Kick: all thud, no boom

[WhiteStrat]

My kick seems to be all tight thud, and no boom. I'd like it to be combination of the two. In your experience, is that more a function of tuning or mic placement?

It's currently mic'd with a D112, inside the kick, about an inch or two away from the beater head--offset from the beater itself by a couple inches to the side.

I've tried adjusting the heck out of the D112 inside the drum, and this seems to be the best spot. So now I'm thinking maybe it's tuned too high? Or maybe it needs another mic outside the resonant head to get more "boom." What's worked for you?

Here's the kit by itself:



And in a mix:

 

[Chili]

My kick seems to be all tight thud, and no boom.

Take it out of its cardboard box then try it. I kid... I kid...

(Sorry, got no real answers for ya!! )

 

[WhiteStrat]

Take it out of its cardboard box then try it. I kid... I kid...

(Sorry, got no real answers for ya!! )

Well thanks for chiming in anyway. Just for that, I'm tracking that acoustic lead a quarter step flat. Or maybe sharp. You can sort it out...

 

[gecko zzed]

Actually, it seems there is plenty of boom there, but its quite a high-pitched, and I guess you are looking for something.

Does it sound like that in the room, or is there a good bottom end?

Maybe you are right in thinking it's tuned too high, and you could try a lower tuning.

 

[Guitargodgt]

Man I really hate the D112 on kick drums. lol

 

[dreib]

Closer to the beater more click, further back more boom.\

Take the front head off if your in full recording mode, its easier to mess around with the sound/placement.

 

[RAMI]

Not as bad as I expected, especially since I'm listening at work on crap speakers. I think it's more a tuning "problem". The D-112 is a good kik mic, not just because that's what I use, but it allows me to speak from experience.

Try tuning the drum lower, record, tune again, record, etc.....

 

[Guitargodgt]

Not as bad as I expected, especially since I'm listening at work on crap speakers. I think it's more a tuning "problem". The D-112 is a good kik mic, not just because that's what I use, but it allows me to speak from experience.

Try tuning the drum lower, record, tune again, record, etc.....

I have one as well...

I still hate it on kick.

 

[RAMI]

I have one as well...

I still hate it on kick.

Yeah, I got it the first time.

You hate it on your kik, I love it on mine.


.....and on and on........

 

[Justsomeguy]

It's currently mic'd with a D112, inside the kick, about an inch or two away from the beater head--offset from the beater itself by a couple inches to the side.

I've tried adjusting the heck out of the D112 inside the drum, and this seems to be the best spot. So now I'm thinking maybe it's tuned too high? Or maybe it needs another mic outside the resonant head to get more "boom." What's worked for you?

As gecko said, how does it sound in the room? i'm a big fan of adding and LDC outside the kick and blending between that and the inside mic to add some "boom" so it may be worth a go. if not, i'd try leaving the d112 pointed where it is but just pulling it out slowly to see if/how much more boom it adds. My goto kick mic placement is just inside the front head, a couple of inches from the shell and then turning it to aim at where the beater hits and then adjusting to taste.

otherwise, as rami said, try tuning it lower and see how it sounds

 

[Greg_L]

Whoever that drummer is, he's very good.

 

[Dogbreath]

I know they said it but it may be tuning.

I use a Beta 52, just inside the reso, aimed at the beater but I also track with a subkick. It doesn't always get used but it's cool to have that option.

(g'mornin y'all )

 

[Guitargodgt]

Yeah, I got it the first time.

You hate it on your kik, I love it on mine.


.....and on and on........

The thing is, I'm sure I just havn't messed with it enough or something. I mean that mic can be found on quite a few records I consider good in terms of production. I've had it for 3 years now, maybe it's time to mess with it again since acquiring a drumset.

 

[RAMI]

The thing is, I'm sure I just havn't messed with it enough or something. I mean that mic can be found on quite a few records I consider good in terms of production. I've had it for 3 years now, maybe it's time to mess with it again since acquiring a drumset.

I honestly think any dedicated kick drum mic will work with any kit. Maybe some will work better than others depending on what type of tuning one likes to use. The D-112 works with my kik, but it doesn't work with yours, for example. By the same token, another bass drum mic that works for others might not work with my kik.

I've heard over and over how horrible AKG C1000's are, but I use them for overheads and am very satisfied. It all comes down to taste, room, experimentation, tuning, mic placement, etc.....

 

[Greg_L]

I honestly think any dedicated kick drum mic will work with any kit. Maybe some will work better than others depending on what type of tuning one likes to use. The D-112 works with my kik, but it doesn't work with yours, for example. By the same token, another bass drum mic that works for others might not work with my kik.

I've heard over and over how horrible AKG C1000's are, but I use them for overheads and am very satisfied. It all comes down to taste, room, experimentation, tuning, mic placement, etc.....

Right, and a kick drum isn't that temperamental. It either sounds like a kick or it doesn't. You can tune it loose and resonant or tune it tight and clicky. If it's a 20" or more it should still sound like a kick. Sure different kick mics sound a little different, but as always the key is just having the kick sounding right. My kick drum mic is a piece of shit, but my kick isn't, so it works out for me. Any dedicated "kick mic" will work well on a good sounding kick drum. Any dedicated "kick mic" will sound like shit with a shitty sounding kick drum.

 

[RAMI]

Yeah, I look at it like this:

No, actually, I look at it like this:

As long as a kik has boom, bop, and click, you can use EQ to reduce whichever one(s) of those it has too much of. But if it doesn't have one of those ingredients, it's almost impossible to EQ it in.

 

[WhiteStrat]

Thanks for input guys. Lots of good stuff here. The track is pretty true to how it sounds in the room, so I'm definitely gonna tune it down a bit first, but I'll also play with mic placement--esp pulling it back from the head a bit.

And Greg--the drummer on both of those is my former son-in-law. I'll pass it on next time I talk to him.

 

[Greg_L]

Word up. And really, sometimes you might have to get a little heavy with EQ or compression on the kick. Kicks in real life typically don't sound like they do in an average rock mix. We've gotten far away from totally natural kick sounds a pretty long time ago. I'm not shy about abusing my kick track if I need to.

 

[WhiteStrat]

Absolutely--perhaps I should have mentioned that these tracks (even the drums only) aren't raw; they're fairly processed. I've compressed the kick with a fast attack for added punch, and boosted the "boom" frequencies. I suppose the fact that I'm still unhappy with it even after doing so is what's got me thinking I need to change the source.

 

[Farview]

I'm a little late to the table, but have you tried putting the d-112 just inside the hole in the reso head? tune the reso head so that it booms, you should still get the tightness from the batter head.

You could also just mic the reso head separately, if you have enough inputs. That way, you don't lose any of the tightness that you have now and you don't have to loosen the batter head, changing the pedal feel for the drummer.