C
Chill
New member
My drummer recently picked up a new bass drum and has a resonant head on it with no port. When you mic a kick without a port, what mic and placement do you use?
ecktronic
Mixing and Mastering.
By port you mean hole?
Wait until you can get a hole cut before recording it, or just take off the whole resonant head and see how that sounds.
Eck
M
mixsit
Well-known member
Isn't the question before that whether that's the sound he/she is going for, or are we presuming to change it?
(I understand that if it's that 'big boom move the room' thing and the drummer likes that but then mix time comes and he wants 'smack and tight...
BTW.. Need a filter for the big boom' thing to mix in..There's a spot to the side ..near the drum leg.. where the lows cancle -all shell tone.
C
Chill
New member
I think he's not going to want to put a hole in the reso head or remove it, and I've heard reso heads with no hole are tougher to mic, and I'm guessing some of you have done this before. 
The "shell tone spot" are you talking about a mic outside the drum aimed at the shell rather than the head?
The "shell tone spot" are you talking about a mic outside the drum aimed at the shell rather than the head?
ecktronic
Mixing and Mastering.
May I ask why not?
Has he been recorded a lot for him to know he will get a better sound without a hole and with the resonant head still on?
Eck
C
Chill
New member
Yes you may!
(a) he's poor, just bought a new shellpack, does not want to mess with the stock head, and does not have $$$ for new heads;
(b) it's a 24" x 18" mahogany kick which has more beater rebound with no hole;
(c) he's trying something different.
I'm not trying to get into a discussion of reso head port vs no reso head port. I agree with you that the port gives a lot more micing options.
I am trying to figure out the ways folks mic kick drums without a port both because my drummer will probably stick with that for a while and I've seen several bands in the last month with kick drums without ports. Seems like it might be useful info to know even if there are better ways of micing kicks.
M
mixsit
Well-known member
I think he's not going to want to put a hole in the reso head or remove it, and I've heard reso heads with no hole are tougher to mic, and I'm guessing some of you have done this before.
The "shell tone spot" are you talking about a mic outside the drum aimed at the shell rather than the head?
I've only faced this a few times so there'll be plenty others with more experience here..
I ended up looking for a) handles (midrange/tones' to hang your hat on), more attack and/or tighter sound than was there! (see where this going already..) and/or b) mix space, style or a place to put it.
Going with the attributes? (huge hanging low end?) Very impressive for a song or two. Then what?
Hopefully it's being whacked hard enough to make 'handles'.
Add the beater mic (can we say snare hash and buzz here?
Out front, top of the shell-ish' and out a bit (kick and kit picture?
By the leg' is another add-on track likely. (I guess low 'cancel' was the word there
giraffe
i love negative rep
try this
put a mic on the front head for the beater (or click) sound. point it at the beater.
this mic can be nearly anything, all you're not going to need much from it.
and a better mic (something more commonly used for kick) on the back head.
probably a few inches to a foot out, but it's impossible to say for real, you'll just have to play with it and see.
you can also play around with building a "kick tunnel" off the back of the rezzo head (think a tent made of blankets, some people make them out of trash cans and the like) and add that to your beater mic.
mix the 2 to taste.
make sure to be especially aware of the phase relationship of the 2 mics.
re-read the line above this one.
put a mic on the front head for the beater (or click) sound. point it at the beater.
this mic can be nearly anything, all you're not going to need much from it.
and a better mic (something more commonly used for kick) on the back head.
probably a few inches to a foot out, but it's impossible to say for real, you'll just have to play with it and see.
you can also play around with building a "kick tunnel" off the back of the rezzo head (think a tent made of blankets, some people make them out of trash cans and the like) and add that to your beater mic.
mix the 2 to taste.
make sure to be especially aware of the phase relationship of the 2 mics.
re-read the line above this one.
O
ofajen
Daddy-O Daddy-O Baby
Well, my kick drum is one that I made myself so I'm not afraid to tinker with it, and at some point I plan to install a short cable and mike stand adapter inside the thing wired up through the shell to an XLR jack mounted on the outside of the shell. Then I figure I'll just leave one of my RE-55 omnis in there all the time and I can plug into it from the outside any time I want. Haven't done it yet, because right now I have a hole in the resonant head. Of course, with a spiffier looking bass drum, the idea of installing stuff like that is probably a bit scary.
Cheers,
Otto
ecktronic
Mixing and Mastering.
Yes you may!
(a) he's poor, just bought a new shellpack, does not want to mess with the stock head, and does not have $$$ for new heads;
(b) it's a 24" x 18" mahogany kick which has more beater rebound with no hole;
(c) he's trying something different.
I'm not trying to get into a discussion of reso head port vs no reso head port. I agree with you that the port gives a lot more micing options.
I am trying to figure out the ways folks mic kick drums without a port both because my drummer will probably stick with that for a while and I've seen several bands in the last month with kick drums without ports. Seems like it might be useful info to know even if there are better ways of micing kicks.
