How do i mic a kick Drum.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Musicman002
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Musicman002

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Hey Guys,

I just bought an AKG D112 for my kick drum...My Kit is a DW kit with 2 heads on the kick...and EVANS EMAD on the beater side, and an evans head with a whole on the right side..the whole is about 6 inches wide....The kick sounds nice...really well tuned..from every angle...but when i stick the d112 in the front whole and record...it sounds really thumpy...or sounds like its clicking...im not overloading my preamp..is there any tricks to mic placement or EQ..OR ANYTHING to getting a good kick sound...the sound i want is kinda of a country sound..like clean..not disco, or rap, or funk...Thanks!
 
Move the mic around. Try MANY different angles, distances, etc., until you find the sound you are looking for. Also take a good look at your room. Does the room need treating? Is it already treated? There are a skillion and three variables, but basically try moving the mic around until you find what you are looking for. Just because there is a hole in the front head does NOT mean you can only mic it from there.
 
D112's are by their very nature a bit thumpy and clicky sounding mics. However, try reducing the 250-400hz range by about 6db and see if that fixes things.
 
In addition to the great advice on placement, etc., I'd like to add this:
Old-style drummers of most genres tuned their kicks quite a bit tighter than seems to be common today. Many also don't have holes in their resonant heads. You may want to try tighetening up the resonant head and mic'ing it as if it has no hole, or try a head with no hole, after messing with all possible placement options. When I close-mic a kick with no hole, I tap it to find the least resonant spot on the res head, and start about an inch away.
 
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