sound. A condenser inside would be nice.

[dwarf]

OK I havn't done much drum micing, but this is what I'd do

Sm57 on bass
B1 as a mono overhead (allthough lower closer to the snare)
Cheap dynamic on snare, as close as possibal without causing clipping.

Just my $.02

[Janesaid2me]

Not sure what you ended up doing, but idk, using a condenser on a kick drum seems silly to me....obviously you cant go out and buy urself an appropriate mic for kick drums, or else i assume you would....so with the three mics people have been talking about i would

1. Use either the 57 or the other cheapy dynamic mic on the bass drum...see which sounds better (or which is better on the snare and use the other for the bass)...place it about half way into the bass drum angled down and away from where the snare would be towards about where the beater hits.

2. Now which ever dynamic mic you decided not to use on the bass drum use on the snare. Stick it about an inch or two off the head pointing down at a 45 degree angle kinda towards the drummers crotch...haha.

3. Use that b1 condenser as an mono overhead....stick it in the middle of the set (this usually is not a straight line through the kick drum but more of a diagonal line)...stick it about a foot-2feet about cymabals....ummm yea

so thats it for now...im sure u already did the recording but maybe this will help for next time.