Cool man, in my experience its been better to have an air gap between the beater head and the mic. Sorry if I couldn't help out more.
I'm just confused as to why the drummer doesn't want to make a hole in his reso head.
Its not going to change his live sound that much and also its not going to destroy his new skin if he gets it cut properly.
Eck
Track Rat
Just Your Average Sized Member
Lots of drummers don't cut a hole in the front head. I've done everything from a something like a D-112 tight on the fronthead to an LDC back a few feet with good results. You can get a pretty good sound, you just won't have that aggressive "click" from the beater attack.
ecktronic
Mixing and Mastering.
TerraMortim
New member
just get a knife and cut one.
ecktronic
Mixing and Mastering.
Its best to use the right tools to cut a hole so you get a clean cut.
Any good music store should be able to do this.
Eck
P
pezking
New member
I cut my drummer's ports. Bought a little hole reinforcer, and then followed the instructions. Piece of cake!
Made a really nice job of it! But if you're not confident, maybe better off getting an expert to do it!
T
thebarnstudio
New member
the best way to get a clean hole
get a foldgers coffee can, set it on the stove until it gets hot, then just take it off and press it on the head.
boom, perfect clean circle.
get a foldgers coffee can, set it on the stove until it gets hot, then just take it off and press it on the head.
boom, perfect clean circle.
Farview
Well-known member
I end up doing the two mic thing. Something like a 57 on the batter head pointing at the beater, and a D112 on the reso head a little off center.
Some of the bigger bands that don't have holes cut in the reso head will have a mic mounted inside the drum or they are using triggers.
So if you are looking for a tight, clicky, metal-type sound, you will need to mount a mic internally or cut a hole in the head. If you want a darker, more mellow sound, just use two mics.
Some of the bigger bands that don't have holes cut in the reso head will have a mic mounted inside the drum or they are using triggers.
So if you are looking for a tight, clicky, metal-type sound, you will need to mount a mic internally or cut a hole in the head. If you want a darker, more mellow sound, just use two mics.
gcapel
boom box recordings
I would try an LCD about two feet away from the kick out front. Maybe blend it with a beater mic.
H
hipskind
Newbie...and proud of it
It depends on the sound the drummer is going for, the particular track, and the actual sound the drummer gets on the bass drum of course.
One pet peeve of mine as a studio drummer is an engineer who's inflexible and automatically assumes that I should have a hole cut in my front head if I don't. It has happened many times, when I was going for a particular sound, and the engineer either didn't know how to work with a bass drum this way or lazy and didn't want to bother miking the bass drum from both sides.
Of course the flip side to this is when you have a DRUMMER who is either ignorant or lazy and doesn't understand how the bass drum setup affects the way it sounds...
But honestly, you can get more than one type of sound from a bass drum, and one of the first considerations for me in the studio (or on a gig!) is which bass drum to bring and how it will be set up. That's part of the reason I despise the term "kick drum"; the connotation is that of the typical studio "click"-ey bass drum sound, though I'll admit that's by far the most common bass drum sound you hear.
In particular, if I'm doing a jazz-oriented session, I'll usually bring in an 18" or 20" bass drum without a hole in the front head. It blends better with the rest of the kit that way, whereas a muffled, vented "kick" sound will stick out (especially if it's mixed more like a rock-oriented kit).
For cutting a hole in the front head, you can get templates at a music store and just cut around the inside with an X-Acto knife. Piece of cake. One thing I strongly recommend (and I do, of course) is that the hole be off-center. You get a bit more bottom-end out of the front head this way.
One pet peeve of mine as a studio drummer is an engineer who's inflexible and automatically assumes that I should have a hole cut in my front head if I don't. It has happened many times, when I was going for a particular sound, and the engineer either didn't know how to work with a bass drum this way or lazy and didn't want to bother miking the bass drum from both sides.
Of course the flip side to this is when you have a DRUMMER who is either ignorant or lazy and doesn't understand how the bass drum setup affects the way it sounds...
But honestly, you can get more than one type of sound from a bass drum, and one of the first considerations for me in the studio (or on a gig!) is which bass drum to bring and how it will be set up. That's part of the reason I despise the term "kick drum"; the connotation is that of the typical studio "click"-ey bass drum sound, though I'll admit that's by far the most common bass drum sound you hear.
In particular, if I'm doing a jazz-oriented session, I'll usually bring in an 18" or 20" bass drum without a hole in the front head. It blends better with the rest of the kit that way, whereas a muffled, vented "kick" sound will stick out (especially if it's mixed more like a rock-oriented kit).
For cutting a hole in the front head, you can get templates at a music store and just cut around the inside with an X-Acto knife. Piece of cake. One thing I strongly recommend (and I do, of course) is that the hole be off-center. You get a bit more bottom-end out of the front head this way.
Last edited:
giraffe
i love negative rep
get
get a large coffee can.
heat on stove burner
melt perfect hole in head.
done.
get a large coffee can.
heat on stove burner
melt perfect hole in head.
done.