Increasing Kick Drum Level / Presence

2

2Kickdrums

New member
I'm having a difficult time getting the kick drum level to come through in
my recordings without clipping, or losing the 'tone' I'm looking to achieve.

The attached link is a "live off the floor" jam with four mics assigned to
the drum kit into a Tone Port UX-8 for individual tracking.

The toms are hard panned and gated, with some post EQ, and post effect.

The kick is centered with gate and a touch of compression (pre)

Snare is center with gate and lots of compression, post EQ and post effect

Overhead is center with post EQ only.

The input levels are great for all mics, and especially the kick. The pre-amp
and gain is set fairly low, however in the mix the kick drum sounds buried.

Any ideas for bringing it to life?

Please note this sound file has been compressed (from WAV to WMA) which
kills some of the dynamics, but it's still a decent representation of what I'm
hearing from the uncompressed mix.

Thanks in advance for the tips...and please right click and "save as" to
limit my bandwidth! ;)

http://procision-auto.com/music/covers/Good_Times_Bad_Times6.wma
 
Is your kick drum filled with pillows and blankets? If so, an empty vibrating shell will give the drum more life. You can still muffle it with felt strips under the heads.

Almost everyone has some difficulty with drums. Some people will put two or three different kinds of mics on one kick. Perhaps even a speaker.

Unless you have great equipment and a great room, you may be left with "bending" the EQ harder to get what you want. A limiter will keep those peaks under control.

Also, be careful not to get the kick drum too much on top of the recording. It is not always the feature instrument that the listeners should notice.
 
Yes, I have a thin pillow to dampen the skins (just barely touching either head). I'll try your idea with the felt strips (good idea!).

drums_kick.jpg


As for the room, it's (it was) a 16' x 20' family room, and the equipment is
average quality...tough to quantify in such a short post.

I've heard better sounding rooms that's for sure!
 
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