Kick bleed

[dumass]

when i record a kit, for the bass drum i usually have to remove the bass drum skin in order to the mic put up next to the beater. the problem is that i also get a lot of bleed from the cymbals when i do this, even more when i add compression. is this how it's supposed to be? should i just loosen up on the compression, or is there a way around it?

 

[fenix]

Why are you putting a mic right up next to the batter? Leave that resonant head on and mic it just inside the hole. You'll get way more low end this way and if you're not getting enough attack this way, change the beater or type of head. I use an aquarian superkick II with a wood beater and I get lots of attack.

 

[dumass]

my ideal bass drum sound would be more with more slap....but either way im not a drummer...so it would really be up to the drummer of the band that i record. plus, bands that i have recorded have no hole in the skin of their bass drum, so they just end up removing the skin. but, with this, this causes bleed from the cymbals onto the bass drum track.

 

[MarkoPolo]

I put my mic in about eight to ten inches from the beater head I
then some of the time put a second mic right where the back head
would be, I also put a blanket over the whole back of the bass drum to keep out the cymble noise.
And one other thing I do for some of the bands that record at my studio is I build a tunnel with baffles in front of the kick and put the second mic inside the end of the baffles this is called the tunnel of Love trick. many studios I have been too do this and it can work great if done right.

 

[FattMusiek]

Try gating the kick track, then compressing. Also, I would recommend backing off of the pedal a bit. I notice on your drum tracks that there is never any "boom". If you mic a few inches away from the beater head and to the right, I think your kick tracks will improve quite a bit.

Just a thought.

 

[FattMusiek]

Yeah, and putting a sleeping bag (nothing works better than a sleeping bag, but a heavy comforter will do) acts as a natural gate.

 

[Fishmed]

Here is a song that I recorded years ago.

County Line

The drummer did not have a hole in the front of his kick drum, so I placed the mic a bit off the beater on the side the drummer was sitting. I have learned that gates on the kick can make the rest of your drum mix sound funny because the things being gated out will jump up in volume when the gate is opened. The best thing to do is EQ the high frequencies out so that the cymbals are less noticable through the kick mic, but not to the point to where you loose the attack of the kick.

 

[Dioxide]

I also put a blanket over the whole back of the bass drum to keep out the cymble noise.

I definetly agree this is one of the best ways to do it I believe Butch Vig made one w/ cymbals when he recorded Nirvana's Nevermind Album and I still love that kick sound. I feel your pain w/ the kick sound its something i'm still trying to perfect no matter how good it sounds I always strive for more.