Let me just share this little tidbit, and see if it sparks your creativity...
The last band I was in did a fair amount of recording in a pretty decent studio. The first time we went in, the engineer was working with me to mic the kit, and he came up with this configuration that to this day I strive to duplicate.
Here's what he did.
First, the kit was an older vintage Gretsch kit, the room was approx 20x35, with hardwood floor and about an 8 foot celing.
The kick drum had no front head, and NO muffeling, nothing. It sounded like pure hell in the actual room (booom booom booom!!!). He put
a Sennheiser MD 421 right in the kick drum (about mid way up from the floor), then he took
a Neumann U87 and put it about 2 feet off the floor approx 5 feet in front of the kit.
I used a hard beater on a pretty tightly tuned kick, and let me tell you, the sound was so full and so punchy and tight, with lots of low end, but no distortion because we mixed in a lot from the U87 to clean up any rumble the MD 421 picked up. Very little compression... and recorded straight to the vintage 3M 24 track 2" machine.
I admit, when I actually listened to the kit in the room, it did sound like hell and I was very sceptical, but after hearing it on tape, and in the mix I was blown away completely.
I hope this helps a little!
